A New Way to Grill: Barbecue-Braising

Why braise on the barbecue?

Come summer, not many cooks are thinking pot roast or short ribs. Who wants to heat up the kitchen? I don’t. But I don’t want to take a three-month pass on slow-cooked dishes, either. So I solved the problem by taking it outside. I call this new cooking method barbecue-braising.

For the most part, you probably use your grill to quickly cook steaks, burgers, and chicken breasts over high heat. But the grill is great for braising, too. Traditionally, meat is braised by browning it in a Dutch oven, adding a flavorful liquid and aromatics, and cooking it slowly for several hours on the stovetop or in the oven until it’s meltingly tender. (I actually prefer the oven method, since the heat source is more even.)

When barbecue-braising, the grill performs like an oven: You just put your pot on the grill, cover, and let the meat simmer for several hours. But with this method, you have two advantages over the indoor technique. First, before braising, you can brown the meat directly on the grill, which adds extra flavor. And after braising, you can brush the cooked meat with a tasty glaze (a part of each of these recipes) and finish it directly over the fire. The result: delicious, saucy, fall-off-the-bone meat.

Barbecue-braising in four steps:

Grill skills

A gas grill is best for barbecue-braising, because it’s easy to control the grill’s heat level for the two grilling techniques this method requires—direct and indirect. If you consider yourself a fire master, though, you can make all these recipes on a charcoal grill (click below for instructions on setting up the charcoal grill). It takes a bit more attention and effort to maintain the fire, but cooking over charcoal delivers a nice, smoky flavor.

Here’s how to set up your gas grill to use direct heat for the initial sear and final glaze and indirect heat for the long braise. Direct grilling means cooking food directly over the heat source. Turn on all the burners, setting them at the level indicated in the recipe, and let the grill heat for 10 to 15 minutes.

Indirect grilling means the heat source is around, but not directly under, the food. Turn all but one of the burners on medium heat. For a three-burner grill, leave the center burner off. Set an oven or grill thermometer on the grate above the unlit burner and close the lid. Let it heat for about 10 minutes. Adjust the temperature of the burners as necessary until the thermometer reads 350°F. When ready, set the pot over the unlit burner.