BBQ_Basics_indirect

BBQ Basics

INDIRECT HEATING METHOD

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BBQ Basics

Indirect heating as a great little trick you can use with your grill and is quite simple to do. Even people with gas grills can do this, but you dont want to get me going on about the difference in taste, I'll save that for later. Basically, you place the coals on the left and right side of the grill and place the food on the upper rack between the coals and cooking with the lid on for up to 2 hours or more. This turns your grill into an oven and results in a slow cook piece of meat which is sure to be juicy, tender and have a pleasant grilled/roasted flavor. The addition of wood chips, such as hickory, adds an additional flavor which is undeniably the signature of good BBQ.   Most weber kettels come with the tools necessary for indecrect heating, those being just two removable frames that can be attched to the bottom most grill (the grill the coals lie on).

**IMPORTANT
It is important to have the bottom of your pit clear of ashes to maximize air flow! It will also take a little longer to completely ignite the coals since they are off to the side.

If you have the previously used coals from the previous BBQ (see inderect heating method) make these the bottom of your pile of coals, this will speed up the ignition process. Stack up the fresh coals around the old coals ans stack up to the top of the frame. Douse generously with lighter fluid and wait 30-60 seconds or more until lighting. The grill I use is a cheap small German version of a weber and it can take a little while to start up with the indirect method due to the reduced air flow(20 minutes or so), but the end results are what counts.
     With the coals on either side of the pit it is necessary to place a small drip pan in the center between the coals since the food will be placed on the rack between the two piles of coals, hence the name indirect heating. As mentioned earlier, adding wood chips durring the indirect heating process gives a great flavor to anything your cooking. Just soak the wood chips for about a half an hour before placing directly on the coals. Depending on how long your cooking the meat you'll want to add more wood chips. Since removing the lid removes all the heat stored under it you'll have to add around an extra 15 minutes of cooking time every time you lift the lid. You'll have to take off the lid at least once anyway durring the cooking time so now you can "double task". Halfway through cooking your meat it is a good idea to turn it 180 degrees on the grill since one side of coals might be hotter than the other and can cook the food unevenly. Durring this time you can add your second batch of woodchips since you already have the lid off.
     With indirect heating its nice to have a thermometer so that you know the temperature inside the grill. If you dont have a thermometer on your grill, like me, you'll learn how hot to cook your meat by adjusting the vents on the lid. Basically, close the vents for a cooler fire and open the vents all the way for the hottest fire. A 1400 g whole chicken on my small grill I will cook with the vents about 1/4 - 1/3 closed for an hour, then rotate and add more wood chips and cook for another hour. Of course, grills vary. If your lucky and have a real weber you can actually smoke two chickens at the same time! My grill just has room for one : (

BBQ Basics

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