Charcoal grilling is a culinary art like no other, but how are you supposed to handle hot coals and hot coals when the party is over? From controlling ventilation to removing ash from briquettes, learn how to quickly and safely extinguish your charcoal grill.
Charcoal grilling is the purest form of grilling with its beautiful flavors and authentic flavors it brings to your food. However, it has a major disadvantage: the cleaning required after use.
However, it’s not just about potential debris and clutter, it’s also about the process of clearing it all. It’s more complicated, complicated and dangerous than it seems.
It is important that you turn off your charcoal grill as soon as possible after you have stopped using it. It greatly helps save fuel while preventing it from catching fire and burning everything around it. Especially if you have pets or children around.
Charcoal grills can be turned off without simply closing the lid and vents on your grill, cutting off all oxygen to the embers. It will then take up to 2 days for the embers to cool completely, but this method of letting them sit is much safer than trying to put them out with water.
Need to up your charcoal lighting game? Check out my easy guide to lighting a charcoal grill.
What do I need to extinguish a charcoal grill?
In order to properly extinguish burning charcoal, you need a certain level of skill in handling it. To get this right, you need a few tools at your disposal. Here are the most important things:
Recommended equipment:
- Heat-resistant grilling gloves
- A bucket of water
- Metal Spatula
- Thwart
- Wire Brush
- Tongs
- Fire Extinguisher (class B, Kor or ABC)
- Sodium Bicarbonate
Close the grill
Start by putting on heat-resistant oven mitts and making sure they’re heat-resistant enough to prevent official temperatures from exceeding you.
Remove the grate from your grill and slowly close the lid. If your grill has vents , make sure they are closed as well. This ensures that all oxygen pathways are prevented from fueling the fire.
Coals can always take a long time to cool down and it’s not always clear if they’re still burning or not, I recommend leaving the grill on for up to 48 hours with the vents closed. Although it may not be long before it dies out, it’s important to be absolutely sure.
Remove ash and briquettes
When the 48 hours are up and your grill is completely cool, you can remove the briquettes and burnt ash.
Use an ash bucket to collect the ashes. Before discarding, tip them over a large sheet of aluminum foil.
Wrap the leaf and dispose of it in a trash can or metal container. Any sign of embers can burn or melt the plastic, so avoid using a plastic trash can at all costs.
When transferring the wrapped foil, no matter how cold the briquettes may appear, it’s a good idea to use tongs to hold them from the grill to the can. We want to reduce the risk of flaming or erupting that will burn or affect you.
Alternatively, instead of having to wait so long for the briquettes to cool, you can use long-handled tweezers to remove them along with the ash. However, another important precaution is the use of separate metal containers to hold the ash and briquettes.
If the coals are still very hot, this means that they will continue to burn in the metal container, creating more ash. The best alternative in this case is to remove them one by one and dip them in a bucket of water.
Avoid water
I hate to stress this point too much, but using a charcoal grill in any way can be dangerous. I strongly advise against pouring or spraying water directly onto your grill while it is showing signs of heat.
Always wait for it to complete completely, even if that is 48 hours later. Coals burn at very high temperatures and spraying with water can crack the grill. Another hazard of pouring water directly onto the coals is that it creates intense steam and scatters hot ash, causing nasty burns.
Clean the grill
Use a grill spatula or metal trowel to sweep the clear ash off the grill. The chamber should then be thoroughly cleaned. Pay close attention to the vents as some ash is likely to get in here, which could cause a blockage for your next grill.
Be sure to use a wire brush on the underside of the grill, particularly the grates. Clean the grills with soap and water at your preferred intervals. It is important to lubricate these parts with silicone spray. The spray acts as a good rust inhibitor, thus extending the life of your charcoal grill.
Bring back any leftover briquettes
When they are completely cool, put the cold briquettes back in the bottom half of the grill for next time use. Be sure to use tweezers.
How do I lose the coal to reuse?
You may find that there is quite a bit of charcoal left over after grilling, in which case it would be a real shame and waste to throw it all away. To reduce this waste, you can easily reuse the charcoal.
To do this, prepare a large container with water. Remove the charcoal from the grill and submerge each piece in water to ensure it goes out completely. Allow each charcoal to sit submerged in the water for 30-60 seconds before removing and laying on a non-combustible surface to dry.
Once dry, they can be stored in a fireproof container and reused for your next cooking competition.
Is there a faster way to cool down my charcoal grill?
In short, not really. I’ve seen some people suggest simply spraying or pouring water on the coals to cool them faster, but that’s too risky as the sudden temperature imbalance could shatter the cookbox and any porcelain in the grill (zzellan sintent por grill grates ).
Yes, it’s a hassle waiting up to 48 hours for it to fully complete, but it’s the surest way to ensure you and your grill are safe.
How soon after grilling should I put the grill cover on?
comfort! Once the lid and vents are closed, it is perfectly safe to put on the grill cover. Leaving your grill open without a cover for up to 48 hours makes it susceptible to damage or rusting.
Writer & content creator. BBQ fanatic!
