5 Methods For Two-Zone Grilling on a Weber Kettle

Two-zone grilling is one of the simplest, but most important skills to master on the Weber Kettle Grill. In this guide I’ll tell you everything you need to know, including a few things you might not see anywhere else.

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What is Two-Zone Cooking?

Put simply, two-zone cooking is just another way to describe having both direct (or radiant) heat, and indirect (or convection) heat going at the same time.

I’ll get into more detail later, but the direct side is for very hot, direct grilling and searing, while the indirect side can be used for many different styles of cooking such as roasting, baking, and braising.

With the lid on, the indirect side will still be very hot. If we take the lid off however, the indirect side will be cool. This is great for resting steaks or managing flare ups.

How To Set Up For 2-Zone Grilling

Lump charcoal or charcoal briquettes are arranged on one side of the grill (the direct side). This can be achieved by banking the coals against the bowl, using charcoal baskets, or the Slow ‘n Sear if you want to get fancy.

Many Kettle users are also fans of the Vortex placed in the center of the grill which creates a small center area of very high temp direct heat (suitable for searing steaks, deep frying in a Dutch oven, etc.) and a larger indirect circle outside the Vortex which is typically much higher than normal temperatures (a popular way to air fry chicken wings)

How to Use 2-Zone Grilling (5 Different Methods)

Method 1: Direct Heat with Cool Zone (Lid Off)

This is the simplest way to use two two-zone grilling. Instead of covering the whole charcoal grate with hot coals, you only spread them about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way across.

This leaves a portion of the cooking great as a cool zone away from direct heat.

This method is perfect for burgers and skin-on chicken pieces that tend to drip lots of fat which causes flare ups. Battling a major flare up with no place to put your food is an easy way to ruin everyone’s lunch

Pro Tip: This is the best way to cook burgers on a charcoal grill. When you cook very fatty meat with the lid on, it fills the cooking chamber with acrid white smoke which tastes terrible.

It took me a long time to realize this, but when I finally did, it was life changing

Just be aware that with the lid off, the coals will burn hotter and faster due to increased air flow.

Method 2: Direct Heat First, Then Finished Indirect

Depending on what and how you’re cooking, the lid could either be on or off when cooking on the direct side.

For example, In my smoked corn dip recipe, I start with the lid off by grilling corn and then sauteing onion, jalapeno, and garlic in a cast iron pan over direct heat. When the rest of the ingredients are added, the pan goes to the indirect side and the lid goes on. While it gets nice and bubbly, smoke flavor is also added.

Pro Tip: This method is perfect for adding smoke to food that you want to grill like steaks and chicken. Even if you just add a small chunk of wood while the meat is finishing up, it can add a dynamic depth of flavor.

Method 3: Indirect Heat First, Then Finished Direct

The most popular way to use this method is with a reverse sear. That’s when a thick piece of meat like a tomahawk steak is cooked slowly over indirect heat and then hot seared to create a delicious crust on the outside. Depending on the cook, you may need to add additional coals for the direct phase to get a higher cooking temp.

Pro Tip: This method is also a great way to cook meat that is sauced or marinated, especially if the sauce has sugar which is less likely to burn if cooked indirectly.

 A great example is my pollo asado chicken. I start the chicken over indirect heat so the marinade (and flavor) has time to set. When it’s ready, I grill the chicken over direct heat for just a few minutes per side to get some additional color and flavor.

Method 4: Indirect Only

With the indirect only method, we’ll be cooking indirectly at one temperature (or as close as we can get) the whole time. This can be as high as 425, like in my smoked turkey recipe or texas twinkies,  or at much lower temperatures like when I make smoked cream cheese.

Pro Tip: The recipes I’ve mentioned are not traditional “low and slow” BBQ which is also cooked indirectly. For those cooks I use the charcoal snake method, which I’ll be covering in depth in an upcoming article.

Method 5: Both At The Same Time

I use my Kettle Grills a LOT, and most of the time I’m making a family dinner. The more things I can do simultaneously without running in and out of the house the better. This method is easier with the larger 26 inch model, but the 22 is the standard for a reason…it still gets the job done.

What I’m talking about here is cooking multiple things at once such as a main protein and veggies or potatoes.

Maybe it’s grilling some chicken thighs over direct heat while asparagus is steaming in a foil pack on the indirect side or doing cedar plank salmon indirectly while Brussels sprouts are browning in a cast iron pan over the coals.

The possibilities here are endless. Throw in a cold brew or two and suddenly the chore of making dinner becomes something to look forward to after the daily grind.

Conclusion

So there you have it folks…that’s most of what’s floating around the old Kettle Guy’s noggin about two zone cooking and grilling. I hope it helps some of you out there take your grilling game to the next level, or at least put some of the pieces together for you.

Let me know how it goes in the comments!

Cheers