Affordable infrared burners add sizzle to backyard grill

ALBANY, Ga. — A technology that professional chefs have used for years to grill juicy sirloins at pricey steakhouses is now available to backyard grillers.

Leading grill makers have added super hot infrared burners that sear the meat to lock in moisture and flavor at prices affordable to amateur cooks. The technology has been available to professional chefs and well-heeled consumers for about 25 years, but the cost — up to $5,000 for some units — was too much for many weekend grillers.

With the expiration of a key patent on the technology, major gas grill manufacturers, including market leader Char-Broil, have scrambled to bring infrared cooking to the masses with models in the $500 to $1,000 range.

The grills are still powered by propane and have traditional gas burners that heat mostly by convection — or hot air. But they also can cook foods with radiant heat generated by one or more infrared burners. (Infrared is light that falls between the visible and microwave portions of the electromagnetic spectrum.)

Char-Broil says its advanced burners operate at 450 to 900 degrees, hotter than the 450 to 750 degrees of standard gas burners. And unlike charcoal, which can require 20 to 30 minutes to reach its 700-degree cooking temperature, heat from the infrared burners can be changed quickly, the company says.

Most leading grill makers, including Solaire, Weber and Jenn-Air, also offer grills that use infrared.

"It's terrific," said Leslie Wheeler, a spokeswoman for the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association, an industry group in Arlington, Va. "Grills nowadays give you many options."

She owns one of the infrared grills and said it's impressive.

"Infrared is really hot," she said. "They're great for searing and then either you turn it down or move over to another burner for cooking."

Cooks can sear steaks or hamburgers, steam vegetables and give their meats a smoky taste by tossing a few wood chips onto the burner, said Rob Schwing, a Char-Broil vice president.

"Infrared has done to the grill business what the microwave did to the indoor kitchen," he said. "It's presenting consumers with a whole new way of cooking."

Bill Best, founder of Thermal Electric Corp. of Columbia, S.C., developed the technology in the 1960s, primarily to give automakers a faster way to dry the paint on cars. That led to high-end grills for professional cooks and wealthy consumers.