It may surprise that disposable BBQs are widely used even by avid grill masters. You may have some questions, such as how long disposable BBQs last. What can you grill on a disposable BBQ? and how best to use one? Well, they’re all covered in this short guide.
You might be thinking, what’s the point of them? Well, a disposable BBQ is extremely convenient. They are very cheap, lightweight, and easy to dispose of after. How can you not love them?
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How to use a disposable BBQ?
Use a disposable BBQ position on top of bricks or on a surface that will not burn, i.e., off the grass. Some of them come with metal legs to raise the BBQ up.
Light the paper in the grill with matches or a lighter, sit back, and wait for the charcoal to light and come up to temperature, usually around 20 minutes or so. The charcoal inside a disposable BBQ is treated for fast lighting, so there will not be any need for any more paper or additives to get the grill to ignite.
You will know when the charcoal is fully lit as there will be no black charcoal remaining. Instead, it will all be grey and glow red under low light. At a minimum, wait until half of the charcoal in the tray has been lit correctly before adding food directly over this lit charcoal.
Disposable BBQs are not suitable for an indirect cooking and are only used for direct grilling. You can shake all the charcoal to one side of the BBQ to get one side very hot; however, no lid and fast grilling times mean no low and slow meats.
Which disposable BBQs best?
Our favorite disposable BBQ is the TOBIG Disposable Grill. It is a beast of a throw-away grill that burns a lot longer than any of the others found on the market. The only downside to this the same for all disposable BBQs is that they can be challenging to start. Sometimes you may need scrunched-up paper in the charcoal to help ignite. But other than that, this is a tremendous disposable grill.
How long do disposable BBQ’s last?
Disposable BBQs’ once lit, will burn for approximately 1.5 hours. Once lit, a disposable BBQ will only allow you to get about 1 – 1.15 hours of grilling time. After an hour, the grill’s temperature drops very quickly, and cooking on the remaining heat becomes very challenging.
Perfect amount of time if you are just casually grilling on the beach, in the park or just using as a backup option at home.
What can you grill on a disposable BBQ?
The possibilities are endless with what you can grill on a disposable BBQ. The Best meat and vegetables are the typical burger, sausages, and kebab BBQs.
Very thin slices of meat like bacon and specific cuts of steak grill perfectly on a disposable BBQ. Due to the high heat and short cooking times, I wouldn’t recommend grilling big chunks of meat like tomahawks steaks or even significant cuts of pork.
Use marinated meat with short grilling times to get the best out of a disposable grill. This can take some prep work and knowing you intend on using a disposable BBQ, at which point it may well be worth investing in some instant light charcoal bags and a bespoke portable BBQ like a Weber Smokey Joe or Go Anywhere.
Disposing of throw away grills
Disposable grills are safe to throw away with regular trash; however, they must be thoroughly cooled before disposing of. Usually, a disposable BBQ will take about an hour after use before all the remaining charcoal has burnt away to dust.
The best way to ensure no remaining lit embers is to carefully pour water over the grill and do this away from people because the grilling grates may still be hot and spit water. Leave submerged in water for 10 minutes or so; pour out the water, and the grill should be safe to dispose of.
It is your responsibility to ensure it is cold and no lit embers remain before you dispose of it; disposable BBQ charcoal is no different from any ordinary charcoal in that any remaining embers will re-ignite given fresh fuel and air, so do not dispose of while hot or ignited, even after covering in water.
Final thoughts
Disposable BBQs are fun and easy to use. They are an obvious choice for casual and experienced BBQ enthusiasts, as the only thing required is the food, matches, and a set of grilling tongs. Hopefully, it would be best if you understood how long disposable BBQs last, and an immediate plan over what you intend on grilling will get you the best out of a throwaway grill.