We may the first people living in the UK to have a BBQ in 2009 having had 2 BBQs this weekend, the first of which was the spring equinox (21st March). Be good to hear from anyone who has been BBQ’ing throughout the winter months as I know some of you do but I reckon I stand a chance to be on the cooking edge. I just love the freedom and taste that indirect cooking gives you when cooking your favourite Sunday Roast BBQ style! Use marinades and basting to give a whole Chicken, Leg of lamb or Beef joint your own personal touch. If you are planning dinner parties, social gatherings or BBQs with friends this summer then read on and save yourself a lot of the hassle that can be associated with BBQs

Cooking Roasts with your Weber BBQ - simply the best!

Indirect cooking allows you to cook perfect Roasts on the BBQ; it’s a technique that allows for very slow cooking of large joints of meat but with the most perfect skin, crisp and tasty.

A benefit is also that the host can enjoy the social aspect of a BBQ more although many a traditionalist will miss the “men round the BBQ, getting smoked out, playing with fire and tending to their meat” picture that many of us associate with a good old Barbeque.

For this type of BBQ cooking you need to have a BBQ with a lid, so a Charcoal Barrel BBQ or a Weber or Gas BBQ. The BBQ is going to act like a convection oven to cook the food slowly. No part of the meat sits above the flames but instead a heat proof container is sat above the hot coals and the meat sits above a drip tray to catch all the fat and ensure there are no flames.

The water container ensures the temperature is moderated and that the cooking chamber stays moist - we want that joint to be nice and juicy still!

Use an oven thermometer, ideally one with a 3-4 foot cord, to check the temperature is right in the cooking chamber - open the lid while cooking if you want but I can guarantee that all it will do is add 15 minutes to your cooking time! I promise, been there done it and have the t-shirt!

Charcoal BBQ - 2 options for indirect cooking.

The diagram shows the layout that we described above, the first option builds a wall of charcoal at the back of the BBQ or to either side. The second option creates a no charcoal area in the centre of the BBQ and banks of Charcoal around the edges of the BBQ.

Lighting the BBQ - use a Charcoal chimney for the best results

The idea of this type of BBQ cooking is to cook things slowly, very slowly and if you light them right you can extend your cooking time to 12-14 hours. Light half of the charcoal in the charcoal chimney, once they go white place them on top of the rest of the unlit charcoal that you have placed inside the BBQ. If you want a bit of that Smokey flavour then sprinkle some wood chips on the BBQ, be gentle though and ideally soak them overnight to stop them catching light and burning the meat.

Indirect Cooking with a Gas Barbeque.

The above process is pretty easy when using a Gas BBQ as you can simply turn off the back or either side burner. There is no need to use the drip tray but you will need the water container to ensure the cooking environment remains moist.