Summer BBQ Rookie Mistakes To Avoid

Keeping it delicious and keeping it safe

By RYAN POLLYEA

Updated 11:56 AM CST, Fri, Jul 3, 2009

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It's time for some summer grilling in Chicago, just make sure you do it the right way.

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Here’s a few easy rookie mistakes to avoid to keep your summer barbeque party a smooth one:

OPEN CONTAINER POLICY: If you have an apartment in the city, expanding the party to include an outdoor flip cup table might get a little complicated, especially when trying to avoid citations for open liquor containers. According to the Chicago Police, the key here is staying out of areas designated "public way" spaces like the street, and sidewalks. Letting the party spill out into your front yard, as long as it doesn't cross the sidewalk, might be okay but it's best to check with your landlord first beforehand.
SMOKERS: If you've got guests who plan on smoking, set up a safe spot for them to drop their cigarette butts, since, according to Soraya McLaughlin, the Public Education Specialist for the Naperville Fire Department, cigarettes can tend to land in gardens or potted plants during outdoor parties, which is bad since mulch and potting soil are both flammable. McLaughlin recommends having a receptacle full of sand or water instead.
NOISE VIOLATIONS: Chicago's municipal codes have a few different definitions of a party that's too loud, including one that mentions a noise "that is heard at a distance of 600 feet or more from the point of generation." If you're making that much noise, though, it's probably time to close up shop because your guests might start inadvertently tearing down your entire apartment piece by piece soon.
GRILL PREP: Our fire team said to make sure you're grease pan is clean before grilling. If you don't know if it's clean or not, check first thing in the morning. Also, grilling experts say it's a good idea to make sure early on that you have enough propane to get through the day.
LIVING LIKE HANK HILL: If you've got a wooden deck, propane grills are the only way to go, according to McLaughlin of the NFD. If you try to use a charcoal grill on a wooden deck, embers might fall through the cracks and onto the wood of the deck and that clearly wouldn't be good.
GRILLING SAFETY: Set up your grill as far away from the building as possible if on a porch, never grill in a confined space like a garage, and don't pull your grill indoors if it starts raining.
RAW MEAT: Don’t use the same utensils to get raw chicken and raw red meat onto the grill.
GRILLING SAFETY TWO: Don't grill like Homer Simpson does. Public Education Specialist McLaughlin suggests avoiding lighter fluid to begin with, but if you must use it, spraying additional lighter fluid on embers that don't quite look hot enough is never a good idea.
FIRE PITS AND CLEAN UP: Don't immediately toss out what's left in your charcoal grill or your fire pit, if your party has, one and don't even move them since the coals can still be dangerous. Charcoal grills should be left for 48-72 hours before being emptied, and fire pits should be wet down with a hose and not moved towards for at least 48 hours, according to the Naperville FD.
PARTY CLEAN UP: Unless your party is lame, clean up is probably going to be awful. So grab a few huge garbage bags the next day, put on Skynyrd's "Tuesday's Gone" and at least attempt to recycle some of the beer bottles and cans while tossing out the rest of the party.