American Safety Zone - Barbeque Safety

Barbeque Safety

Spring and fall are excellent times to barbeque. In the spring, you have the anticipation of summer, which means warmer weather, camping, boating and barbeques. In the fall, you have the anticipation of tailgating!

Barbeque Safety at Home

Barbeque safety at home often begins before you get to the grill. Often, people like to marinate the meat they're going to cook. This should be done in the refrigerator, not on the kitchen counter. And if you're planning on using some of that marinade later for basting, don't use the same batch that the meat was marinating in. That's not safe. Instead, reserve a portion of the marinade before you add the raw meat to it. You can use the saved portion later.

Next, you have to make sure your grill is clean. This is an element of fire safety as well as BBQ safety. First of all, be sure that you have plenty of clean utensils and plates. Using the same utensils and plates that you used for raw meat can cause foodborne illness.

Another important element to barbeque safety is cleaning your grill before you get it hot in order to avoid grease fires. You'll want to be sure your grease pan is cleaned often because caked on grease and charcoal residue is a fire hazard.

Barbeque Safety for Gas Grills

Gas grills are a much cleaner, faster way to grill, but there are some precautions you should take. Here are some barbeque safety tips to remember when cooking on a gas grill:

If you use lava rocks in your gas grill, you might want to change them to porcelain rocks. These are less porous, so they don't accumulate as much grease over time as lava rocks do, so there's less of a fire risk involved. Plus the procelain rocks help you get a more even flame over the surface of the grill.
Check the hoses and connections on your propane tank for leaks. First, be sure the gas is turned off, then spray them with a solution of soap and water. If you see bubbling at the connection site, you have a gas leak and need to tighten the connections.

Barbeque Safety for Charcoal Grills

Even though gas grills are easier, cleaner and faster to use than charcoal, nothing beats the flavor you get from charcoal barbeques. Here are some barbeque safety tips for using a charcoal grill:

Stack the charcoal briquettes in a mound and soak them with charcoal lighter fluid.
Light the mound in a lot of places immediately, then step away from the grill.
Don't start cooking until the charcoal briquettes are gray and ashy.
Once the coals are lit, don't put any more lighter fluid on them. This could cause an explosion.
Before disposing of burning embers, douse them with water. If they aren't completely cooled when you toss them in the garbage, the heat could cause other flammable materials in the garbage to ignite.

Barbeque Safety for All Grills

Finally, some barbeque safety tips for all grills:

Make sure you barbeque in an open area that's not too close to your deck or house.
Keep the grill in a place where kids or pets won't run into it. (It will still be hot after you finish cooking.)
Speaking of kids, keep the barbeque lighter out of their reach.
Keep a spray bottle of water and perhaps baking soda nearby to put out any accidental fires.
Don't light your grill inside. Covered patios and garages don't provide enough ventilation for grilling.
If your grill has vent holes in the bottom, make sure that you also have an ashcan to catch hot embers. This is crucial if you are cooking on a deck to prevent fires.