(Photograph)
Hot Item: The $999 Char-Broil TEC Series grill packs two glass-top infrared burners capable of reaching 900 degrees F. Not bad for a backyard barbeque.
Courtesy of Char-Broil

For grill lovers, a brand new flame

Is infrared the next big step for backyard chefs?

Page 1 of 3

Vicky and Mark Provost dragged their propane grill to the curb this spring at their home north of Boston. After six years, the old workhorse – a Sunbeam with a small extra burner on the side – had rusted into retirement.

To choose its replacement they will check Consumer Reports, Ms. Provost says. They'll weigh the latest options and try to spend no more than $300.

"I'd love to go back to charcoal," she says. "I like the old stuff."

There's always plenty of action at the retro end of the grill market – charcoal-grill and smoker ownership are on the rise – and many professional chefs still put their faith in open flames. But, as in every corner of consumerdom, high-tech colors one definition of the leading edge.

The manufacturer buzz this summer: infrared, an ultra-high radiant heat – sometimes well above 1,000 degrees F. – typically generated by forcing gas flames through many tiny burner holes to heat a ceramic plate.

Time for consumers – steak fans, in particular – to work out a new calculus for outdoor cookery.

For several years, small "searing strips" – often placed upright behind a rotisserie, for browning big cuts of meat – have appeared in some high-end home grills. Firms including Jenn-Air and Modern Home Products now offer grills with at least one lie-flat infrared burner as well. And this year, grillmaker Char-Broil joins with Thermal Engineering Corporation, an infrared pioneer, on a (barely) sub-$1,000 line that uses high-temperature glass to distribute heat – up to 900 degrees F. – from a flat-surface steel burner. (It also has traditional gas burners.) "This is technology that's been in the commercial restaurant industry for many years," says Thom Ward, a spokesman for Georgia-based Char-Broil. "The taste results that you get cooking with infrared heat is incredible."

Page 1 | 2 | 3 | Next Page

Get Monitor stories by e-mail:
(Your e-mail address will be protected by csmonitor.com's tough privacy policy.)

In Pictures
Fireworks: A party in the sky

ELECTION '08 Patchwork Nation
The American voter beyond red and blue

FISHERIES Empty Oceans Series
The sea is no longer so vast.


Daily podcast

Monitor Reports

Discussions with Monitor reporters from around the world


Today

Peter Grier

Honduras has two presidents, but no solution to the country's political crisis.




Making a difference
Making a Difference

What happens when ordinary people decide to pay it forward? Extraordinary change. See how individuals are making a difference, finding solutions, overcoming adversity, and giving back globally.

Jeremy Gilley, founder of the nonprofit Peace One Day, talks with students at Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School in Cambridge, Mass.

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

People making a difference: Jeremy Gilley

This actor and filmmaker envisions that world peace begins with just one day of peace.