Direct vs. Indirect Cooking on the Big Green Egg

One of the first things I tell people when I'm teaching on the Big Green Egg is this:

Before you worry about the recipe, figure out how you want the heat to hit the food.

Once you understand that, the EGG gets a whole lot easier to cook on.

I've cooked everything from steaks and chicken to brisket, seafood and desserts on a Big Green Egg, and most cooks come back to a few basic setups.

Direct Cooking: Think Grilling

Direct cooking means your food is cooking over the fire without a heat barrier between the charcoal and the food.

This is what you want when you're looking for a good sear, char or crust.

I use direct cooking for things like:

• Steaks
• Burgers
• Chops
• Shrimp
• Vegetables
• Anything that benefits from a quick, hot cook

But here's something people learn pretty quickly: distance from the fire matters.

Cooking close to the charcoal gives you intense heat. Raising the cooking grid farther away from the fire gives you a little more control while still getting that live-fire flavor.

That's why raised-direct cooking is one of my favorite techniques, especially for chicken.

Indirect Cooking: Turn Your EGG Into an Oven

Add the convEGGtor and you've created a barrier between the fire and your food. Instead of cooking directly over the flame, heat circulates around the food.

That's when the EGG starts behaving more like an outdoor convection oven.

Indirect cooking is what I use for:

• Brisket
• Pork shoulder
• Ribs
• Roasts
• Whole chickens
• Baking
• Low-and-slow barbecue

If something needs time to become tender without burning on the outside, indirect is usually where I start.

Don't Chase the Temperature

Another mistake I see new EGG owners make is constantly adjusting the vents.

Make a small adjustment and give the EGG time to respond.

Airflow controls your fire. More airflow means more heat. Less airflow brings the temperature down. Constantly opening the dome or making big vent adjustments makes it harder to maintain a steady fire.

Learn your fire instead of fighting it.

The Best Way to Learn? Cook.

You can read about live-fire cooking all day, but eventually you have to light the charcoal.

That's why I teach the Big Green Egg Academy in Denver. We don't just hand you recipes. We spend time on fire management, cooking setups, temperature, technique and understanding why you're doing what you're doing.

The goal isn't to teach you one meal.

It's to make you more confident every time you light your EGG.