The Art of Temperature Control in Asado Cooking

One of the most valuable skills you’ll develop with your AX live fire grill is mastering temperature control without the dials and gauges of modern cookers. This intuitive approach to heat management connects you more deeply to the cooking process and ultimately results in more flavourful food.

Your AX grill offers several ways to adjust cooking temperatures. The primary method is managing the distance between your food and the heat source using the adjustable grill height. For gentler cooking, raise the cooking surface; for more intense heat, lower it closer to the embers. You can also create heat zones by positioning your wood and coals on one side, leaving the other side cooler for indirect cooking. This technique is particularly valuable for larger cuts that need to cook slowly to develop tenderness. The thick British steel of your AX grill excels at maintaining these temperature differentials across the cooking surface.

Learning to read the subtle signs of your fire is a skill worth developing. Rather than relying on thermometers, pay attention to the colour of the embers (white-hot for searing, red for moderate heat, soft orange for slow cooking) and the height of the flames. Test the heat with your hand—if you can hold it about 15 centimetres above the cooking surface for 5-6 seconds, it’s medium heat. Your AX grill’s responsive design allows you to make adjustments as needed, whether by adding small amounts of fresh wood, raking the embers to concentrate or disperse heat, or adjusting the cooking height. With practice, you’ll develop an almost instinctive sense of how to maintain your desired cooking temperature.