There are three types of cooking you do most every day and these play a big part of outdoor cooking.
Conduction is direct contact between the food and the cooking surface and source. For instance when you place a pan on the element of an electric stove-top burner the hot electric coil touches the pan and the heat is transferred by conduction or direct contact. The food placed in the pan is also cooked this way...with some minor variations to that statement because if you add water or oil you are using something called...
Convection. Nearly all home ovens use convection to cook, the elements or burners are hidden below the food and as the elements heat up the air inside the oven heats and that heat transfers to the food via a method called convection. Hot water is also convection, as is hot oil, as these transfer heat or carry heat from the source to the food. Adding a fan to the oven stirs that air up and keeps the heat moving more evenly about the oven...rather than the hottest air collecting at the top...remember, and this is also important to outdoor cooking: "Heat rises"
Radiation. A broiler in your oven uses radiation to cook meat. A toaster does as well...although in both instances the heat source also warms the air and that conducts some heat...but primarily it's the radiation from the element. Ever stood around a campfire with the wind blowing the opposite direction - so all the hot air and smoke is blowing away from you? - and anything facing the fire/coals gets hot? That's radiation. Infrared radiation to be precise.
When cooking outdoors you'll learn to use all of these to prepare tastier food! oh yes you will...
