"Nonnymus" > wrote in message
...
> Theron wrote:
>> "Brick" > wrote in message
>> ster.com...
>>> On 5-Jun-2009, "Theron" > wrote:
>>>
>>>> "vex" > wrote in message
>>>> ...
>>>>> I have a friend that wants to replace his gasser that died and he's
>>>>> looking
>>>>> for recommendations. His budget is $4-700, so he's open to quite a
>>>>> wide
>>>>> range of stuff. I know this is a bbq newsgroup, but I value the
>>>>> opinions
>>>>> of
>>>>> y'all... Not to mention it's been sort of quiet lately...
>>>>>
>>>>> --Brett
>>>>>
>>>> The problem with all "gassers" is that they don't grill hot enough.
>>>> Direct
>>>> heat from propane just isn't hot enough to char a steak. If that's not
>>>> important, I'd look at the Weber. I've had a Weber Silver Genesis B for
>>>> years with minimal problems. Replacing grates and other wear related
>>>> parts
>>>> is easy, just a trip to Home Depot. I wonder how the grates on the
>>>> Costco
>>>>
>>>> stainless steel grills get replaced after several years.
>>>>
>>>> Ed
>>> My 'gasser' is strange. It easily reaches 700°F. It has three burners
>>> arranged
>>> left, right and center. I have a smoker, so I don't make 'Q' in the
>>> grill,
>>> but it will
>>> easily create the climate necessary to make 'Q'. With just one end
>>> burner
>>> on
>>> low, it will easily run in the 225°F range on the other end. Several
>>> folks
>>> here
>>> use nothing but gas cookers and they make quite acceptable 'Q'.
>>>
>>> As for steaks, mine cut at 1-1/2 inches take about 2-1/2 minutes per
>>> side
>>> to reach medium rare. They get a nice char on the outside.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Brick WA7ERO (Youth is wasted on young people)
>>
>> 700F at the grate isn't hot enough to char with the lid up, as you would
>> wish.
>> 700F may be ok for grilling with the lid down, though I can't imagine
>> wanting to grill anything at this temp. except possibly pizza. If you
>> grill
>> steak with the lid down to the point where you have a steakhouse char, as
>> at Ruth Chris' http://www.ruthschris.com/Menu/Steaks you will have a gray
>> band under the char much larger than the gray band you see here. It will
>> be
>> pink only in the center.
>>
>> Ed
>
> The best way to get a perfect char, as you call a Steakhouse Char and I
> refer to as Char Rare, you can use an infrared heat element and a V grate.
> My own is home built, but essentially consists of two side by side IR
> emitters from Barbeques Galore, connected with a home built manifold and
> venturis to a ball valve. When lit, they emit little visible flame, but
> the heat is almost instant and you can't hold a hand 3' above the
> elements. The steaks, burgers or anything else I want to char sit on a SS
> grate of V-shaped pieces, with the openings upward. I've seen this in some
> grills before, and trust me, it works swell. The grates cover about 50%
> of the surface, collecting juices that evaporate under the meat. The rest
> do fall through onto the ceramic emitter's surfaces. The interesting part
> is that there is very little flame, since the heat is so intense the
> juices seem to evaporate and there's not the flare up of burning fat like
> you have in even the best traditional gas grills.
>
> My theory is that the fat and juice falling toward the burner surface
> don't "burn" per se, because there's little or no oxygen in the close
> area. There is a lot of white smoke, however, but it's not the black,
> carbon-depositing smoke you get with a flame-up on a regular grill.
>
> 1" steaks cooked from room temperature take exactly 2 minutes per side.
> More and they become medium and less leaves the inside too raw for my
> taste.
>
> FWIW, a relative has a NG fired IR grill he paid over $1200 for 12 years
> ago. It has the same V-shaped grate system as my little one, but only one
> IR emitter, set far lower (away from the grate) than mine. It's much more
> like a traditional grill, complete with flare-ups on occasion, but his
> V-shaped grates do work well and the flare ups are about as few and far
> between as I have on my regular gas grill using ceramic flame tamers.
>
> I've noticed that IR is becoming increasingly popular in grills, including
> even some at Sam's Club.
>
> --
> Nonny
>

Nonny, can you take a digital photo of your infrared setup and post it here?
I'd sure like to see what it looks like. It would be interesting to know the
temp. at the grate level. As high as 1500F? You're indirectly addressing my
question about infrared grills. Will any commercial moderately priced
infrared grill char a steak as your grill does?

Ed