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What's up, y'all? Welcome back to Between the Fires. This is the Halloween edition. And tonight we're not talking ghost stories or made-up monsters. We're talking real life barbecue horror stories that's actually happened. You'll hear about grease fires that burned down homes, gas grills that completely exploded, and real carbon monoxide scares that make you double check your vents. I'll also drop a few easy Halloween treats you can smoke right at home. Stuff that'll taste amazing and impress the neighbors without even breaking a sweat. So if you love good barbecue, want to keep your cooks safe, and maybe add a little smoky magic to your Halloween night, stick around because by the end of this episode, you'll know exactly what not to do, how to keep your pit from turning into a crime scene, and you'll walk away with a couple of sweet smoky recipes to show off today. So let's fire it up. I want to go ahead and start with the one that haunts every pit master, the grease fire. Now on August 4th, 2023, in Palmer, Massachusetts, firefighters battled a two alarm blaze that started from a propane grill on a deck, displacing six residents. And it's not rare. I mean the US Fire Administration says we average fifty seven hundred grill fires every year, and most of them happen on patios and porches. The moral is keep that drip tray clean. It can cause a fire. Dump your grease bucket, don't let it sit in there full of grease, and if possible, never leave your pit alone while it's running hot. Grease plus fire equals fireworks that you don't want. Here's another one. On June twenty ninth, twenty twenty four, a family of five in Sydney, Australia was hospitalized after using a barbecue indoors as a heater. You know, have you ever done that? You want to crank up the fire? You want to kind of keep your room warm? Not a good ideal. Not a good ideal. A matter of fact, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission has tracked eighty-three deaths from people burning charcoal inside homes or tents. And it's not just to cook, but also to keep warm. Although sometimes maybe they're throwing a burger on. But lesson here is smoke smells good, but the gas inside it can kill you quick if it's not vented. So keep outdoor cooking outdoors. That's why this channel is called the Outdoor Cooking Channel. Although from time to time we do some indoor cooking on indoor certified platforms, such as the Vivor, and of course a pan and stove. So keep the charcoal outside where it belongs when you're cooking with it. In 2015, here's another one. This one's a little slower. It's just as scary. And it's if you don't cook it enough. This one, you don't want this horror story on your hand. So in 2015, a pulled pork event, an event full of tons of people. In North Carolina left dozen sick after pork was served below the 145 degree recommended limit. Do you not have a thermometer when you're cooking if you don't get one now? Ten bucks, five bucks, you could probably find one. They're not very expensive. You need one. You can get more expensive ones, of course, but you can get a very inexpensive one for under ten bucks, just a little touch thermometer. You can poke in the meat. You can see what the temperature is before serving to make sure it's done. Because it's not worth the risk. I always check my temperatures. And the uh temperature should be for poultry 165. This was pork, that should be at least 145. It was under that. Brisket around 203, so that sucker pulls apart for tenderness, but you can cook it at a lower temperature. But you you want it up there. You want that brisket tender. 203, come on now. Let's do that. But food safety ain't sexy. But neither is food poisoning, okay? And here's a real boom moment. I'm talking a boom. On May twenty sixth, two thousand eight, in North Central Massachusetts, a propane grill exploded on a back deck, destroying two apartments, according to telegram.com. Gas had built up after the flame blew out. Have you ever had that the flame blows out? You go out there and you just relight it. You really need to vent it at least five minutes. Make sure the uh burner's turned off. Open it up, let airflow, let that get out of here. Five, ten minutes, let everything breathe, let let it vent out real good. Always vent your grill five minutes before relighting. And check hoses for leaks. Because propane doesn't play nice when you're lazy, as this person found out. So that's the story on that one. And at the end of the day, the scariest thing in barbecue isn't ghosts or monsters. It's complacency. It's thinking I've done this a hundred times, it'll be fine. And that's when mistakes happen. So respect the fire, respect the meat, and you'll never have to tell your own horror story, and I hope you never have to. Now let's wrap this up with something a little sweeter, shall we? How about a couple of quick treat recipes you can make today for Halloween? Please those guests at that Halloween party you're about to go to. The first one's one I'm making tonight, and I'll put a link in the description or the show notes of this episode. You'll be able to see it on YouTube. It is smoked pumpkin pie dip. Real quick to do. Simple, just a few ingredients. You need one can of pumpkin puree, 15 ounces, a block of eight ounce cream cheese softened, and one hup or one half cup of brown sugar, one teaspoon of cinnamon, and a half teaspoon of nutmeg. Just mix it all up, put it in a cast iron, put it in an aluminum pan, smoke it for 30 to 40 minutes with some apple or pecan wood at 200 degrees, 250 degrees, maybe a little sooner, serve with warm graham crackers or vanilla wafers. People's gonna love you. Another one I have is some candy bacon spider webs. Just lay out some thick bacon on parchment crisscrossed like webs. Yeah, you want it to be a little spooky. Sprinkle brown sugar and drip drizzle some maple syrup on it. Smoke this at 275 degrees for about 45 minutes until it caramelizes. Then let it cool and the bacon curls and twists like spider webs. They're spooky spiderwebs, by the way. And if you're sipping something, a smoked rum lemonade like I made in a previous video goes great with this, or some bourbon apple cider. Fits every Halloween night perfectly. It's sweet, it's smoky, it's simple, and that's how we do it. So that wraps up this Halloween edition of Between the Fires of 2025. You've heard some real barbecue horror stories, learned how to avoid them, and picked up a couple of treats that hopefully you can make today. Stay safe, keep that fire low, and if you've got your own barbecue nightmare, text us at four zero five-four five eight-five five one three, and we might share it in a future episode. We'll even save it and reshare it next Halloween. Until next time, keep your smoke rolling low and your treats on the great Happy Halloween, y'all.

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