yetanotherBob wrote:
Interesting observations. Thanks for your insights.

On the subject of infrared grills, I've been seeing a new grill at
Costco that features an IR grill burner (the rightmost of four on the
grill proper), an IR rotisserie burner, and what looks to be an IR or
possibly catalytic pot burner on the right wing of the grill.

Overall, it's a pretty attractive package, at a pretty attractive price
($399 if I recall correctly), with lots of SS glitz, a number of
included accessories, and a fairly compact footprint.

I'm wondering whether anyone else has seen one / own one / have an
opinion on one? With your comments on the benefits of your IR grill, it
does look tempting.

Bob

I don't belong to Costco, so I've not seen the grill you're talking
about. At Barbeques Galore, I recall seeing several grills with an IR
burner(s) on one side. Maybe it's becoming popular or a fad. What
bothered me no end about those, however, was that they used the same
grate of round SS bars, clear across and including the IR section. The
IR grills that work best use V-shaped grates that trap about 2/3 of the
drippings in the V, with only 1/3 dripping onto the emitter. It's that
combination of flame and smoke that makes a difference, IMHO. The
round bars would let all the drippings fall to the emitters and I would
anticipate a lot more flame and SOOT on the meat cooked above such an
arrangement.

I also think that the IR-modified traditional grills have the emitters
too small and too far away from the grates and don't have enough emitter
area compared to a dedicated unit. Still, they're better than nothing,
or just a gas grill, I'd guess.

It's difficult to describe what it looks like cooking a steak on my home
made unit with the "V-shaped" grate. The emitters are about 4" to 5"
below the grates, cover all the area below them, and glow a light
yellowish color when heated after about a minute. Anything left on the
grates from a previous cooking turns to a white ash within a minute or
so. A steak placed on the grates almost immediately begins to drip.
The drippings that fall between the V grates are vaporized as they reach
the emitter 4"-5" below, and become almost like a glowing vapor. There
is some fire, but it's a whitish kind of fire. The juices that are
caught by the grates, gravity drain to the back, since I sloped them
that way. However, almost all are vaporized by the time they've
traveled 2"-3" down the grate and the vapors burn (frequently) above,
not below, the meat. Where the meat covers the grates, there is no
oxygen to permit burning- just where the juices pass beyond the meat.
It's very weird to watch.

The result with smoke-cooked wings, for instance, is that 45 seconds
(that includes almost continuous turning) chars the wing skin nicely and
gives it a nice bark. A room temperature ribeye takes 2 minutes per
side to get it just above rare in the middle. Shrimp on a skewer get
about 15 seconds per side maximum after being cooked over the grill to
give them a nice blackening on their edges. It's a lot of fun to play
with, and I've barely scratched the surface. It's also fantastic in the
way it removes hair from the back of your hands. grin The IR grill is
not what you'd use on anything beyond beef, IMHO, since it is too hot
and does not cook the inside. However, it's great to finish off other
food that's been already prepared.
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