Hi, I’m Chef Tony Matassa, Today we are going to take a look at something I get asked
a lot about..
What is an infrared burner or grill, and what sets them apart as something you should consider
having in your outdoor kitchen?
With most high quality infrared grills, you can enjoy the great benefits of quick preheat
times, faster cooking times, even heat distribution across the grill surface, juicier food overall
and steakhouse quality searing.
When describing infrared burners vs. conventional burners, basically the way I try to explain
it is a conventional style gas burner will produce heat that is more diffuse, sort of
like a flashlight.
Whereas the heat that comes from an infrared is very direct and concentrated, more like
a laser beam.
That is why infrared broilers are generally used in steakhouses for the intense sear and
crust they can produce at extremely high temperatures.
The design of an infrared burner is basically a gas chamber area covered by some form of
radiant panel.
This allows infrared grills to have very even heat across the cooking surface.
The most common design you will find is a perforated ceramic tile covered with a protective
stainless mesh.
Solaire and Lynx are two popular brands featuring this type of burner.
And the most unique design of an infrared system that I’ve seen is used inside Tec
grills, where radiant Glass panels evenly spread out the heat from the burners as it
rises to your food.
These TEC grills are about the most even cooking grills you'll ever use.
One of my favorite practical advantages of infrared grilling is the incredibly quick
preheat time.
With an infrared grill, you will be ready to cook within 3-5 minutes, making them perfect
for a busy schedule.
You will also notice the food you cook over infrared will be cooked to perfection in a
fraction of the time compared to cooking over conventional burners.
The main feature I am looking for, when I want the perfect sear is the ability to reach
temperatures between 800 and 1,000 degree range.
At these temperatures, you will get excellent grill marks, caramelization, and a beautiful
crust across the entire surface of your steak.
Solaire grills and their ceramic infrared burners produce some of the highest heat outputs
you'll find."
Now if we look past the great exterior sear that you get with infrared grilling, you will
also find that the food you cook over infrared will be incredibly juicy.
The reason behind this is, infrared works to eliminate the convective air movement that
a conventional burner uses to heat your food.
When grilling over infrared, the moisture barrier of your food remains intact………..
Real World Translation……..
The food you grill will retain up to 30% more moisture.
A common misconception about infrared grills, is that they are only designed to cook well
at high temperatures.
Top grill brands in the industry such as Tec and Lynx are constantly innovating, and have
created variable temperature infrared cooking systems.
The Tec patio FR series of grills uses a variable temperature stainless steel burner underneath
Tec’s radiant glass panels.
With this unique design, Tec has made it possible to grill at a low of about 200° or a high
of about 900 degrees which is a huge temperature range for an infrared grill.
This makes it possible to enjoy the benefits of infrared even when cooking something fairly
low and slow.
The trident prosear burner by Lynx is another great option if you want a variable temperature
infrared burner.
Cook something like shrimp at lower temperatures, or crank up the heat to high for steakhouse
searing.
If you are interested in having the option of cooking over infrared or conventional burners,
there are plenty of hybrid grills on the market, which will typically feature several conventional
burners paired with one infrared zone.
If the bulk of your cooking will be over conventional burners, infrared side burners are also a
great option.
With this type of setup, you don’t have to dedicate any of your main grilling area
to an infrared zone, giving you the best of both worlds.