Bamboo is the most commonly used material for making barbeque skewers. If you know about bamboo a bit, you might know that bamboo needs a continuous water supply to grow properly once the roots have been established. So, you can have the idea of water that bamboo will absorb for good growth. When bamboo is cut and processed to make different things, the moisture remains to some extent. But, wondering if its ability to absorb water helps it to resist fire when it’s turned into barbeque skewers.
Unfortunately, barbeque skewers from bamboo or other material can catch fire. The moisture plants absorb while growing remains so little that it can’t act as a shield against fire.
Confused if barbeque skewers will burn over the direct fire or on the grill, in an air fryer or oven too? Keep reading to clear all your queries about “will barbeque skewers catch fire” and know the perfect way to use them to resist fire.
Will Barbeque Skewers Catch Fire on Grill?
It depends if your grill’s fire touches wooden skewers or not. If you cook your BBQ directly on the grill with fire, your bamboo skewers will surely catch fire and burn. Instead, you can use metal skewers for grilling or cooking BBQ that involves direct fire. But, if you want to use bamboo or wooden skewers, you should know how to use them to protect them from fire.
When you soak barbeque skewers before using them, it’s said that their resistance to fire increases. Soaked wood will not catch fire as easily as dry wood. Now, you must be thinking about how long you should soak bamboo skewers before using them. Well, it’s best to keep them soaked in water for 20-30 minutes before using them for the grill.
Once they are soaked, they will get enough moisture to be safe from the fire. If you feel you’re not an expert or can make a mistake, it’s better to use metal skewers as they will not be affected by the fire.
Will Barbeque Skewers Burn in Oven?
Yes, barbeque skewers can burn in the oven if the temperature exceeds the safe limits. You should know the highest temperature bamboo skewers can tolerate before burning. To keep your barbeque skewers safe from fire, you can also use the soaking trick for the oven. When bamboo skewers are soaked, they will not be much affected by the temperature. Dip BBQ skewers in the water for 30 minutes before preparing barbeque sticks.
If you’re using a recipe from the internet, give it a careful read. If the recipe recommends using wooden BBQ skewers for the oven, then it’s safe to use them. But, if not, the temperature will go higher than the greatest heat tolerance of wooden skewers, and they might burn before the BBQ is cooked.
Thus, checking the recipe card is an easy way to avoid making a mess you’ll regret but can’t reverse.
Can You Put Bamboo BBQ Skewers in The Air Fryer?
You can use bamboo BBQ skewers in the air fryer, but the same rule also applies here that we mentioned for the oven. The temperature should be controlled and checked continuously to prevent your skewers from turning to coal. Soaking barbeque skewers is effective in this case, too; with moisture, wood will not burn when the temperature rises to the safe limits.
Can You Put Bamboo BBQ Skewers in The Microwave?
You can use bamboo BBQ skewers in the microwave. In this case, the risk of burning them isn’t very high. With temperature control, you can safely use them in the microwave. Soaking them before using reduces the risk to almost none. Also, you can’t use metal skewers for microwaves, so you don’t have any other option.
Even if you microwave wooden skewers without soaking them, there isn’t any risk of burning them in the microwave. So, you can proceed with cooking your BBQ either way, with or without soaking.
How to Use Barbeque Skewers Safely for Grilling?
When you do it correctly, there is no risk of burning your barbeque skewers during grilling. Soaking them is one of the best solutions that you should always do. But there are some other things too, also to soaking barbeque skewers, that will allow you to use barbeque skewers safely for grilling:
- Prefer using bamboo skewers over wooden skewers. Compared to other plants, the risk of burning bamboo on the grill is less due to its high moisture content. Even though bamboo is dried before it’s sent to manufacturing units to make different bamboo products, it contains moisture that can protect it from burning.
- Use thick BBQ skewers because they will not burn as easily as thin skewers.
- When you’re adding food to the skewers, make sure to cover them completely. With no wooden part exposed to the grill, there will be no risk of burning your BBQ skewers.
- Don’t cook your BBQ over a high flame, especially when using a lot of wood and charcoal. The fire will be high and will surely affect wooden skewers. When you have to cook your BBQ over high flame, use metal skewers as there will be no fear of burning them due to fire.
- Use grill basket. It will protect the bamboo skewers from direct fire, reducing the risk of burning them.
How to Soak Bamboo Barbeque Skewers Before Using Protect Them from Fire?
Leaning the technique to soak bamboo skewers perfectly before using them is important. It will help you enjoy tasty BBQ while keeping your bamboo BBQ skewers safe from fire. Here is how you can soak bamboo skewers to safely use them from burning on a grill, oven, microwave, or air fryer.
What you’ll need?
You’ll need just 2 things to protect bamboo skewers from fire, and these are:
- Large pan
- Water
How to soak bamboo barbeque skewers?
Start with warming the water. Don’t put it on the flame for too long as you’ll not need boiling water for soaking bamboo skewers. The water should be this warm that you can easily put your hands in it without burning. Once the water has acquired the required temperature, add the bamboo skewers to it.
The bamboo barbeque skewers should be completely soaked in water. You can keep the wooden skewers submerged in water for 20-30 minutes. The greatest time your BBQ skewers should be in the water is 3 to 4 hours.
You can also dip bamboo skewers in vine or juice. It’ll add a flavor to your cooked meals and works the same way in protecting bamboo skewers from fire-like water. It’s best to soak barbeque skewers immediately right before you want to make BBQ. The more moisture content will be, the lower the risk of burning them.
If you don’t have the time to soak them every time before BBQ or find it a hassle to do this every time, you can soak the bamboo skewers packet at once. Keep it in the freezer or at a place where the moisture content is high to keep them moist and ready to use for BBQ whenever you want.
Are Bamboo Barbeque Skewers Better Than Metal Skewers?
When you fear fire, metal skewers are better than wooden or bamboo skewers. They will not burn, no matter how high the flame or temperature of the cooking apparatus is. Another benefit of using metal skewers is that you can use them as many times as you want.
What Can You Use Instead of BBQ Skewers?
Luckily, there are many alternatives that you can use if you’ve not soaked BBQ skewers ahead of time and need to plan a quick BBQ party for friends or family. Here are some of the best alternatives:
- Do you have a herbal garden with rosemary in it? If yes, then you got the perfect alternative to bamboo skewers. Rosemary stalks can be used to make BBQ in the oven, microwave, air fryer, or grill without the fear of burning them.
- Aluminum foil packages are another excellent alternative to using wooden skewers. They are easily available at any local store.
- Use sugarcane skewers. Although using them will add some flavor and sweetness to your BBQ, they are easy to use. You’ll find websites saying to soak sugarcane skewers too before using them for BBQ but don’t believe everything you find on the internet. It’s good to soak them but not necessary because sugarcane is a juicy plant, and the plant juice provides enought moisture to protect it from fire.
Bottom Line
Here ends our guide on will bamboo skewers will catch fire. Now you understand everything about using bamboo skewers in the oven, microwave, air fryer or on grill and how to soak them to make them safe. If you’re uncomfortable using them or find it a hassle to soak them every time, you can use the alternatives that will also help you make the best BBQ!
