The Explosive Mistake To Avoid When Firing Up Your Grill

Whether you only fire up your grill to give your paella a flavor boost or use it year-round as an essential cooking device, safety should always be your primary concern. Preventing burns and ensuring proper ventilation in an outdoor area are key considerations. Then there's the matter of keeping the grill clean for better food quality and to avoid fires. Plus, you'll want to minimize the risk of burns by using hot pads and keeping children and pets away from the grilling area. When it comes to actually cooking food, there are also concerns about bringing meat up to a safe cooking temperature to avoid food-borne illnesses.

Mastering a grill is a process of trial and error, and while there are many minor mistakes you can make, one error you definitely want to avoid is lighting the grill with the lid closed. Failing to light the grill with the lid open can have catastrophically explosive results, making it a crucial step in safe grilling practices.

Every grill comes with a bit of risk, in the same way a stove or oven has the potential to burn you or start a fire. Charcoal and electric grills can both produce drips that ignite, and they both get hot enough to burn with the slightest touch. Gas or propane grills add an additional concern with the fact they can blow up if the gas is trapped inside the unit. Therefore, when lighting a gas grill, always leave the lid open so the gasses can easily escape.

With the lid open, you can hear the gas enter the grill once you turn on the burner knobs. While a gas stream is vital in order for the ignition switch to create a flame, you don't need a grill full of gas, so leave that lid up. Another reason to flip the lid is so you can see what's going on inside the grill. Once ignition takes place, you'll turn the knob from "ignite" to your desired heat setting. In order to do that, you need to be sure the gas grill is lit and stays lit as you turn the primary and other burners on.

Although it's crucial you ignite the grill with an open lid, you'll want to close it as soon as you're sure the grill is lit. Keeping the lid open will release all of the heat, making it difficult to get the grill to preheat, and wasting a lot of propane along the way. Instead, close your lid and allow your grill to fully preheat before adding any foods.

Once your gas grill is up to temperature, decide whether you'll be cooking with the lid open or closed. Most grilling on a gas grill takes place with the lid down. This is always the case with baked goods such as pies or brownies and when slow-cooking thick meats like brisket. That's because a closed lid creates a convection oven of sorts — cooking your foods in the middle and on top instead of merely searing them with the flames. Conversely, many cooks prefer to leave the lid open when the goal is to sear food, such as when making steaks or grilling tuna. While open or closed is up for some debate during the cooking process, it's never a debate when lighting the grill. Open it up and avoid an explosive mistake.