How To Extinguish Charcoal Grill (Easy and Simple Way with Video)

Are you worried about how to extinguish the charcoal grill? By reading this article, you can remove your worries and get a step-by-step process. If you face any problems putting out your grill, you can stick to this article. I can ensure you will learn it and can perform without any hassle.

How To Extinguish Charcoal Grill – Easy Steps To Follow

Now, we’re in the main part of this process. So, Let’s know some of the equipment you need to put out your charcoal grill. 

The Things You Will Need:

• Long grill tongs, 
• Aluminum foil, 
• Ash removal bucket, 
• A small bucket full of water, and 
• Heat-resistance barbecue hand gloves. 

To extinguish a charcoal grill – 

• Look at the top and the bottom of the grill cooking chamber.
• There you have found two vents.
• Now, close the vents of the grill to make oxygen interruption, 
• Then, Wait a few minutes. 
• You’ll see the charcoal grill is fully extinguished. 

Topcellent Tip: The bigger your grill, the more time it takes to put out.

Now it’s time to follow these steps-

• Remove Charcoal Ash

When the grill becomes fully cool, remove the ash and briquettes. With a scoop, take the burning ash from the grill and keep it in the ash removal bucket. 

Do it carefully so that you can avoid ash speediness in the air. Now, take your grill tongs in your hand, pick all the charcoal and keep them in the aluminum foil.

While removing the charcoal, you must be super careful; otherwise, you may burn. Still, 48 hours have passed, but the charcoal could be too hot to burn yourself. 

Note: If you notice the charcoal is still hot, carefully handle your tongs to pick them up individually. After that, keep them in a bucket of water to fully extinguish.

If you have some half-burn charcoal, keep them separately in another foil to reuse them. 

• Disposing Aluminum Foil

When you have completed the second step by keeping the charcoal in the aluminum foil, it’s time to warp up the foil like a packet. 

Then throw the packet into the dustbin. If your charcoal is hot enough, please avoid any plastic dustbin because it has a chance to catch fire.

• Wash The Grill

It’s almost done to put out the charcoal grill. After putting out the grill, wash it with warm water and a mild dishwasher. 

Then make it dry to keep it free from rust. Because if you keep it clean, it ensures you provide healthy and tasty foods. And healthy food is essential to give you a long life. 

When you are finished cleaning and making it dry, cover your favorite grill with a grill cover. The grill cover protects your grill from air dust and any other climate moisture. Now it is ready for your future use.

Any Faster Way to Put Out The Grill

When you want to save your grill and want to use it for a long time to satisfy your grilling enthusiasm, then there is no faster way to cool down your grill. 

You may think pouring water can be a quicker way to extinguish it. In the meantime, by reading my article, you know the danger of using water to extinguish the grill.

Of course, it’s very boring to wait a long 48 hours to cool down the grill totally. Though it’s a lengthy process, it’s both the safest and fastest way. By adopting this method, you can secure your grill from early damage.

What Should You Do In An Emergency

In a simple sense, any kind of cooking means handling fire or electric heat. So you must be aware of it while dealing with fire and heat.

But sometimes, by lacking enough awareness, there will arise an emergency. It can happen while grilling with charcoal. So you must know what to do if you face any emergency situation. 

How can an emergency arise? If the food grease drips down to the grease’s bucket, it can catch fire to the grill because the grease works like oil to increase the fire flame. If you use too much charcoal in the grill, it increases the flames and can catch fire.

If you cook too many fatty meats, the meat fats can stick to the grill’s rack and come to touch the hot charcoal and make a fire.

If the fire catches, what to do? First, don’t panic because it is a thumb rule; in the time of danger. You have to keep your brain cool to think logically, not emotionally. Try to cover your grill with a big and thick cloth. It helps to control the fire.

If you have some sand beside the cooking space, take some sand and throw it onto the grill. Sand helps to put out the fire.

Don’t throw water into the grill because it helps to spread the grease, and it spreads the fire. 

I think nobody wants to experience this kind of situation. To avoid it, you should be aware of using the grill from first to last. And wear heat-resistant hand gloves, and use the grill in a vast space. 

How Can You Save Unused Charcoal

What to do with your charcoal after grilling? I have mentioned before if you want to use half-burn or unused charcoal, you have to keep them separately in aluminum foil. 

Saving half burn or unused charcoal means saving your penny. And who doesn’t want to save a penny? I think you want to save your money. Here are some instructions to save it properly for the next use.

• Before putting out the grill, make ready a full bucket of cold water. (You must use a charcoal basket to keep hot charcoal there. So don’t use a plastic bucket)
• Wear your heat-resistant hand gloves and take your tongs in your hand.
• With the help of the tongs, take all the unused charcoal one by one.
• Sink the hot charcoal in the bucket to be cool. It can take 45-60 seconds to be as cold as to hold with a finger.
• Now remove the charcoal from the bucket and let it dry in the sun or air.
• When the charcoal will be dry, store them in a separate container. While storing it, close the box tightly so that the air can’t pass into the container.

Last but definitely not least, use this unused charcoal for your very fast grilling. And to get the maximum result, mix up some new charcoal with them. 

But, this process doesn’t work if you use cheap and ordinary briquettes because the cheap briquettes lose their workout after getting a bath.

As the charcoal doesn’t cost you too much, I recommend using the best charcoal for your grill; otherwise, the effort you will give goes in vain.

Can You Pour Water On A Charcoal Grill

You can’t pour water into the grill to put it out. If you pour water into your grill, then the ash will wet and turn into mud. This is not a good thing, even if it makes the grill too messy and increases your workload to clean. 

When you pour water into your grill to extinguish the grill, it damages your grill’s health. Because the cooking grates, grills, and chamber can’t take this quick temperature change. 

As a result, the rapid temperature change can damage your grill’s thermal shock, grates, grills, or chamber. 

Even the charcoal grill has a porcelain coating inside the grill to make it rust-proof. This coating will lose its effectiveness because of the temperature change. So it may crack if you pour water as a technique of putting out your charcoal grill. 

What is the procedure for turning off the charcoal grill?

At the bottom of the grill, you notice a vent. Just close the vent and close the lid. These things interrupt the oxygen allowance to the briquettes. 

So it helps the grill to put out. If you have a little charcoal to the grill, it takes less time, but it takes comparatively more time to extinguish if you have a massive amount.

Is it ok to let the remaining charcoal burn out?

Actually, it depends on your preference. If you like to reuse the partially burning charcoal, you have to remove them from the grill after cooking. But if you don’t like it, you should only cut off the oxygen supply to extinguish the grill. Then wait 48 hours to cool it. 

Has the charcoal gas any toxic elements?

Any gas has some toxic elements in common sense, and charcoal gas is not different from all. It produces carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide while burning. 

So you shouldn’t use this ash in your garden as a fertilizer to grow your favorite tree. Rather you should throw them into your residual dustbin. 

What are the reasons for my charcoal burning so fast?

The fire needs oxygen to flame. If you set the grill in an open space like your backyard or lawn, there is quick and good airflow. 

Then the charcoal on your grill will burn so quickly because of the pressure of the wind. Even a middle flow of wind can cause the charcoal’s fast burning because it adds additional oxygen to the fire flame.

How long does a charcoal grill remain hot?

The time depends on the constant temperature. If you maintain a medium temperature, then you can burn the charcoal for around one hour. But it is not for any charcoal.

Because there are many charcoal brands on the market, and every brand has its own features. So it may vary from brand to brand. 

So it will be a great decision for you to select the best option for you among the different brands. After finding the right charcoal, you should stick with it to get even cooked excellent grilled food.

Final Verdict

How much expertise you should use your charcoal grill must show that much expertise in putting it out. Otherwise, it may destroy your grill and mitigate your grilling enthusiasm. 

So every charcoal grill user must know how to extinguish a charcoal grill. Now I can expect that you know everything in detail after reading this informative article and feel confident to use and put it out properly. 

At first glance, it seems to extinguish the grill takes too much time, but every good thing takes some time to do it correctly.