Comparisons · Two ways of cooking
Indirect roasting or Reverse searing
Reverse searing is indirect roasting with a sear on the end, and the comparison is really about when that ending is worth it.
What each one is
Indirect roasting
Cooking with the lid down and the fire to one side, turning the barbecue into an oven that happens to smell of woodsmoke. The default for anything large.
Reverse searing
Bring the food up slowly on indirect heat, then finish it hot and fast over direct. One method, two heat configurations, in that order — which is exactly why the technique and the fire arrangement are described separately here.
Where they overlap
- Both use indirect heat.
What actually differs
| Aspect | Indirect roasting | Reverse searing |
|---|---|---|
| The fire it needs This is the difference. Everything else about the two techniques follows from where the fire is relative to the food. | Indirect heat | Indirect heat, Direct heat |
| What it suits | Whole birds; Joints and thick cuts; Anything where the centre has a long way to travel | Thick steaks, roughly 3 cm and up; Anything where an even interior matters more than speed |
| What it does not suit The more useful half of the comparison, and the half most published guidance leaves out. | Thin cuts, which will dry before they colour | Thin steaks, which have no interior to protect |
| Cookers that can do it | 10 of the 11 modelled | 11 of the 11 modelled |
Which one, for what
Conditions rather than a verdict. Each line below is a thing one of them can do that the other cannot, or does without arrangement where the other needs it — taken from the what each cooker is documented as doing, rather than from a preference.
Indirect roasting, if:
- Whole birds.
- Joints and thick cuts.
- Anything where the centre has a long way to travel.
Reverse searing, if:
- Thick steaks, roughly 3 cm and up.
- Anything where an even interior matters more than speed.