Q: What changes to temp are needed if direct is used?

Unknown

I was reading some posts the other day and started wondering about using direct cooking more. Now unlike most of you kind folks who communicate and advise in this forum I am not a big one for smoke and lo/slow. In fact I am more of a grill and roast fan.[p]I have a large egg and typically use no wood, a cast iron drip pan and a temp of around 400 - 450 for beef and lamb. This works fine for my tastes, however I like the outside of the meat to have that slightly burnt taste (I don't know how I describe it).[p]What I was thinking was that I may be able to do roasts direct but with a slightly lower temp to avoid the bottom being burnt. And perhaps a higher grill?[p]My question is does anyone have suggestions as to what adjustments to make when moving from indirect to direct?[p]Many thanks.

Nature Boy

<p />GreenButNotSoLean,
"Roasting" direct is a great way to cook. I like the 275-300 range, and use a raised grate. The picture is of pork loins, and I simply have the BGE extender on my main grate, then a second grate on the grid extender (just cuz I like the surface). A good established fire, and the meat browns nicely and slowly. Another nice thing is that if you are cooking up in the dome, then the heat radiating from the dome, and the heat from the fire below is amazingly even.[p]One more note.....I don't fill my firebox up for direct cooks unless I want extreme heat. A smaller load works best for me.[p]Have fun!
Chris
[ul][li]Direct Pork Loin[/ul]

fishlessman

GreenButNotSoLean, lamb needs that burnt fall in the fire taste that you are describing and ive been known to do just that. throw that piece of meat into the coals at 750 F and flip once. 60-90 sec per side. take out and brush any pieces that stick to the meat and cook direct at 350-400 on a raised grid. i like the meat to almost touch the top of the dome with a meat therm placed straight up in the flue so that i can read it thru the daisy. something about the way the heat reflects and swirls around the meat that does it justice.

Borders

fishlessman, with that kind of quality thinking, you can't possibly be "fishless"[p]Scott[p]

fishlessman

Borders, i fish about 200 days a year and i do get skunked about 3-5 days a year. that leaves about 170 days that im fishless.

Borders

fishlessman, that's a very familiar ratio. When I first started saltwater fishing, my friends called me "Snookless" for a long, long , long time. They dont anymore. Have a good weekend,
Scott