Grease fire. (or how I got angry/frustrated/worried after three cooks)

So I cooked up a pork shoulder two weeks ago, then some burgers and dogs for the 4th, and then tonight, I cooked up some chicken and after that a flank steak. That all went fine.

I set my Mak 2-Star to high to what I thought would help clean off the grill. I walked away and about 5 minutes later smelled something funny. I went into the kitchen and it was all smoky (and not in a good way). I ran outside and could see the reflection of fire from inside the BBQ on the grease bucket. I foolishly ran over and opened it. The flames kicked up like Dante's Inferno and the onboard temp read was 765F. I panicked and I blew on it for a second (like a fool #2), got a lungful of smoke, and then closed the lid and powered down. Within a minute, I rapidly got the flames out, plugged it back it and did the powerdown sequence.

I'm sitting here feeling like a big dummy.

I'm wondering what I should do tomorrow to troubleshoot it and clean it. I'm guessing Already figure that I'm going to have to replace the frogmat.

-sigh-

I guess just open it and asses the damage,then go from there.Btw did you clean it out after the pork butt?

I didn't, and while I was about to after this cook, it looks like I need to clean after every cook.

I have always cleaned my pellet units after every cook.Btw sorry to hear about your unit,and good luck man.

Other than some soot your cooker should be fine. After butts always clean and even scrape the drip pan. I don't always clean after short cooks either but I always do after long ones.

Good to know. I took it apart tonight, wasn't going to sleep right if I didn't take a look at it. And it seems fine, just need to give it a good scrub. Does anyone have a preferred cleaner for their 2-Star?

I keep posting about cleaning your grill...of the grills I sell the mak is the least likely to have a grease fire. That had to be pretty greasy!

Also after a long cook always clean your fire pot for best results.

Most likely the biggest danger of damage from the fire would be to the thermocouple(temp probe) and the wiring running to it. Once you have the MAK cleaned up, fire it up and see if it reads the temps correctly. One other thing, take a look at the powdercoating on the exterior of the MAK and see if it was damaged by the excessive heat.

Well, I looked at it and the flareup was basically at the grease trap, until I opened the top and then it "wooshed" as I call it. It wasn't happening for too long, and I've checked the thermocouple and it's good. The exterior is ok too.

Thankfully I caught it quickly. Proper maintenance and cleaning will be at the forefront of my repertoire from now on.

Thank you BBQ gods for teaching me a lesson without damaging anything more than my psyche.

wow just about the same thing happen to me around the exact same time period. I have Green mountain grill and I usually clean it after every smoke. On the 4th of July I did about a 5 hour smoke of chicken quarters and 6 racks of pork loin ribs. I thought I would clean up after the next smoke. A few days later I actually decided to grill italian sausage and burgers and I got grease fire in return. Also had a back up in the fire pot, Im assuming from the ash that was left over. Scared me straight. Thank goodness no major damage. Definitely learned my lesson.

CLEAN EVERY SECOND COOK!!! Only takes 2 minutes...

Every now and then, I get lazy about cleaning my MAK. When I do, bad things happen. I have had ignition problems in the cold when I haven't cleaned out the fire pot. I have had a fire in the grill too. I have had an auger jam. It's just good practice to clean the grill and to empty pellets. It's like a firearm. Cleaning has at least two benefits. The grill will be more reliable. It will be safer.

Well add me to this list now... I have a 2 star MAK and cooked a 14lb rib roast on it for labor day. After reviewing many methods of cooking I decided to do "reverse" sear. I cooked at 200 for 3.5 hours when IT was at 118. Took meat off to rest under foil for 45 minutes. Meanwhile cranked her up to high as I read to sear at 500-550. I hade the solid blank pan in and temp topped out around 495.

Placed meat on grill (standard grate) and closed lid. Was going to sear for 15-20 minutes and turn once. Went into house working on sides/etc. when I looked out and saw the grill belching smoke like never before. Did the same as others here and opened lid to see grease fire on 2/3 of right side. It had flames coming out of grease chute as well.

Pushed meat to the side and was able to get fire out, but was very worried about condition of meat $$$ Short version is meat turned out spectacular, but I need to tell you all I thoroughly cleaned this grill before this cook. My only thoughts are that the Prime rib roast dumped a lot of grease at this high temp sear and it may have exceeded flash point. Any thoughts on this are welcome to understand what happened.

I am writing this from work and will look the grill over tonight. I am hopeful of no damage...

15-20 minutes at 495 with the lid closed will do that.

KyNola said:

15-20 minutes at 495 with the lid closed will do that.

Click to expand...

So my mistake was closing the lid? Should I keep open similar to how you may operate a broiler? Thanks for your comments.

I believe it was your prime rib.... I burnt up an infrared rotisserie that way.... Had it rolling on the Rotis, went inside to get a tasty beverage, and put side dish in pan to bring out for cooking... and within that 10 Min, I had a fire so hot it melted the side of the cast aluminum body of the cooker. Luckily the stainless lid held the flames at bay. My prime rib didnt make it. Grease from the prime rib was all dripping to the slightly larger end, and dripping off... dripping onto burner, burner gets hot enough with lil grease flame... and boom, all the grease from that thing lit... then the fat cap on the prime rib lit too based on how it looked. Temps above flash point and greasy items (sausage, chicken fat, Prime rib, etc ) can spell trouble. That was at 350 in my case, but the exposed flame/infrared plate was enough to get it goin.

HoDeDo hit the nail on the head...

You took a rib roast that had been cooking to a IT of 118F and then introduced it to 500F degree heat after you let it rest... although this may have happened even without the rest. The sudden temp rise in the meat is gonna push all those juices out quickly during the sear and all those juices are full of fat. Fat has a flashpoint and it sounds like you found it.

A rib roast contains an abundant amount of fat. At 118F internal temp that fat is starting to render. You created a bomb when you left it unattended in 500F degree heat after the rest. All that fat and juices make their way to the surface when it starts to cool.

On a piece of meat like that a reverse sear or even sear requires your constant attention. You need to open the lid and flip every few minutes until you get the color you desire. 5 minutes total probably would have been sufficient and carried you to 135F IT depending on what it was before you put it back on.

I always cook my prime rib in a roasting pan,problem solved.

OK first off the probable cause is an unseated grease pan... the second one is as has been said 15 minutes a side at 500 would have nuked a otherwise well cooked roast.

Great comments and thanks all!!!

Grease pan was seated and I verified it when I checked grill and cleaned this weekend. 2nd point was that directions called for 15-20 minute total sear which I was going to do 7.5 minutes each side for 15 total.

I did make a major mistake and left the grill for a bit and I am hoping my experience can benefit others which is why I am posting in the 1st place. I like the reference to a "bomb" as that will stay in my mind in the high temp cookings with fatty meat. I still like the thought process on cooking with a reverse sear and may do it again with some modifications

Looked grill over thoroughly as I cleaned this weekend. Does not appear to be any damage and only thing I noticed was blank greasepan was warped a bit. Tried to bend back, but it is resisting this. It is warped on the outlet grease end where there is only a straight edge and not a bent lip. Some dark staining in the top back of grill that is not coming off with BarKeepers...