For a quarter century, chefs at pricey steak houses have been searing meat on burners that cook with infrared energy. Now the high-temperature technology may be coming to a backyard barbecue near you.<br />
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With the expiration of a key patent, 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. Previously, such grills cost as much as $5,000.<br />
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Infrared is really hot (pun intended). The grills are great for searing and then either you turn it down or move over to another burner for cooking.<br />
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Infrared grills are 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.<br />
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Char-Broil says its advanced burners operate at 450 to 900 degrees, hotter than the 450 to 750 degrees of standard gas burners.<br />
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Most leading grill makers, including Solaire, Weber and Whirlpool Corp.’s Jenn-Air, also offer grills that use infrared.<br />
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We hope to update our griling article soon now that this technology is seeing it way into our humble backyards.<br />
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See the full story at <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/fun.games/05/28/infrared.barbecues.ap/index.html"><strong>CNN</strong></a>
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