Can't even cook for flare ups!


 
Jeff Holmes

Jeff Holmes

TVWBB Super Fan
I always read on here and other sites (do they exist?) about flare ups on the grill. I always thought I must be a master grilling chef because I really never have flare ups. We'll, I do, but not enough to bring it up on the forums.

I stand corrected and I've been spoiled. We buy a beef every year but recently ran out of hamburger. We've been buying from the store. With my 670's sear burner and the two beside it, I can't sear the burgers at all. It looks like my avatar! Honestly, I like a chargrilled fLavor but if you try to power through it, it changes the taste to petroleum from the burning fat/oil.

I just cook them indirect about the whole. I might try a little reverse on them when they are about done.
 
I generally use 80/20 ground beef. Fatter beef CAN indeed cause flare ups. On the other hand, sometimes those "fatty burgers" can taste wonderful. I have a set of Grill Grates for my Performers and they greatly reduce flareups. They are made for both charcoal and gas grills.

I flip my grill grates so the flat side is up. I get a terrific all over crust on my burgers. The grease drains through the small holes in the surface but the flames are kept beneath so they don't affect the burgers.

http://www.grillgrate.com/index.php?/site/science

FWIW
Dale53
 
Grill grates look like a good deal for U.S. folks at $60 for 3 grates. Not so for us: Amaz ca has the same 3 for $170 . I notice though with the flavour bars on the gasser, I generally have few to no flare ups, regardless of what I'm cooking. thank you Weber :)
 
Haha, I was on my phone trying to type. I think it's the contrast between store bought burger and knowing where/how your beef is made. I'm sure it's fat content. I litterally just cleaned the grill. By the way I eat them, they certainly didn't seem to taste bad ;)

My thread subject seems serious but I'm just messing around. The flare up are crazy though.
 
I had a "flare up" on my grill a couple weeks ago that required a fire extinguisher to deal with :D
 
I've been working really hard on my burgers lately. I typically use 80/20 ground chuck I get from a butcher. If I do get a flareup its usually not that severe and just adds to the sear. If the cheese catches fire with the lid on it produces a really bad off taste. Right now I just make third lb patties and I use a burger press to flatten the patties and to not smear the fat by working the patties too much. I sear them on my OTS with the sear grate and the charcoal holders underneath for 2 minutes each side with the lid off. That typically cooks them through. My current problem is getting the cheese melted. I was just putting the lid on and throwing the cheese on during that 2nd 2 minutes but that caused some really off flavors from the smoke if the cheese caught fire. Now its 2 minutes each side and then off the direct heat for 30 seconds or so with the lid on. Sometimes I use the griddle which works fantastically but you don't get that "grill taste".

Having ground meat though I'm not sure how you know exactly what the ratio of fat to meat is though. I'm sure too much fat can cause flareups.
 
I was wondering how this thread would go. I get massive flare ups especially with burgers. I just move fast as I can and get the lid back on as quick as possible. When the flare up is insane, I close the top vent
 
I find I have better results if I move my food to a cool part of the grate and let the flare up burn itself out, rather than smothering by replacing the lid. If I smother it, it just re-ignites as soon as I take the lid off again.
 
I do that on my charcoal weber. When you have flames, I close the top vent...a few seconds later smoke increases. On the gasser, it let's in too much oxygen and it just keeps getting bigger until the burgers are moved. That's why I like my avatar ;)
 
on my G1k I never get flare ups when cooking burgers except for maybe 5 seconds the first time i flip them.

but when doing a burn off after say country style ribs or a large brisket the flare ups can be intense.

I love my G1k though, best grill I have ever used.
 
Wow, never had an issue with flare ups like the ones describe unless I am trying to do bacon direct method. My Joe and Performer always cook wonderfully. When it comes to burgers, I cook ground chuck, which is really greasy. An 8" raw burger with usually a 5" burger with cooked.
 
I stopped using my sear station burner and it really helped ....I still haven't bought another whole beef to compare.
 
Jeff Holmes said:
I stopped using my sear station burner and it really helped ....I still haven't bought another whole beef to compare.
Click to expand...

That's kind of the thing with Gas - charcoal is much more forgiving. I'll cook indirectly a lot of times on my genesis....like the burner under the food is set to low or off while the others on medium.
 
I have a 4 burner propane grill and will turn all 4 burners on high and let the grill preheat. Right as I am throwing burgers on I'll turn one burner off and put the burgers over the turned off burner to avoid flareups. A little flareup is expected but sometimes it can get out of control!
 
I get my gasser as hot as possible then turn off the middle 2 burners and do the burgers on indirect in the middle. At the end I move them over to the hot section over the burning burners to brown it up a little. most of the fat is out by then. We like our burgers med rare or a little less. If I try to get a good sear then the inside is often well done unless I make the burgers like softballs. So basically I don't want a good sear on my burger. IF I'm jonesing that sear for a patty melt or something Cast Iron is the way to go IMO.

I read someone doing burgers on direct coals to get a great sear with medium rare inside but I haven't tried that. I'm afraid the burger would fall apart into the coals unlike a steak.
 
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