Many foods reach their peak when you grill them at two different temperatures, usually starting at a high level and then finishing at a lower level. Both porterhouse and tuna steaks, for example, are best when seared first on a hot fire and then moved to medium heat for cooking through. On gas grills you can make temperature adjustments with nothing more than the turn of a knob. With smaller models that have one or two burners, simply turn down the heat at the appropriate time and move food temporarily to a cooler edge of the grate to speed the temperature transition. With gas grills that have three or more burners, you can usually keep a hot fire and a medium fire going simultaneously from the beginning.

Creating a two-level fire on a charcoal grill isn’t much more difficult. On models that include an adjustable grate or firebox, lower the heat by increasing the distance between the coals and the food. In the case of more common conventional grills that lack that feature, build two similarly sized cooking areas on opposite sides of the grill by stacking and spreading the charcoal differently. For the hot section, pile coals between two and three deep; for the medium area, scatter them in a single layer so that they’re just touching one another. Doing this may seem a bit of a bother, but with many foods, building a two-level fire noticeably improves results. Once you understand how to regulate the temperature of your grill and how long to cook different types of food, grilling is simple and fun.