Heat that is radiated from a heat source. For the purpose of BBQ, Radiant Heat is generally referred to as the “Direct Method”or cooking directly above the coals.

Heat that rises on convection currents generally referred to in BBQ cooking as the “Indirect Method” or cooking adjacent to the heat source. Convection can be from natural force or stirred by a fan (forced convection).

In BBQ, this is what is happening when heat is conducted from the outside of the meat to the inside of the meat. The more intense the radiant heat, or the higher the temperature of convection currents, the faster meat conducts heat to its core.

Cooking with high heat by the Direct Method. Generally thin or slim cuts are cooked and turned at regular intervals until the desired doneness is achieved.

Smoke cooking with the Indirect Method at low temperature over a long period of time.

Usually refers to cold smoking or temperatures that would fall in the danger zone. Meat to be smoked in the danger zone must be cured prior to smoking.

The DZ is considered to be 40-140 F. Uncured meat should be kept above or below these temperatures, except for short intervals, to retard bacterial growth.

Meat to be smoked or jerked should be treated with a cure compound made of salt, sugar and sodium nitrate. This process takes several days.

Air forced through a fan or blower into a BBQ pit to control temperature.

Refers to a hole or pit in the ground where meat was cooked by a combination of heat from rocks, wood coals, and moisture. The term has come to be any appliance in which BBQ is cooked. For the most part, it has also become interchangeable with the word grill.

A thermocouple is a junction between two precision wires of different metals that generate a small amount of electrical current scaled to measure temperature.