Will you be shopping for a new grill this season?
If so, you have most likely seen the term infrared burner. What is an infrared burner, how does it differ from a traditional gas grill burner, and is it right for you?
In this article, you will learn the answer to these questions. You will also learn how a sear station doesn't necessarily mean the grill sears.
The concept of an infrared grill is not new.
It has been around since the 1980s, originally invented by TEC Grills. With an infrared burner, there is an infrared element between the grates and the flame.
The gas flame heats a ceramic tile covered in thousands of microscopic holes that radiate infrared energy into your food.
You can think of a traditional grill burner as shining a flashlight onto and around your food with a wide cone of diffused heat, whereas an infrared burner points a laser of heat directly onto the food.
Getting an even heat across the grill can be difficult with traditional grills in windy areas. Infrared burners are not affected by wind.
That gives you the ability to create even heat across the cooking surface.
Infrared burners utilize uniform radiant energy, heating the food directly. Infrared heat cooks your food evenly and faster.
Compare that to open flame grill burners which radiate heat through a heat distribution system (ceramic rods, lava rock, etc.), to distribute the heat across the grilling area.
The downside with traditional grills is that hot spots occur, and a lot of heat redirects downward.
As we said, think laser versus flashlight for infrared vs. regular gas heat.
A normal infrared is one temperature, but Lynx offers a variable from 300-1000 degrees.
You have that direct heat of an infrared but at a lower temperature. You can cook more water-soluble foods like fruit and veggies.
This grill is all infrared and is available in larger in 30, 36, and 48-inch sizes, but should you buy it?
You will be able to grill faster than a conventional burner. The downside is the price at well over $4,000.
Also, you need to be close by to your grill when you're cooking with infrared. Your food cooks faster and could burn if you are not paying attention.
Many pro grills will have the infrared option along with burners. A combination may be a good consideration to an all sear grill.
However, If you truly like to grill, all sear is a good consideration. You have the output plus the ability to lower temperature.
A less expensive option is the Weber Genesis and Summit Series grills. These are all traditional burner units perfect if you mostly cook hotdogs and hamburgers.
They also offer a "sear station," which is an additional burner element that provides a heat boost.
It's not an infrared burner, just an added burner for more heat. It will not be as effective as infrared.
The Weber Summit BBQ grill does add an infrared, but that is on the backside of the grill for the rotisserie on their Summit series only.
There are also some professional gills with traditional burner options more closely emulating an infrared.
The Hestan offers a 25,000 BTU burner with super thick grates that absorb and retain more heat.
This makes them more effective at searing than a regular gas burner, but again not as effective as an infrared burner.
In the end, whether to buy a grill with an infrared burner really comes down to budget and how you cook.
If you are a weekend griller who primarily cooks burgers and chicken or don't want to spend thousands of dollars, then a traditional gas burner grill will suffice.
You can spend $799-$999 on a Weber and be happy.
If you love to grill, grill a lot, then the infrared burner may be worth the investment. However, burners with infrared will cost over $4,000.
I know this is a grill article. However, you can have infrared broilers and grills in your kitchen.
Many professional ranges from Wolf, BlueStar, and Thermador offer infrared broilers. BlueStar is the hottest at 1800 degrees.
You can buy infrared grills for your cooktop in brands like Wolf, Miele, and Jenn-Air.
Miele is the hottest at 19,000 BTU.
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