As is well known, barbecue stands are generally set up outdoors. This is because during grilling, whether it is the fat naturally contained in the meat or the oil brushed on top, it eventually drips onto the charcoal fire. When oil hits charcoal, one of two things generally happens:
When the dripping fat falls onto a sufficiently blazing charcoal fire, the intense heat provides enough temperature to ignite the fat directly, burning it away rapidly. The other scenario is when it drips onto charcoal that is not burning fiercely enough; because the fire lacks intensity, it fails to reach the flash point of the oil. In this case, the fat does not burn; instead, it chars and produces thick black smoke.
Of course, whether the fat burns or not, oily smoke is inevitably produced. Right now, hundreds of barbecue grills across the dining hall were generating smoke. Mixed with the pungent odors of roasting spices and chili powder, it was truly more than ordinary people could handle, and coughing broke out all over the hall.
Chapter 42