Indirect High Heat on Your Grill - Survey Results

Thank you to everyone who responded to my indirect high heat grilling survey. I got fifteen responses, which I thought was a pretty good turnout.

So, what did we learn?

1. Most of my responders had Weber grills, and most of those grills were a Weber GenesisThis is not a big surprise - the Weber Genesis is a very popular grill. What did surprise me is that 6 of the 8 Weber Genesis responses were for the new version, with burners running front to back. I'm used to the (now retired) style with burners running left to right. My in-laws just bought a new Weber Genesis, so I'll be able to check the new design out in person.The other responses: 3 Weber Summits 600 series, 1 Brinkman, 1 Char-Broil, 1 Lynx, and 1 Weber Performer charcoal grill.
   *There's always one charcoal purist in the crowd.
2. Most grills get hot enough to do indirect high heat with their outer burners lit and center burners off. Especially the Weber Genesis model; most people reported temperatures of 450°F or higher for indirect high on the Genesis. The Brinkman grill owner was also doing well; he got 475°F.The Weber Summit owners had the same issue I did with two burners (out of six) not being enough heat; they would add in another burner, usually the smoker burner to get the temperature up to 450°F.The Char Broil and Lynx owners were not happy with their grills ability to do indirect high heat, and reported temperatures of 400°F or lower. They didn't have any extra burners they could add, so they were stuck with indirect medium heat.
   *I had one Genesis owner who won't turn their grill above 350°F. "I like low and slow…I never go above 400°F as it makes the meat tougher" was their explanation. There's always one low and slow purist in the crowd.
3. Most responders use a rotisserie. Only three of the responders don't use one; this doesn't surprise me, because if you found my blog, it was probably through a google search for rotisserie recipes.I didn't specifically ask if indirect high heat led to good rotisserie. I wish I did. There seemed to be a difference of opinion on the subject.There were a couple of comments from the grills that wouldn't go over indirect medium, saying they weren't happy with the rotisserie results on their grill. That matches my experience - when I'm using the rotisserie, I want the grill as hot as I can get it.

   But, I also got a couple of low and slow votes here as well - two responses saying they won't cook rotisserie over 350°F, again, because it makes the meat "tough".
   *I don't agree with that statement, but it's a matter of taste. I want a brown, crispy exterior on my roasts, which you only get from high heat. They are more concerned about a tender interior, which comes from not overcooking the meat. There is a wider time window of "not overcooked" with lower heat, reducing the risk of overcooking. I take my chances with overcooking to get a browned crust, and trust my instant read thermometer to tell me when the roast is perfectly cooked.

Thanks again to everyone who responded to the survey!

What do you think? Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Related Posts:

Click here for my grilling recipes.
Click here for my rotisserie recipes.

Check out my cookbook, Rotisserie Grilling.Everything you could ask about the rotisserie, plus 50 (mostly) new recipes to get you cooking.It's a Kindle e-book, so you can download it and start reading immediately!

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