The
debate between which type of barbecue, gas or charcoal, is the best
just became a bit more complicated. Infrared barbeques are quickly gaining
in popularity with backyard chefs throughout the country. These grills
are quick to heat up, reduce cooking time, and are exceptionally easy
to use.
A traditional charcoal or gas grill cooks via the convection process.
A fuel source (gas, charcoal or wood) is burned, giving off heat. This
heat circulates around the food inside the grill, thereby cooking the
meat. This method has been the way backyard grills have worked since
they were first invented. However, infrared barbeques work in a slightly
different manner. Infrared barbeques use tiles, usually made from ceramic,
to quickly and efficiently cook the food. As the fuel source is burned,
the heat is focused through thousands of microscopic holes in the tiles,
thereby producing an extremely hot cooking surface.
This cooking method has several advantages. The number one advantage
is a significantly reduced cooking time. The high heat generated by
this cooking method means that food can be cooking much faster than
any traditional barbeque methods. This reduced cooking time brings about
the second advantage of this type of barbeque, and that is less fuel
consumption. The less time it takes to cook a piece of meat on a barbeque,
the less fuel is required to cook said piece of meat. This is true whether
you’re using charcoal or gas as the primary heat source. And because
it uses less fuel, it means that you will spend less money to buy fuel
for your outdoor grilling activities. It also means that the cook can
spend less time slaving over the grill and more time enjoying the company
of friends and family.
Cooking with infrared barbeques can also help improve the quality of
your finished product as well. Hot air can dry out a steak fairly quickly
if not watched carefully. However, the intense heat generated by an
infrared barbeque is the ideal way to properly sear the outside of a
thick steak while leaving the inside tender and juicy. In most cases,
this can be done in just a few short minutes, meaning less time salivating
and more time eating.
If you’ve been looking into purchasing one of these infrared
barbeques, there are some small disadvantages that should be considered
first. While the heat produced by these barbeques is ideal for cooking
dense meats such as beef and chicken, it can also ruin a good piece
of fish or any grilled vegetables. To help meet the demands of barbeque
aficionados many manufacturers are now building grills that have a section
dedicated to infrared cooking techniques, and one for traditional grilling.
These grills offer the best of both worlds and make it much easier for
the cook to meet dietary requests of anyone he/she is cooking for.
The other major disadvantage is that infrared barbeques tend to be
a bit on the expensive side. However, it should be noted that as the
technology progresses, and their popularity continues to increase, it
is fairly certain that these prices will eventually come down.
