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How does an infrared grill work?

Want a hottie? Go infrared, Fred

By David Zimmer

Relative newcomers to the barbecue scene, infrared grills are becoming more widely available in Canada after patent protection ran out for the company that initially developed the system. Whereas traditional gas grills use air as a medium to transfer heat between the diffuser system and the cooking grates, infrared grills use radiant energy. 

It works like this: A ceramic burner with as many as 15,000 flame ports heats itself until glowing and cooks food using direct radiant energy – the same energy the sun uses to heat our skin across the icy void of space. Infra-red grills heat up very quickly, attain grill temperatures in excess of 1,300ºF and, because they do not rely on hot air as a transfer medium, are advertised as being capable of high-temperature grilling in strong winds or sub-zero temperatures. 

Joel Waisglass at Sobie’s Barbecues & Appliance is a big proponent of infrared cooking for its even heat distribution and excellent searing ability and feels that as prices come down (infrared grills currently range in price from $499–$7,999) they will be the next big trend in gas grills. 

Barbecue guru Steven Raichlen, who has experience cooking with infrared, is less effusive in his praise. “They’re great for grilling steaks,” he says. “But that’s about it. The most common models have two temperatures, extremely hot and off, which is not good if you need gentler heat to cook your food – whole chicken pieces, for example.” 

Apparently, the jury is still out on infrared.

 

Published in the June 2004 issue of Cottage Life magazine.

Copyright © 2004 by Cottage Life. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any article, photograph, or artwork, for other than personal use, in whole or in part, without the written permission of the publisher is strictly forbidden.