Keep the fire indirect and the lid on

Keep the fire indirect and the lid on.

Flare-ups happen because fat drips onto hot coals or gas burners and ignites. The fix isn’t complicated: set up a two-zone fire. Keep coals on one side, cook on the other. On a gas grill, turn off one burner and cook over the unlit side. Let the radiant heat do the work.

For chicken wings, trim the big flaps of skin and fat first. Yes, you lose a little crispiness, but you gain control. For pork belly, scrape the skin side dry and score it — less fat drips that way. If you want char, sear at the end over direct heat for a minute, not at the start.

Keep a spray bottle of water handy. If a flare-up jumps, spritz the coals, not the meat. Water on meat washes off seasoning and makes steam. Also: a drip pan under the grates catches the worst offenders. Cheap disposables work fine.

This isn’t complicated. Stop cooking over the inferno. Your chicken wings will still get crispy, and you won’t be eating cremation samples.