Flare-up

A flare-up is a sudden burst of flame that shoots up from a grill's heat source, most often triggered by fat or marinade dripping down onto hot coals, lava rocks, or a gas burner's flame. The dripping grease ignites almost instantly, and for a few seconds the fire burns far hotter and higher than the rest of the cooking surface, which can scorch or blacken whatever food happens to be sitting directly above it.

Fattier foods like sausages, marbled steaks, and chicken with the skin on cause flare-ups far more often than lean cuts, simply because they render more fat during cooking. A grill with a lot of built-up grease in the drip tray or on the burners is also far more prone to sudden flare-ups than a clean one, since old grease ignites just as readily as fresh drippings.

The safest response is usually to move food to an indirect or cooler zone rather than spraying water on flaming grease, which can send burning fat splattering upward. Trimming excess fat before cooking, keeping the grill and drip tray clean, and always having a two-zone fire set up as an escape route are the main ways to keep flare-ups from ruining a cook or becoming a safety hazard.