Charcoal grilling on a wood deck is something that we have been doing for decades without any concern whatsoever. But, we should be concerned for a number of reasons. Your charcoal grill is full of lit charcoal and your wood deck is, well, made of wood! So, there is every reason to be vigilant about charcoal grilling on a flammable surface.

So, what can be done to ensure that a fire doesn’t start as a result of your charcoal grilling? Let’s look at some suggestions.

1. Be Extremely Aware of your Lit Chimney Starter

If you have been charcoal grilling for a while, you must have made an investment in a charcoal chimney starter. Gone are the days of using smelly, highly flammable, lighter fluid to light up your charcoal. I happen to use a Weber Rapidfire Chimney Starter. In fact, I own a couple of them. When the chimney starter is lit you must ensure it is seated properly within your charcoal grill.

In fact, I typically remove my top grate and ensure the chimney starter is on the bottom grate. When the chimney starter is lit and the flames are shooting out the top, this is the time you should be very vigilant when it comes to fire safety.

2. Invest in a Quality Charcoal Grill Mat

With the popularity of not only charcoal grills but also propane grills as well as smokers, an investment in a quality charcoal grill mat is a must! In fact, since I have a longer barbeque smoker in comparison to a smaller charcoal grill, I actually purchased 2 grill mats and place them side by side when I am using my smoker. You can see them below under my smoker.

I typically use only one of them when I am just using one of my Weber grills, either the 18″ or the 22″. A charcoal grill mat will give you a sense of calm when it comes to grilling or smoking.

3. Close the Vents when your are Done Grilling

With my Weber charcoal grills, there are vents on top and vents on the bottom, underneath the bottom grate. In order to ensure safety after I am done grilling I shut down both the top and the bottom vents. It not only ends up being safer but it also allows me to save charcoal. I always grill with used charcoal briquettes to save money.

Out of all of the suggestions above the most important is to use the charcoal grill mat. For short money, it will be quite a load off of your mind when it comes to fire safety.

If you need to learn how to replace a Weber One Touch Cleaning System on your own Weber kettle grill, this article and included YouTube video below will show you how.

I love my Weber Grills but I must confess that I have neglected one of them for a while now. You see, the One Touch cleaning system within my 18″ Weber Kettle Grill seized up on me about 2 years ago and I haven’t used it since.

I think I know how it happened.

I failed to use a drip pan religiously and, over time, the marinade or mop sauce that I had been using on my grilled meats just hardened up at the bottom of my kettle grill. This ended up seizing up the blades that are used to clean out the grill after each use.

So, my 18″ Weber Grill has been sitting in the corner of my deck (even though it’s covered) for about 2 years and I really haven’t used it.

I could’ve used it but I always shut the vents on the bottom and top of my Weber grill after each use and the blades on the bottom were frozen shut so the vents were fully exposed.

I shut all of the vents after each use to prevent any glowing ashes from leaving the grill potentially causing a fire on my deck. Another reason I shut the vents is so that I can relight used charcoal for my next cook. I do use a grill mat but if a big wind happened to blow it could potentially blow glowing ashes onto my wooden deck since I couldn’t close the vents.

Steps on How to Replace the Weber One Touch Cleaning System

1. Purchase the Weber One Touch Cleaning System Replacement Parts for your model of Weber Grill.
2. If your existing Weber One Touch Cleaning System is frozen utilize a cutting tool like an angle grinder to remove nut.
3. Unbox the Weber One Touch Cleaning System and place the parts on a workbench or table.
4. Assemble the blades properly based on their number on each blade.
5. Place the blades in the Weber Kettle Grill covering up the holes with the blades.
6. Flip your Weber Kettle Grill over holding the blades in place.
7. Insert the metal rod into the side that is notched until it clicks into place.
8. Assembly is complete! Test to ensure it works properly.

The steps are fairly straightforward. I had the issue that I couldn’t remove the nut which kept the system together so I had to utilize a cutting tool like an angle grinder to remove it. The new replacement system did not have a nut so obviously there was a change in the design since I bought my Weber One Touch Silver Kettle Grill.

Video on How to Replace the Weber One Touch Cleaning Kit

The youTube ideo below will give you detailed steps in replacing the Weber One Touch Cleaning System on my 18″ Weber Kettle Grill.

Here are some images of the box with the new parts and the contents.

Weber One Touch Parts Box and Contents

Summary of How to Replace the Weber One Touch Cleaning System

If you tend to be a conservative guy or girl, you don’t tend to go out and buy a new item if the old one isn’t working properly. When my Weber One Touch Kettle Grill cleaning system seized up on me I just switched over to my Weber 22 Inch Kettle Grill. I finally broke down and bought the replacement parts and successfully replace the cleaning system. It felt great to finally get my kettle grill working properly.

If you have a similar issue, I hope this article helps you to properly install your new cleaning system for your Weber kettle grill. If you have any questions at all please leave them in the comments or shoot me an email at bob@lifewithgrilling.com!

I do my best to try to include as many grilling tips as possible on this website. I recently received a question from a reader who asked:

When is the Best Time to Clean a Grill Grate?

Well, I think there is a simple answer to this question but maybe it isn’t as obvious as you might think it is. My answer is when it is hot!

So why is that the best time to clean a grill grate? To me, it’s an obvious answer. This is the time when the drippings from your cook have not congealed and hardened onto the grill grate.

If you wait until the grill grate has cooled down than I can guarantee that it will be a lot more difficult to clean off that grate. A few years ago I put into practice that right after I took the meat or fish, or whatever I was grilling, off of the grill I start cleaning the grates right at that time before I shut it down.

This practive has worked really well for me over the years and I will continue to do so in the upcoming years. I put together a quick youTube video that shows how easy it is to clean a grill when it is hot.

Believe me, over the years before I put this practice into action, it would take me a long time to get my grill grate clean. Another drawback is that I had to do it right before I was going to start my next cook.

Wouldn’t it make sense to take care of the problem of cleaning your grill grate right at the end of your previous cook? It takes about a minute and you will certainly be glad that you did it! If you’d like to read a little more about my Weber Gourmet Sear Grate you can read this article.

(Update: The Thermapen MK4 is currently not available on Amazon. If you follow the links in this article it will bring you to a comparable instant read thermometer from Lavatools. You can go directly to the ThermoWorks site for the instant read thermometer in this article).

The world of digital thermometers is vast and the options are endless. I decided to review a known commodity that was rated #1 thermometer by America’s Test Kitchen. It’s called the Thermapen Mk4 Instant Read Thermometer.

In the world of grilling and smoking, temperatures are extremely important not only when it comes to cooking the food properly but also for the health of the person consuming that food. Instant read digital thermometers can make the difference between a successful meal and an unsuccessful one.

The instant read feature and the accuracy feature are two of the most important aspects of any digital thermometer. Two more features which are found in the Thermapen Mk4 Instant Read Thermometer are the intelligent backlight and the readout adjusting for the orientation of the thermometer. These 2 features are not found in all digital instant read thermometers.

In the video below I am smoking 2 pork butts (pork shoulders) and the ideal temperature range that you want to achieve is in the range of 190◦ F – 205◦ F. It is also important to understand that when you are done the cooking process the temperatures will probably rise a few more degrees so you should figure that into the cook.

Hopefully everything that you need to know is included in the video below.

If you have any questions that are not answered about the Thermapen Instant Read Thermometer in the video above please ask them in the comments below or contact me via my Contact Me page.

Here are a few more instant read thermometers that are highly rated and may be a bit more economical than the Thermapen Mk4 Instant Read Thermometer.

Other Instant Read Digital Thermometers

If you love charcoal grilling, as I do, you already own a chimney starter of some type. I have a Weber Rapidfire Chimney Starter and I use it every time I grill.

I tend to scope out as many different charcoal grilling accessories that I can find and one that I had never tried before were Weber Lighter Cubes. (Check out my youTube review below!)

I found the lighter cubes easy to use and they lit incredibly quickly as you will see in the video. The length of time it took for the flames to inch up to the top of my Weber Rapidfire Chimney Starter was very comparable to when I use crumpled-up newspaper.

I do show in the video that after about 10 minutes the lighter cubes were all burned out but they stayed lit long enough to light the charcoal on the bottom. That led to the flames inching up the chimney starter and eventually out the top after about 20 minutes.

Well, in the following video I test them out before I cooked up some chicken thighs on my Weber 22″ Kettle Grill. After you open the box, it reveals a foil-covered lighter cube tray which resembles an ice cube tray. In fact, the actual lighter cubes resemble ice cubes as well!

Here are some images of the Weber Lighter Cubes in action

(Click on any image for a larger view)

I would say that the Weber Lighter Cubes come as advertised. They work as well as crumpled up newspaper and I’m also going to use them in my outside fireplace as newspaper will burn out too quickly to light kindling.

I think if you don’t have a good source of newspaper in your house or are taking your Weber grill on vacation, a small investment in these lighter cubes is certainly worthwhile.

(Update as of 01/21/2023 – The original Lennov Jet Torch that was reviewed is no longer available. The butane torch by inZaynity above is a comparable torch with good reviews. Any links in this article originally pointing to the Lennov Jet Torch will now point to the inZaynity Butane Torch.

I think I have finally found the best jet torch butane gas lighter! As an avid grilling and smoking (as in meats) enthusiast, lighting a chimney starter is an important and vital aspect of my hobby. I purchased a Zippo Lighter that I wrote about in this article, but after about six months the burner stopped working and it wouldn’t light.

I’ve used it now to light my chimney starters, inside fireplace, and outside fireplace on a regular basis and it has been working perfectly for 9 months. What I love about it is that it is refillable and I’ve only had to fill it a handful of times. The Zippo Lighter that I previously used had to be filled regularly and eventually it died.

The Best Jet Torch Butane Gas Lighter features

• Package Dimensions – 6.46 x 5.71 x 2.09 inches
• Shipping Weight – 11 ounces
• Color – Black
• Awesome for lighting charcoal chimney starter in windy conditions
• Can be used as a culinary torch
• Adjusts from short flame to a longer flame
• Lock flame adjustment if need to use torch continuously

I’ve had a number of questions from readers on how to cook a whole fish fillet on a Weber grill. Maybe it’s because people are always looking for healthier ways to eat and fish certainly fits that bill. I can certainly tell you one thing – a Weber grill is awesome for grilling a whole fish fillet.

Typically when it comes to using my Weber 22” Kettle Grill, I grill every type of meat imaginable from rib-eye steaks to pork chops to whole chickens. But if you are looking for a healthy alternative to meat, there is nothing like grilling a fish fillet.

This article and video below is all about using my Weber 22” Kettle Grill to grill a Steelhead Trout filet. It’s essentially half of the fish without the bones and the head with a flesh side and a skin side. You can find whole fish fillets in any good fish market or supermarket that carries fish.

Here is the youTube video of me grilling a whole fish fillet on my 22” Weber Kettle Grill.

We usually start out with marinating the fish in a plastic bag filled with a balsamic vinaigrette but you can marinate it in anything that you like. Or, if you’d prefer just the fish by itself that is always an option. But I would certainly recommend some type of marinade to add an extra layer of flavor and moisture to the fish.

Images of how to grill a whole fish fillet

We usually let it sit in the plastic bag for at least 3-4 hours in the balsamic vinaigrette marinade so by the time you get to actually placing it on the grill, the marinade has had a chance to permeate the fish.

As you will see in the video above, I also add some wet wood chips which was a combination of 3 types of wood – apple, hickory, and oak (Kinsgford brand). You obviously can grill the fillet without the wood chips but the addition of the smoke aroma and flavor is so powerful especially with this type of fish fillet.

How to Grill a Whole Fish Fillet on a Weber Grill

• Step 1 – Place the fillet in a plastic bag with your marinade of choice for at least 3-4 hours before grilling.
• Step 2 – Soak wood chips of your choice for at least 3-4 hours as well, preferably more.
• Step 3 – Light your chimney starter and pour the charcoal after the flames start flowing out the top of the unit.
• Step 4 – After pouring the charcoal, place your grill grate (preferably Weber’s hinged grate) into the grill.
• Step 5 – Cover the grill and let the grill heat up for 10-15 minutes with dampers open (top and bottom). You want to get the grill good and hot!
• Step 6 – After 10-15 minutes, add your wet wood chips onto the charcoal and cover for a minute or two with dampers open.
• Step 7 – Uncover and place the fillet onto the grill grate with a set on barbecue tongs FLESH SIDE DOWN first!
• Step 8 – Cover the grill and let it cook for about 5-8 minutes flesh side down to acquire a nice sear on the fillet.
• Step 9 – After 5-8 minutes, uncover the grill and flip the fillet onto the skin side using a Best of Barbecue Fish Spatula or two spatulas.
• Step 10 – Cover for a few more minutes and then uncover to check for doneness. You could cut a piece of the fish and check the internal flesh. You don’t want to overcook a fillet as it will dry out quickly!
• Final Step – Remove the fish fillet from the grill with a Fish Spatula or two spatulas and serve!

It’s important to remember that grilling anything, especially fish, requires some practice as to when it is completely done. Obviously the size of the fillet and the temperature of the grill are the biggest factors as to the length of cook time.

Fish can be grilled to be a bit rare as it will continue to cook when it is taken off of the grill (as meats do). Another reason for marinating is to help with keeping the fish moist throughout the cooking process as well as to add that extra level of flavor. Also, remember if you shut the vents of your grill right after you take the fillet off, you’ll have used charcoal for your next cook.

Believe me, there is nothing more tasty than a fish fillet grilled the right way with the right amount of smoke flavor. It’s actually difficult to describe but once you taste it you will certainly be able to relate. I hope this article teaches you how to grill a whole fish fillet on a Weber Grill!

If you have any questions or comments please leave them below in the comments or you can contact me directly via my Contact Me page.

I’ve received a lot of questions on this website about the need of a Sauce Mop and Bucket when it comes to barbecue and my answer is always the same.

You don’t really need one because you could use other tools to baste your barbecued meats, fish, or vegetables but it certainly can’t hurt to have a specialized Mop and Bucket in your grilling arsenal.

I love my grilling and smoking accessories and I’m all for DIY options but in this case I love this specialized Sauce Mop and Bucket because I always feel like a true grill master when I use it. It’s just a smaller version of some of the larger mops and buckets I’ve seen used for whole pigs and other meats in BBQ restaurants.

It’s not like I just bought this Sauce Mop and Bucket recently. I’ve had it and used it regularly for a number of years and it just does the job perfectly for me every time. I typically use it for my BBQ chicken (as you’ll see in the youTube video below) but you can use it for any number of meats for grilling or smoking.

Check out my youTube video review of me using my Best of Barbecue Sauce Mop and Bucket on my BBQ chicken!

Features of the Best of Barbecue Mop and Bucket

• Dimension: Mop 18.5 x 1.38 x 1.38 in. Bucket 6.54 x 6.54 x 5.43
• Item Weight – 14.7 ounces
• Mop Handle Color – Black
• Material – Wood
• All Cotton Head detaches for easy cleaning
• Cotton mop ideal for applying basting mixtures or barbecue sauces
• Loop for hanging the 40-ounce metal Bucket with plastic liner

If you want to add a really cool grilling accessory to your arsenal this Best of Barbecue Mop and Bucket will certainly fit the bill. I love mine and I know that you will love yours. If you have any questions please leave them in the comments below or use my Contact Me page.