Indirect Grilling Vs Direct GrillingThere are two ways to grill: indirect grilling and direct grilling. Which method you choose depends on what you want to cook. The indirect method is best for cooking
Indirect GrillingThe Indirect grilling method is really much like baking or roasting - as you would in a household oven.This way a large piece of meat, say a turkey or a leg of lamb (or anything else that needs a long time to cook through properly) is cooked due to the ambient temperature of the oven rather than by having applied to it directly. Technically the meat is cooked by radiant heat and convection, which surrounds it and cooks it more slowly and evenly. How to do itIn theory, either a gas grill or charcoal grill can be used here - or weber grills are especially good - all that is required is a lid or cover (preferably with vents) and a drip pan beneath the food.Personally I've found that gas grills are much better for fine tuning temperature - with charcoal it's more of an art! Incidentally, the temperature needs to be between 225F and 275F (105 - 135C) which ever fuel you use. With a gas grill simply put a burner on low on one side of the grill, put the meat in the other half, and close the lid. It may take a little experimentation to keep the temperature in the right area. With a charcoal grill the same idea applies, put your hot coals in one side and the meat on the other. Again, experiment by
Where ever you put the coals, a drip pan needs to go underneath the food. This adds moisture to the atmosphere in the grill, to stop the food drying out. It also catches any juices dripping from the meat, thus keeping the grill clean. With either gas or chacoal grills, a barbecue with air vents and temperature gauge built into the lid, will help massively - but with experience aren't 100% necessary. Here Elizabeth Karmel explains the whole indirect grilling process very well:
BBQ Smoking on an Ordinary GrillBBQ Smoking is a whole other subject really. It's best done with a purpose built BBQ smoker, but using the same methods described above it can be achieved using only one more piece of equipment - a smoker box. Very briefly, you place your moistened BBQ wood chips inside the smoker box, and place it under the close lid of your barbecue, directly on or above the hot charcoal. Do this from the start of cooking, until the temperature gets to around 150F - above which the meat won't take on anymore flavor from the smoke.The addition of a lid and a smoker box massively expands your barbecue repertoire! Direct GrillingIn reality this will need little if any explanation to most people.In essence, direct grilling means that food is placed directly over the heat source, whether charcoal or gas. The technical term for this form of heat transfer is thermal radiation. It is used for food that needs a short cooking time at high temperature - 500F (260C) or more. Meat like steak, chicken pieces, sausages, some cheeses even, can all be cooked like this. One of the benefits of direct grilling is the natural aroma it gives off due to a chemical reaction called the Maillard reaction, which is a form of caramelization that occurs in many foods during cooking. Recommended Related PagesRead up on charcoal grills here.Read more about gas grills here. Find more barbecue tips and techniques. Return from Indirect Grilling to Barbecue Grill Maestro |
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