For grill lovers, a brand new flame

Is infrared the next big step for backyard chefs?

from the May 25, 2007 edition

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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."

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