Infrared Grill Information
Infrared Grill Advantages
There are three key reasons why infrared gas grills are superior to other forms of grilling:
Tastes Better
Simply put, cooking on an infrared grill can make your food taste
better. It starts with the high temperatures that infrared gas
grills can achieve. High heat allows for a better sear, locking
in juices and flavors. Infrared burners also are easily adjusted
and have a very uniform temperature distributution, ensuring that your
meat is cooked uniformly and to your liking. Finally, the design
of most infrared grills allows for drippings to be instantly vaporized
before a flare-up occurs, creating a smokey flavor.
Less Time
Let's face it... prep time is no fun. Using an infrared grill
can dramatically reduce the time it takes to get your meal ready, so
you spend more time eating and less time cooking. It starts with
a rapid warm up. The high output of an infrared grill quickly
preheats your cooking surface. The hightened heat levels also
allow cooking times to be much shorter. Finally, cleanup on most
infrared grills is a breeze... simply set them to "clean", and in a few
minutes any extra drippings will be reduced to ash!
Saves Money?!
Believe it or not, using an infrared grill can actually be cheaper
than a conventional charcoal or gas grill. The biggest savings is in
reducing the amount of fuel required. Since the grills pre-heat
and cook much faster, the grill is using fuel for a much shorter amount
of time. Easy cleanup and effecient burner design means that your
grill might last longer as well. So while you may end up paying a
bit more upfront for a new infrared grill, it could end up saving you
money in the long run. How's that for an excuse to get a new
grill!
Infrared Grill Technology
The origional infrared gas burners were actually invented to help
dry
paint! Someone realized that the benefits of infrared could be
applied to gas grills, and the infrared gas grill was born.
Initially, infrared grills were very expensive ($5,000+), but like any
new technology, prices decresed over time. In the year 2000, key
patents related to infrared grill technology expired, and the market
began to blossom. You can now buy a very nice infrared grill for
about $400 from manufacturers such as Solaire and Char-Broil.
The core piece of technology in an infrared grill is a special infrared
burner, that converts propane or natural gas into infrared
radiation. The heat these burners generate is several hundred
degrees hotter than your typical gas grill, provinding many of the
benefits mentioned above.
The only real downside to infrared grills is that some models are not
capable of burning as cool as traditional gas grills... a problem if
you want to BBQ "low and slow". For this reason, some
manufacturers provide both traditional and infrared burners. This
combinations gives you the best of both worlds!
Exploring the Site
Check out our new Grill Accessories page.
To learn more about infrared grills, including more specific
information on top models, review the links to the right.
