Josh I wish I read this before last weekend. My family and I were graciously hosted at a beautiful beachfront house on Long Beach Island, New Jersey.
We offered to prepare dinner one night as a thank you. I was making roasted zucchini, delicious roasted potatoes (recipe from The Food Lab), and grilled salmon.
I decided to spring for the fattier and more expensive King Salmon-- four pounds of it, enough for the 10 adults. While I was just finishing the potatoes, I oiled the grill grate so the fish wouldn’t stick, tossed the filets in olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper, and placed the 10 5-6oz filets skin side down on the grill. I set the heat to medium after preheating on high.
I set a 5 minute timer and walked back into the kitchen. Three minutes later, someone yelled “Fire!” And I ran out to the deck faced with an inferno, billowing black smoke. I killed the heat, shut off the propane tank and closed the lid, thinking I’d just have to wait for the fire to die out. After 2-3 minutes with the inferno raging on the grill, someone finally brought out a fire extinguisher which I used to put the fire out and ruin $120 worth of food in an instant.
Never again.