Direct v Indirect

I’ve mentioned it before in other posts, but this is an important enough topic that I think it deserves a post all to itself. When grilling food, you can use either direct heat or indirect heat in addition to different temperatures. In order to become a masterful griller, you will want to learn when to use each of these two techniques. These techniques apply whether you’re grilling with charcoal or gas, they are more about how the heat is applied to the food rather than something specific about the heat source.

Direct heat is when much like the name implies, when the heat is applied directly to the food being cooked. This means that the heat source is directly below the food . Direct heat is typically used when the food cooks quickly, usually less than ten minutes grilling time.  Fish, shrimp and many vegetables are foods that require this type of cooking.

Indirect heat is when the heat source is off to one side and not directly beneath the food being cooked. It is used when longer cooking times are called for, usually greater than 10 minutes. This allows the grill to act more like an oven, where the heat is surrounding the food rather than being directly applied to the food. Chicken, pork tenderloins and baked potatoes are examples of foods that use this particular technique.

Sometimes, a food will require a combination of these techniques. Direct heat is required to sear the outside of the food and then indirect heat is used to continue cooking the food to the correct internal temperature. Steaks are often done this way.

Creating direct heat is pretty straight forward. In the case of a gas grill, you just turn on the burner beneath the part of the grate that the food is going to go on. With charcoal, you just place the coals beneath the area of the grate you wish to cook on. When cooking with direct heat it is not a bad idea to have a spray bottle filled with water near by. Flare ups can occur because of grease dripping onto the hot coals and igniting. These flare ups can cause off flavors or even charring of the food. The spray bottle can knock down the flare up pretty quickly.

Indirect heat is a bit more challenging but still pretty simple. For a gas grill, it means providing heat by burners other than the one than the food is cooking over. In a charcoal grill, it means getting the charcoal started and then moving it away from the area the food is going to be cooked on. In either case, you don’t have to worry about flare ups as much because the grease doesn’t drip onto the hot charcoal.

Next up, grilled leg of lamb.