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.
How the heat is arranged
Indirect heat
Food beside or above no fire at all, with the lid down so the chamber does the cooking. Slower and far more even, which is what thicker pieces usually benefit from: the centre can cook through without the outside over-browning.
Fire beside · convective heat · lid closed
What it suits — and what it doesn't
Suited to
- Whole birds
- Joints and thick cuts
- Anything where the centre has a long way to travel
Not suited to
- Thin cuts, which will dry before they colour
Cookers that can do this
What it is called elsewhere
- Indirect cooking — international
The ordinary name for the technique. BBQHQ's own cooker set-up questions all use it.