Almost everything you cook on a gas barbecue comes down to one choice: is the burner underneath your food, or beside it? Get that right and most of the rest looks after itself. This article explains both methods, how to set your barbecue up for each, and how to run both at the same time.
The difference, in a sentence each
Direct cooking means the lit burner is directly underneath your food. The heat sears the surface, browns it and cooks it quickly.
Indirect cooking means the lit burners are either side of your food, or off to one side, and the burner underneath is off. The heat circulates around the food and cooks it through gently, much more like an oven.
Which one do I need?
The useful rule of thumb is twenty minutes.
| Direct heat | Indirect heat |
|---|---|
| Anything small and quick, under about twenty minutes | Anything larger, or needing more than about twenty minutes |
| Burgers, steaks, chops, sausages, kebabs | Whole chickens, joints, ribs, bone-in poultry pieces |
| Boneless chicken pieces, fish fillets, shellfish | Whole fish, and delicate fillets that would dry out over a flame |
| Sliced vegetables | Anything you want to finish gently after searing |
If you are torn, ask how long it needs. Long cooks over direct heat are the single most common reason food ends up burnt outside and underdone in the middle.
Setting up for direct cooking
- Preheat with all burners on high and the lid down for fifteen minutes.
- Adjust the burners to the heat you actually want.
- Put the food straight over the lit burners.
- Keep the lid down between turns.
The lid matters more than most people expect. With it closed, the grates run hotter, the food cooks faster, and you get far fewer flare ups.
Setting up for indirect cooking
Which burners you leave off depends on how many you have.
| Burners | Setup | Where the food goes |
|---|---|---|
| Two | Light one, leave the other off | Over the burner that is off |
| Three | Light the outside two, leave the middle off | Over the middle burner |
| Four | Light the outside two, leave the middle two off | Over the middle of the barbecue |
- Preheat with all burners on high and the lid down for fifteen minutes.
- Turn off the burner or burners your food will sit over.
- Put the food over the unlit section.
- Close the lid and leave it closed.
Indirect cooking only works with the lid down, because the lid is what turns your barbecue into an oven. Every time you lift it, the temperature drops and takes several minutes to recover.
Running both at once
This is where a gas barbecue really earns its keep. With the outside burners lit and the middle off, you have a hot zone and a gentle zone on the same barbecue at the same time.
- Sear a steak or a joint over the flame, then move it across to finish gently without drying out.
- Cook vegetables over direct heat on one side while a larger cut takes its time on the other.
- Cook fish, vegetables and meat together, giving each one the heat it needs rather than compromising on all three.
- Move something across to the cool side if it is colouring faster than it is cooking.
If your barbecue has a sear zone
Some models have a sear zone, where two adjacent burners have an extra setting that pushes the heat higher than the normal high position.
- Preheat the barbecue with all burners on high and the lid down for fifteen minutes.
- Turn the two sear zone burners to the sear setting. They work as a pair.
- Turn the remaining burner or burners to low, or off.
- Sear each side for one to four minutes depending on the thickness of the meat, with the lid closed.
- Move the meat across to a moderate or indirect zone to finish to the temperature you want.
Use the sear zone to finish rather than for the whole cook. It is there to put a crust on something, not to cook it through.
Four things worth avoiding
- Cooking on cold grates. Preheat every time, even when a recipe calls for medium or low heat. Hot grates are the reason food does not stick.
- Cooking on dirty grates. Anything left from last time acts like glue. Brush them once they are hot.
- Lifting the lid to have a look. Every time you do, the temperature drops and the cook takes longer.
- Turning food repeatedly. In almost every case, once is enough.
Cook to temperature, not to the clock
Timings are a guide, not an answer. The thickness of the meat, the weather and how cold the food was when it went on all change how long it takes. A thermometer is the only thing that tells you the truth, and with chicken and pork it is a food safety point as well as a quality one.
There is a separate article and video on using thermometers and probes.
Where to go next
For recipes and cooking guides to try these methods on, visit weber.com.
Still not sure?
If you are unsure how to set your own barbecue up, get in touch and tell us which model you have. We will talk you through it.
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