To explain what I mean, I think you can level up a cooking style. For example, pasta. At level 1, you’re boiling dried pasta and adding sauce out of a jar. At level 1, you add your own spices. Level 3, switch to fresh pasta. Level 4, make your own sauce. And finally at level 5, make the pasta from scratch.
So with BBQ, I guess level 1 would be cooking the meat so it’s neither burnt nor underdone. Maybe level 2 is mixing different meats/cuts that have different heat/time requirements and cooking well. Further levels = ?
I believe it’s mostly about heat management (of the food and the grill) here’s my list:
1: internal heat not relevant, just an exterior sear like precooked hotdogs
2: managing internal temperature and getting a nice sear on multiple pieces the same size, like salmon fillets or steaks or chicken breasts or chicken legs
3: multiple unevenly sized pieces, like a parted chicken. Wings cook fast, breast has a thick part that needs attention, legs need to be cooked to a higher temp, etc
4: adding smoking into the mix, managing the heat and the wood constantly. Especially hard on charcoal
5: brisket or competition style chicken
Not a BBQ expert, but regarding point 2/3 I always cut my chicken breasts in half essentially regardless of how I cook them.
This is the way. I taught my gf this when she was wondering why her chicken wasn’t to temp after 30 minutes in the grill and mine was always done near the 20 minute mark.
It allows for a more even and quicker cooking.
I forget people grill with electricity or gas.
I think my family only allows starting at level 4. Should there be an alt scale or?..
I personally couldn’t figure out smoking until I had the first levels down but by all means go big, just be prepared to microwave your food after or eat it overcooked