Grease fire yesterday during HH brisket cook


 
Clint

Clint

TVWBB Olympian
I was ready to foil the brisket about 2.5 hours in when I went to temp the meat. The thermometer was sitting in the sun & the LCD was hot so it was black. I walk into the garage & blast the thermometer off to cool the display so it'd read. I walk back out after ~3 minutes & flames are shooting out of the top of my WSM!

Where I went wrong:

*Door was propped open
*"dry" water pan was full of grease, I'm sure
*the lid was left off unattended

I slapped the lid on, the flames shot out of the door. I put the hot as 4311 door on & the flames shot out of the three-wheel vents. closed the vents & flames shot out of the crack of the door. I got ~1 quart of water & threw it on the coals. Then I foiled it & put it back on.

I thought I'd ruined the cook but it turned out great.
 
Thanks for relating the incident, Clint. It serves as a reminder to those doing hi heat cooks to really be careful. You already mentioned where you thought you went wrong, but some other thoughts are:

Make sure you knock the crud off the charcoal grate, ring, and cooker between cooks. These accumulations can catch fire if the temp gets high enough, just like in a grill.

Make sure the pan is foiled well with a air gap between the pan and foil if doing a hi heat cook. Was yours?

Probably shutting the vents and door might be a good idea before taking the lid off as well, and like you said, leaving the lid off for long can really make temps soar if not using a water pan. Honestly, that is probably the main reason why I prefer using a water pan most of the time.
 
Im sad to read this but you said it your self:

*Door was propped open
*"dry" water pan was full of grease, I'm sure
*the lid was left off unattended

Never had this myself but i recon that is a recipe for disaster
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Thank you for sharing. A reminder for all of us to be careful. And Dave, thanks for the additional prevention tips.
 
Man this happened to me in my first comp earlier this month. What a dang disaster.

Definitely something to watch out for. If you notice it happening remove your briskets immediately or you will char the fat caps and that carbon flavor will permeate the entire thing.

On top of that, when you remove the charred flesh trying to salvage the non-burned interior meat, you will have a significant amount of waste.
 
And also it might be a good idea for everyone to pick up $15 kitchen fire extinguisher from the hardware store just in case....
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dave Russell:
...
Make sure the pan is foiled well with a air gap between the pan and foil if doing a hi heat cook. Was yours?
...
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I learned somewhere on this forum to crumple a couple of peices of alum. foil into balls, drop them in the dry pan, and then foil the pan. This provides a sturdy air gap that prevents the drippings from burning (great for making gravy).
 
Been there... done that...

I NEVER leave the lid off on a HH cook unless I'm standing over it.

Glad to hear all ended well, but certainly a good lesson for all... and yes... everyone please make sure you have an extinguisher. No brisket is worth losing your deck or house.
 
Craig's right. Minimize the time the lid is off. With practice you get to be as efficient as a NASCAR pit crew.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by paul h:
Craig's right. Minimize the time the lid is off. With practice you get to be as efficient as a NASCAR pit crew. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Good idea if you "practice" high heat sober. However, low-n-slow pitmasters can relax and marinate a little without as much worry...Don't waste beer in the pan.
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