Think of indirect heat as if you were cooking inside using the oven.
Why Indirect Heat
Indirect heat cooks food low and slow. Slowly, over a longer time, and low, using lower temperatures. Bigger cuts of meat like lamb legs, pork loins, sirloin roasts take longer to cook because it takes longer for their core to get hot enough to cook the interior meat. Cooking low and slow ensures the outside is cooked nicely but not burned by the time the interior is done.
Delicate cuts of meat such as fish are more succulent when cooked over low, indirect heat; high heat gives them a dry, rubbery feel and is an easy way to wreck a nice piece of meat.
Tw0 Zones for Two Foods
The advantage of the two-zone set up for indirect smoking is while a roast is happily roasting away in the indirect zone, the space above the coals is ready for some direct heat grilling. Make full use out of your briquettes.
Set Up Your Kettle for Tw0-Zone Indirect Cooking
- Start by lighting as many briquettes as you need for your kettle to reach 110°C, this is the temperature where most foods cook best.
- Place an aluminium foil tray to one side as your drip tray. Make sure you fill this with boiling water so that you are not burning precious fuel to heat the water.
- Once the briquettes are ready, dump these on the other side of the drip tray in the kettle. You can now put your cooking grill in place.
- Attach your thermometer on the side away from the coals and replace the lid, once the kettle reaches 110°C transfer your food over and begin to cook.