indirect heat Archives - Grill Nation

Charcoal-Grilled Tri-Tip Steak Ultimate Feast

August 25, 2022 By Dr. T

Steaks on the grill - indirect heat — Steaks on the grill – indirect heat

We were in the mood for steak done up just right on our Weber Charcoal Grill. We went with uber-flavourful tri-tip steaks – times two – perfect for slicing and serving to a small crowd.

While we were at it, we thought we’d add not one but two BBQ-worthy salads and mess of bacon-heavy baked beans. Take a look, Nation – get hungry, and inspired.

Simply Seasoned (Salt and Pepper) Tri-tip Steak

Seasoning the meat with Meat Church's Holy Voodoo BBQ Rub — Seasoning the meat with Meat Church’s Holy Voodoo BBQ Rub

Not sure what it’s like in your parts, but tri-tip isn’t always easy for us to find. We like it for its marbling, its tenderness and the fact that it just loves the grill. So when we saw these babies, we grabbed them.

We seasoned them in two different ways: simple salt and pepper for one (can’t go wrong), and a generous dose of Meat Church’s Holy Voodoo BBQ Rub for the other (can’t go wrong there either).

With steaks ready for the grill, we got our sides on. Must give a big shout out to Southern Living’s Ultimate book of BBQ by Christopher Prieto for recipe and inspiration. (Let’s just say the pages of this go-to book are well-worn in our home.)

Prieto's Grilled Corn and Butter Bean Salad — Prieto’s Grilled Corn and Butter Bean Salad

Pieto’s Grilled Corn and Butter Bean Salad is a standout – a key ingredient being – wait for it – the grilled corn. We fired up our TEC gas grill for this purpose and threw on some cobs. We’re pretty sure it’s the corn in this one that makes going back for seconds almost mandatory.

A tangy slaw balanced out the creamy richness of the corn and bean salad…

Prepping the Baked Beans with a plethora of bacon

…and a bacon-rich baked bean dish rounded out the supporting cast for the feast. Now to the meat.

We got our charcoal going on one side of the grill to create an indirect heat situation.

When things were hot and ready, we slapped on the steaks, covered them up, and kept then on for about 20-25ish minutes to get a nice medium rare.

Weber Charcoal Grill - Covered — Weber Charcoal Grill – Covered

Check out the results below. Awesome colour, right?

We were feeding a small group, so we sliced it all up and urged everyone to try both seasoning styles.

The verdict was that both the salt and pepper and Holy Voodoo steaks tasted great. The take-home message was that the salt and pepper was no slouch at all. So if that’s all you have on hand, you’re good to grill.

Here’s a (first) helping plated and ready to eat. Plenty of seconds and leftovers to enjoy!

Now go get yourself some tri-tip and have some fun.

The Feast - Plated and Ready to Rumble — The Feast – Plated and Ready to Rumble

Gimme Fuel, Gimme Fire: Direct vs Indirect Heat

January 15, 2009 By Chip Carter

Heat Drama and Grillin

Every griller knows how important the heat from the burner or the charcoal is to that perfect steak – and to be honest, the beautiful part about grilling is the simplicity. But for those who want to expand their grilling horizons – you’ll be richly rewarded if you understand the different approaches to heat, as described below. And remember: whether you use charcoal or gas grills, direct or indirect heat – always grill with the lid down!

Direct Heat

To grill using Direct Heat, place your food on the grill directly over your grill’s source of heat. Turn the food once, when you are halfway through the total grilling time. DO NOT FLIP OUT!! I’m not a fan of multiple turns or flips – this result in unnecessary heat/cool cycles and produces inconsistent results. Not good. Anyway, Direct Heat is best used for foods with total grill times of 20-25 minutes or less, such as steaks, chicken breast, sausages, brauts and the like – not to mention your grilled veggies.

Indirect Heat

When you think indirect heat, think convection oven, but with way more flavor and way more fun!!! Heat rises from the heat source and bounces off the grill lid and surfaces, slowly and evenly cooking food from all sides. To grill using indirect heat, make sure food is not placed directly over your grill’s heat source. With charcoal this can be accomplished by placing charcoal under both sides of the charcoal grate. I like to separate the sides by placing a drip pan in the middle. On a gas grill, preheat the grill using all burners and once you’ve reached your target temperature, shut off your middle burner(s) directly under the food. Adjust the burners on each side of the food accordingly.

Don’t have multiple burners??? No worries – check out ‘Grill Gear’ section for the necessary upgrades you need my friend!

I like to use indirect heat when I’m doing foods with more than 20-25 minutes of grilling time. If you use indirect heat, you’ll soon find that doing whole chickens, turkeys, beef roasts, pork roasts and ribs becomes a tender and juicy snap.

DO NOT FLIP YOUR LID! – Ok, this may be a little harsh, feel free to open the lid to baste, and to check for doneness, but otherwise keep that lid closed, valuable heat gets lost and throws off your cooking time every time that lid pops!

Whatever method you deploy – be sure to tell us your grilling stories, share your secrets if you want, including pictures of your grilling spread on the Grill Nation forums!

Until next time,

Chip

“Gimme Fuel Gimme Fire – It’s The Grill That I Desire”