Have you ever tried to grill up some moist, evenly cooked chicken on the bone with crispy golden skin, but instead ended up with a burned-on-the-outside and raw-inside barely recognizable piece of meat? Indirect grilling would have been your solution. Indirect grilling is effective for large cuts of meat (thick steaks, roasts or even entire chickens) that need long, slow heat, or foods (like pizza) that need to be seared, then finished slowly.
- If cooking with charcoal, heat the coals as usual in the chimney starter. When the coals have a fine, grey ash, pour them into the grill. To set up layers of heat, bank the coals to one side, or lay them heavily on two sides with a light layer of coals (or none at all) in the center, or spread them just around the perimeter.
- If using a gas grill with multiple burners, turn on the outside two burners and leave the center burner off or on low.
During cooking, the food is seared over high heat, then moved to a cooler spot to finish cooking. A lid is placed over the food to create an oven-like environment. On gas grills, it's fine to use the attached lid, but when using charcoal, disposable aluminum containers are best, as they help avoid a resinous taste.
