Infrared Gas Grill Questions

[NC Cat]

I'm in the market for a new grill this spring and am looking for one with infrared burners. At Lowe's I saw a Jenn-Air with a ceramic infrared burner and it looked like a nice grill. All-stainless, lots of cooking surface, little lights in the hood, etc.



Then I sawa Charbroil all-stainless grill with a TEC infrared system. It has metal, versus ceramic, infrared burners that are covered by a glass plate, which is supposed to keep food from clogging the burners and be real easy to clean. I'd never seen anything like it before and wonder if anyone knows anything about this infrared system.Any info or experiences with infrared that you can sharewould be greatly appreciated.

[surveyor]

I've seen quite a few of those grills on the market, too. We would have been in the market for one had we not bought a brand new one this winter.

I've been curious, nonetheless, and here's an interesting write up about infrared burners. :thumbup

http://bbq.about.com/cs/infraredgrills/a/aa033101a.htm

Chars a steak on the outside but leaves it rare in the middle.
What if I told you there's a grill that will cook foods in half the time of any other grill? A grill that can produce the kind of heat necessary to char a 1" steak on the outside but leave it rare in the middle. A grill that can reach cooking temperatures above 700oF. How, you ask? The Infrared Burner.

The infrared burner works by focusing the flame of a standard gas burner onto a ceramic tile that has thousands of microscopic holes in it. This converts the heat of the flame into infrared energy, the same energy you feel from the sun on a cold day. This heat is much higher and more persistent than a standard grill can produce.

Until recently, to get this type of grill you would need to purchase a TEC. Recently, that is, because in 2000 TEC's patent on this technology ran out, and several competitors have jumped in to offer the infrared technology. ...............

[CATHYnKY]

KY Blue in Carolina...he's your source. He has one.

[NC Cat]

btt

[KY Blue in Carolina]

I do indeed have a TEC Patio II infrared grill - with ceramic plates.

TEC manufactures a lot of high end commercial infrared equipment supplying restaurants such as Ruth's Chris.

I did have a ceramic plate crack, which TEC (Columbia, SC) replaced under their lifetime guarantee (I caught the freight only).

I love the TEC product and would recommend anything they manufacture. Now that they've switched to all steel, I have to believe that is the way to go.

Might want to talk to the folks at Dixie Products, in Roanoke, VA. They're the regional distributor for TEC and very helpful folks who can probably offer comparrison on ceramic vs ss.

http://www.dixieproducts.com/index.html

Regardless - if you're going to go gas...... infrared is the only way to go. You won't believe the difference.

Happy Grilling!

[KY Blue in Carolina]

Whoops!

Looks like Dixie no longer reps TEC.

I guess that makes sense if TEC is licensing their technology/assemblies through Char Broil now...

T.

[Texas Cat Fan]

http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9G_Rqp8fAhGy3cBkGGjzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTA4NDgyNWN 0BHNlYwNwcm9m/SIG=12ak56mfn/EXP=1175047676/**http%3A//www.bbqreport.com/wp-content/resources/hemi.jpg

[NC Cat]

Thanks for the info Tom. I'm defintiely going to get the Charbroil then. The one I'm looking at hastwo TEC infrared burners on one side and two regular SS burners on the other.Here's a link to more info: http://www.charbroil.com/tec/index.html

There are some pretty nice videosshowing how the product works.

[KY Blue in Carolina]

So..... What time's dinner?

I could stand a little WLW watching you prepare a nice fillet for us!

[NC Cat]

You know, the more WLW I drink the better I grill.

Or maybe it's justthat ITHINK I grill better....

Hmmm...

Only one way to find out for sure.Grab a bottle ofWeller, a whole fillet, and get your butt over to G-Vegas. We've got some scientific investigating to do!;)