Hot take: Should you stay calm or panic when a grease fire hits your smoker? Here's what happened at my cookout last Saturday

I was at my buddy Tony's place in Austin for a big backyard BBQ thing. We had a brisket going on his offset smoker for like 8 hours, and then out of nowhere the firebox door opened a crack and flames shot up like 3 feet. Grease caught from the drippings. I grabbed the baking soda while Tony started yelling to spray it with water. I told him no way, water makes grease fires explode. But he was dead set on using a hose. I dumped the baking soda on it and it died quick, but Tony's still saying I ruined the bark by smothering it. We had to toss the brisket anyway cause it tasted like ash. So my question is: when you hit a grease flare up, do you smother it fast and risk the meat, or spray it and hope for the best? Has anyone else dealt with this? What's the real move?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_wesley10d agoMost Upvoted

Whoa, man, sorry about your brisket! That really stinks. In my experience, Tony was dead wrong about the water. I've had a few flare ups on my little bullet smoker and I've always just closed the vents and let it choke itself out. The baking soda move is smart, but I've heard it can leave a weird taste if you use too much. Your mileage may vary, but I'd rather eat a brisket that's a little ashy than one that's been blasted by the fire department. At least you both walked away with your eyebrows still on, that's a win in my book.

taragrant10d ago

Vents only work if you catch it early enough. A grease fire inside a smoker that's already raging isn't going to choke on a little lack of oxygen. You've got a sealed metal box practically acting like a forge at that point. Closing the vents on my old OK Joe just made the fire madder and pushed the dirty smoke right through the meat. Give me the fire extinguisher and a properly ruined brisket over a melted thermometer and a warped firebox any day.