De-fouling a grill of that lighter fluid taste


 
C

ChadVKealey

TVWBB Pro
I have a Jumbo Joe that I found abandoned in a parking lot. The previous owners/users had made the most grievous error of using lighter fluid, and not used the charcoal grate (the coals were right on the bottom of the kettle). I burned through a chimney full of KBB with it this past Sunday afternoon - temps up to about 475 degrees - and gave the cooking grate a thorough scraping, thinking that would have gotten rid of it. The odor is gone, but later on Sunday, I grilled some chicken breasts and pork chops. The chops were fine, but the chicken has a distinct chemical taste to it.

So, anyone know a trick for eliminating that lighter fluid aftertaste? Maybe I need to soak the grate and scrub it with soap & water (although you'd think the high heat would have burned that junk off)? Or since they didn't use the charcoal grate, there's some residue in the bowl (although I did scrub it with a foil ball to get rid of some burnt-on cheese and grease)?
 
I would probably put a load of charcoal (maybe something hot / neutral, like Cowboy?) in it.
Then, get it SCREAMING HOT (think "devils belly with heartburn" :p)
Open-up ALL the vents and run it for a while with top off, then top on
I would let it burn itself out completely

That should burn-off any residue - some are more sensitive to it than I am, but starter fluid is mostly volatile compounds that should burn-off / evaporate
 
I agree with Ron on this one, my bet is the yahoos used a bag of one of the "light this crap right in the bag" stuff with no clue what they were doing! The thermonuclear heat treatment makes sense as the only cure I can think of. If that fails leave it open, expose to the elements all winter repeat the cauterization process and see if that helps. It's the higher aromatics which still need to burn off. At least that's my line and I'm sticking to it.
 
Well, before the game, I saw the folks "cooking" on it. I smelled the fluid burning when I pulled into the lot and I swear they were still squirting it on with the dogs & burgers on there. It made me sad to see the grill being treated like that, but I'm glad I have a chance to save it.

I thought 475 would have been enough to burn it off, but I guess not. I have a bucket full of small (1" square or less) lump charcoal bits, so maybe I'll use that up for this. There's a lot, so it should burn pretty damn hot.

Then again, maybe it's all in my head. My wife ate the chicken and said it tasted fine, so I might be imagining it.
 
If the chops were fine, and the chicken had a chemical taste to it, I would think that any lighter fluid was burned off and suspect that particular batch of chicken if anything.
Try it again and see what you get. Your lighter fluid is long gone by now.
 
I just don't understand why anyone uses lighter fluid these days.

My neighbor uses it and it drives me crazy.
 
Pat, maybe that is what he is trying to do. Maybe get him a chimney as a gift with instructions on its use. Just a thought.

Pat G said:
I just don't understand why anyone uses lighter fluid these days.

My neighbor uses it and it drives me crazy.
Click to expand...
 
You know, during summer grilling season I can drive around and smell the lighter fluid from blocks away.
There are several "parking lot" smokers on corners that seem to really prominently display that can!
I don't get it.
 
You could direct a hair dryer or other blower type device at the vents / coals when burning to really up the temps and make sure everything has burned off.
Once your temps start to drop, remove the lid so you don't trap any "fumes" in the grill as it cools.

Also try storing it with an open box of baking soda in it ( with the cover on ) to absorb any left over funky.
 
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