Cooking food with a charcoal grill offers you a mouthwatering and adventurous journey, however can be really exhausting to clean thoroughly. As these devices do not come with simple on/ off or self-cleaning buttons, many users find it time-consuming and exhausting. Apart from this, it is highly significant to put out your charcoal grill as leaving it undone can provide you a great risk of accidents for property and lives around you.

Hence, it is of paramount importance to maintain and manage your charcoal grill thoroughly and effectively. So, this article offers you an insight into how to put out a charcoal grill based on the convenience, safety, and effectiveness of the process. Don’t Forget To Check Best Flat Top Grills.
How to Put Out a Charcoal Grill Step-by-Step Guide
Shut Down the Grill
Now, starting with the process, it is important to shut the grill to proceed. The question is how to put out the BBQ fire? For this purpose, you can use heat-resistant oven gloves, yet make sure they are strong enough to protect you from high temperatures. While you are doing this step, make sure your surroundings are safe as any mistake can have serious repercussions. Once you are done gathering the equipment, slowly and carefully close the lid and remove the rack from your grill. In the case of a grill with gas vents, first, make sure it is off and is not able to provide oxygen to the airflow as it has a high risk of initiating a fire. After this, we recommend you to leave the racks as it is for at least 48 hours as coals generally take a long time to cool down and it is ideal to wait instead of jumping in the dangerous process.
[ads]Remove the Coal and Fire
Now, you are sure that the coals have been cooled down, you will have to proceed further and remove the ashes. Here, the first thing many users ask about is how to put out the charcoal grill fire, a simple answer is to remove the briquettes. For this purpose, you can either use a metal bucket or a can and wrap these coals in aluminum foil before disposing of them. Now, once you are done, proceed further and place this foil in the metal trash can, be careful not to use any plastic equipment as it has a high risk of burning and can easily start a fire.
At the same time, you can use extended tongs to remove the briquettes instead of waiting for a long time for them to cool down. Another safety tip that can help you is to never use the same container for ashes and briquettes. This is because having them both in the same container can burn the ashes and create flare-ups. Finally, you can remove each and dip it into the water container carefully to ideally dispose of your ashes and briquettes.
Do Not Use the Water
While cleaning your charcoal grill, it is of paramount importance to not use water to cool the ashes or coal down as it can increase the airflow and can flare up the fire easily. It is also not ideal to add water to your grill while it is showing some element of heat or increased temperature. Additionally, it is highly problematic to add water because it can disperse ashes that can cause serious burns and injuries. Hence it is recommended to always at least wait for 48 hours to ensure your grill is cooled down to proceed further.
Now, Clean the Grill
Once you are done with the above-mentioned step, you can use a metallic tong, spatula, or towel to wipe away any ashes that are left on your grill. By doing so, you are eliminating any minimal chances of causing an accident. After this, proceed with a thorough cleaning up, yet make sure your ashes are not entering the vents as it can cause damage to your grill and its functioning. For cleaning purposes, you can use any quality cleaner with convenient applications. However, for the grates specifically, we recommend you scrub it with a plastic scrubbing glove or a brush that has the ability to provide you a neat and clean surface as an outcome.
Reuse the Coal
Now, once you’re done with a thorough cleanup, you are ready to continue to attach the grill together. Many people here question how to put the charcoal out for reuse? The answer is simple, while you are disposing of the coal and anything you used for fire, you can always spot the pieces that are in a quality position and can be used for the next round. Hence, the same is the case with any briquettes, so you can ideally put the coal back in the bottom of your grill to use for the next time.
Here is another thing you can do to ensure the containment of reusable coal is a convenient and easy process. For this, you have to prepare a large container full of water. Now, you can drop each piece of your charcoal to submerge any excess that is left with it. Hence after extinguishing each piece one by one, you can allow it to let there for at least thirty seconds to one minute. After removing it from the water, let it sit there to dry and so, you can reuse all your leftover charcoal ideally for the next round.
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Many users find the process of cleaning the grill an exhausting and time-consuming one, however, there is not really a way to make the process even faster. This is because of safety reasons, as it is not at all a wise choice to use water to eliminate heat or flares from heating charcoal. Hence, it is highly significant to cool your grill down while you are invested in a thorough cleaning process for at least 48 hours to ensure a safe and quality process. Also, it is highly risky to change the temperature of your grill suddenly as it can lead to serious accidents and firing that is not something you would want. Hence, it is safe, secure, and one of the best methods to put out a charcoal grill.
How to Put Out a Charcoal Grill without a Lid?
Here comes another important technique for cleaning the charcoal grill. So, if your grill doesn’t come with a lid, it is highly significant to maintain safety and perform each step carefully. Here are some suggestions you can look into while cleaning a charcoal grill that doesn’t have a lid:
- Similar to the general process, first you have to use heat-resistant heat gloves to pull out the racks. Make sure the mittens can save you from the high temperature of the racks. Finally, remove it from the grill and place it on one side.
- Now, as you do not have a lid to proceed further, there is no possible solution to stop the addition of oxygen to the airflow. It implies that your grill will remain burning hot during the whole process. Hence, it is important to sprinkle just a little water to keep it cool. However, make sure you are not suddenly changing the temperature of your grill as it can lead to thermal shocks and any emergency situation.
- After this, use a pair of long tongs to remove any charcoal from the bottom of the grill and proceed further with the same process mentioned above.
Although it is possible to get a grill that doesn’t come with a lid, we recommend you never to use such equipment as it includes a great threat of accident, fire injuries, and emergency situations. As with these devices, you can never stop the oxygen from getting into the hot charcoal that can increase the temperature and can cause flare-ups. Also, as you are using metal tongs for picking the extremely hot charcoal pieces, it is likely that you can drop one or two pieces that can set your backyard on fire without any warning.
Why Do You Extinguish Your Charcoal Grill?
After having delicious and mouthwatering grilled food with your charcoal grill, it is important to remove the hot pieces of charcoal that provide a great danger of causing an accident. If you have charcoal grills in the past, you must know the threats it comes with if not cleaned properly. It doesn’t only offer an accidental risk but is dangerous to be left alone in the presence of pets, children, and even your backyard. Talking from an environmental perspective, it can also release carbon emissions that are highly dangerous for your planet needless to say and can cause serious implications for your surroundings. Therefore, it is of extreme importance that you put out your charcoal grill after enjoying a thorough meal as it can save you from a lot of risks.
[ads]FAQs
What to do with charcoal after grilling?
Once you are done grilling and want to clean out the charcoal grill, it is important to safely and carefully remove the extremely hot coal. For this purpose, first, you will have to wait for the coal to cool down for at least 48 hours after which you can wrap aluminum foil around it. Now, take a water container and dip it into the water each piece separately. After cooling them down and thoroughly cleaning the grill, you can reuse the leftover pieces with absolute ease for the next round.
How long does charcoal stay hot?
Most commonly, it is expected that after you have extinguished the charcoal grill and have safely removed the briquette and coal, it will stay hot for at least 48 hours. However, many users pour water to cool the charcoal down which is not at all a wise and safe option you would want to go. This is because it comes with a great risk of accidents and thermal shocks that can be a threat to your property or lives around you. So, wait for some time and let it cool down on its own.
How to use charcoal briquette?
To have your briquette work effectively for grilling, it is important to have a certain arrangement that can help you with it. Hence, first of all, form the semicircle of the briquette along the inner wall of the grill to get direct heat and effective temperature. Now, form another C-shape semi-circle within this arrangement. Approximately, it would take at least one pound of the total product. In the end, you can also add some pieces of Applewood to enhance the flavor of your meat. Or otherwise, you can also use preferred herbs while using briquettes and Also Check how to clean a Flat Top Grill.
Final Thoughts
Finally, this is one of the best and safest ways to put out your charcoal grill as it is highly important to manage your grill to save your property, lives, and the planet from potential threats. Although these devices can be messy and exhausting to clean, a quality process can help you in keeping them safe and sound for a longer period of time. Yet, it is equally important to have a secure and safe process to do so as a slight mistake can lead you to confront a serious situation.
Finally, enjoy the delicious and mouthwatering food with these charcoal grills and prevent the risk of any danger that it can pose if left undone.