I just set a kielbasa on fire in my oven
January 30, 2025 6:27 PM   Subscribe

I was broiling a kielbasa just now in my oven and it totally caught on fire, like a real kitchen fire. I closed the door and turned the broiler off and the fire went out but now the oven is totally full of smoke. What is the best next step to mitigate the smoke? Should I just leave it overnight or, like, put the exhaust hood on and crack the door, or some other thing I'm not thinking of? I'm so bummed! I was really looking forward to my dinner.
posted by HotToddy to Home & Garden (13 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Response by poster: Probably I should also have said I live in an extremely tiny house so all this smoke is a LOT in a small space and also we're getting a big cold front tonight so it super sucks right now with the back door wide open and the fan on.
posted by HotToddy at 6:37 PM on January 30


Rest in peace.

Any time I do a kitchen menace and need to vent smoke I open a couple windows, open the oven door, and then vigorously pump the nearest door open and closed several times. It gets the air moving a lot faster than just leaving the door open and static, which is useful to minimize the time when it's very cold.
posted by phunniemee at 6:48 PM on January 30 [3 favorites]


And yeah throw the hood on if it's actually an exhaust hood. Every apartment I've lived in has had one of the fake ones that sucks up off the stove but then just blows it right out the front of the hood. If you've got a fake hood, may as well just leave it off.
posted by phunniemee at 6:50 PM on January 30 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: No this is a real hood, thank god. I guess this is a science question really: What happens to an oven full of smoke if you just leave it? Surely it's not there waiting for you in the morning? Does it settle down into grease and soot?
posted by HotToddy at 6:53 PM on January 30 [1 favorite]


It will settle down by tomorrow but it will stink and the stink will be even worse when you clean it. But then you will be through the worst. Sorry about your dinner, that sucks.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 7:09 PM on January 30 [3 favorites]


The smoke will settle down in the oven, but it will also settle down everywhere else in the kitchen and the odor will last for days. IMHO your best option is to open windows and turn on fans. On the plus side I would say anything that hasn’t blown out of there in an hour isn’t going to go so you don’t have to do it all night.

I’m very sorry to hear about the Kielbasa though.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 7:22 PM on January 30 [1 favorite]


It’s a long shot, but if you have an air purifier(or can borrow one) you can set it up in the kitchen and it’ll handle the smoke and smell eventually.
posted by Slinga at 7:27 PM on January 30 [2 favorites]


Response by poster: I do have an air purifier and it's on. Unfortunately the filter replacement light is on but I suppose it's still doing something. The irony is that I was given a gas BBQ grill for Christmas but I don't have it set up yet so that's why I used the broiler. *sob*
posted by HotToddy at 7:33 PM on January 30 [1 favorite]


Order or buy some ozium spray odor eliminater. But now turn fans on, crack windows a bit...I would clean the interior of oven asap. Seems funny to broil kielbasa to me. I love it and eat it often with kraut. Pan fry or air fry...always delicious.
posted by Czjewel at 9:42 PM on January 30


Eh, I heat sausages/hot dogs in the toaster oven all the time, essentially broiling them. My guess would be the poor kielbasa exploded slightly and fat spurted onto a heating element, causing ignition. Maybe you did so to no avail but piercing a couple of times with a fork could prevent this.

A couple of open containers of baking soda left around the kitchen can absorb some of the odor.
posted by staggernation at 3:56 AM on January 31


You're supposed to cut the top of the kielbasa slightly like in this recipe.

If things still smell of smoke after a good airing out, wash all textiles and scrub the walls. The compounds get on surfaces.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 4:05 AM on January 31 [2 favorites]


You don't mention if you have a gas or electric oven. I would definitely try to mitigate any further damage before using the oven again by wiping down as much of the smoke film on the entire interior and racks (use your bathtub if you have one). Use a mix of hot water, Dawn dish soap and a little bit of vinegar. Make sure you wipe down everything with a final rinse of clear water.

I once made the mistake of doing a 'self clean' cycle after a house guest let something spill onto the floor of my oven. Let's just say I had some nice looking firemen visit me that afternoon. Real flames and no way to open the oven door because it automatically locks itself during cleaning cycles! The kitchen really stank the next few times from whatever great carcinogens probably burned in there.

FWIW, I have always braised my kielbasa in ginger ale upon instruction of my great aunt (100% Polish). ;)
posted by dancinglamb at 8:01 AM on January 31


I once made the mistake of doing a 'self clean' cycle after a house guest let something spill onto the floor of my oven.

I lined the bottom of our oven with foil to cover exactly this contingency. It's fan forced, so I've also put a dozen large steel washers in there to hold the foil down and stop it getting blown about.
posted by flabdablet at 11:40 AM on January 31


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