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(B) Covered Cooking-Indirect Cooking Method
This is when you place the food either above burners that are
OFF
or shielded from direct
heat by using an optional drip pan and roasting rack or any other method of shielding the
food from direct heat such as alumimium foil under a roasting rack, or a pizza stone. The
other burners are adjusted in combinations of
LOW
and
OFF
to maintain constant lower
roasting temperatures. This method is ideal for thicker cuts of meat, legs of lamb, pork,
shoulders of beef, whole chickens and whole fish.
Moist, hot air rises from the lit burners and circulates around the food, trapping juices and
flavour. Even cakes and breads can be cooked in your barbeque this way. Cooking lower
and slower lets the food cook completely through without burning on the outside, yet
remaining juicy and tender on the inside.
Preheat the barbeque with all burners on
HIGH
and the hood closed for 3 minutes or until
the hood thermometer reads around 200ºC. Best results are achieved by placing your
roast in a rack and that rack in a drip pan. The roast is slighty elevated to allow heat to
circulate all the way around, and water, wine, juices, herbs can be added to the drip pan
to help flavour the roast and make a baste or gravy. Position the food on the grill over the
OFF
burner or for larger roasts, use a large drip pan positioned centrally in the barbeque.
Importantly, once the barbeque is pre-heated and the hood is closed, heat is trapped
around the food, so the burners that are on will mostly only need to be on
LOW
and in
many cases, one of the burners turned
OFF
. Heat from the lit burner(s) will circulate all
through the hood cooking quite evenly.
Importantly, use the hood thermometer as a warning guide that the barbeque is too hot. For
roasting most foods, aim to keep the thermometer around 200ºC to avoid burning.
For short periods of browning only, or for 10 minutes to make pork crackling, aim for
around 240ºC.
For smokey roasting, lower temperatures and longer cooking times will result in more
intense smoke flavour and more tender meats. Aim for around 175ºC.
Always use a probe thermometer to ensure that the meat has cooked all the way
through to the right temperature. Don’t ever let the temperature exceed 250ºC on the
hood thermometer or the barbeque may overheat and burn your food. A separate probe
thermometer is available as an accessory from all Barbeques Galore stores. This takes the
guesswork out of knowing when your food is cooked.
Always remember to switch the barbeque OFF once you are finished cooking
