Grill Maestro

The rule of thirds is something I read in an article by Les Brand, the author of The Barbecue Hut, and it refers to splitting up the space on your open charcoal grill into different temperature areas. He recommends that you only layer coals underneath two thirds of your grill, for the highest temperature cooking areas, while leaving a third of your grill without coals, thus creating an area of lower temperature. Taking this one step further, he suggests that if your grill is large enough, you could create three levels by double the coals on a third, single the coals on a third, and leave the last third empty - three levels of cooking temperatures.

This strategy also requires that you create space on the grill, i.e. don’t pack it with meat, so that you have room to maneuver the meat. If your steak is burning, move it to the cooler part of the grill so that it can cook on the inside without burning on the outside.

If you have a gas grill, this strategy is not as important because you can simply turn down the heat when things get too hot.

This is definitely a strategy none of my friends had ever employed and definitely one that will move you at least one rung up the ladder, now I just need to get a bigger grill!

via Smoke Ring articles.