Improve your BBQ cooking by learning about the different heat zones
Learning a few easy, basic rules for cooking on your BBQ will improve your al fresco dining experience, and give you the chance to impress family and friends! In this video Ian and Ed show what the 3 main methods there are for cooking on the barbecue. The barbecue in the demonstration is the Weber MasterTouch, which comes supplied with the charcoal baskets shown in the video. These baskets are essential for precision cooking on the BBQ, if you want to expand your recipe base. On a gas BBQ these methods are easy to achieve by just leaving one or more burners unlit. Once you have mastered these basic cooking methods you will find that barbecuing becomes much easier.
The first cooking method is the direct method which involves cooking directly over the heat source; in this case the charcoal is in the 2 char baskets in the centre of the BBQ. This method is used for small food items which take very little time to cook, less than 25 minutes. This can be steaks, burgers, sausages or fish in the Weber Fish Basket.
The second method is the indirect method where the charcoal baskets are moved to either side of the BBQ leaving you with a cooler zone in the centre. This method is used for larger pieces of meat which you would normally roast in your oven; joints of lamb, pork or beef, whole ducks, chickens or the Christmas turkey. Place a Weber foil drip tray on the charcoal grate underneath the cooking meat to catch any dripping juices; these can be made into gravy and it also keeps the bottom of the barbecue clean, as juices mixed with ash congeal into a lump which takes some removing.
The third method is a 50/50 style of cooking where both baskets are placed to one side of the BBQ; one side is hot cooking and the other side is cooler. This cool zone can be used to cook a large piece of meat or smaller chicken breasts which need to be fully cooked to be safe. Sear them over the hot coals then move them to the cooler zone to cook through; remove when the internal temperature hits 75C. The cooler zone can also be used to keep food warm when cooking in batches so that everyone is served together.
There is a huge amount of information on barbecuing on the Hayes Garden World website. If you have any questions just get in touch via Twitter, Facebook or by filling in the comments box at the bottom of any blog post.
For more information on barbecuing just get in touch with our expert team in The Barbecue Shop here in store or head to our Youtube channel.
