Infrared cooking advice

[Floyd]

I just bought a Tec from Lowes and it has both a standard and a infrared grill. I've been told to leave the grill open when using the infrared and closed when using the other. Is it better to just start the meat on the searing burner and then transfer it or to just leave it there? I'm loving the taste but sometimes I wonder if it's just my imagination. The meat seared first on the infrared does seem to taste better. More like on a charcol grill. There's also the possibility that it's because my old grill was so crappy. So far I'm really happy with it but I could sure use some cooking tips for the infrared burner. does anyone know ehere I could locate such?
Newbie

[john a]

Floyd,

I've not used an infrared burner but am interested in them. Not to rain on your parade but my research indicates problems with the Tec grill from Lowe's that might be serious otherwise I would not point it out.

New FORMER TEC Grill Owner - BBQ Source Forums

[Floyd]

[quote=john a;592640]Floyd,

I've not used an infrared burner but am interested in them. Not to rain on your parade but my research indicates problems with the Tec grill from Lowe's that might be serious otherwise I would not point it out.



Thanks for the heads up. I checked the screws right away and they seem fine. I did have reservations as to buying the Tec. Mostly because I was getting a lot of features for cheap and I figured it wouldn’t hold up near as well as a Weber or a more expensive brand. The new technology of the infrared is also a risky thing to purchase before they’ve ironed out the kinks. I was told that Char-Broil/Tec pioneered the infrared burned but I can’t say I know for sure. That said I’m really liking the new technology and feel it’s improved taste of many things I like to grill. As for the Tec itself I guess I will wait and see. I’ll be sure to post it if I run into any problems and I’ll also give a yearly progress report should I not have any problems. I will be considerably bummed should I find out I wasted my money on another crappy grill. If so I may go back to messy old charcol.

[john a]

I'm sure it will serve you well. I would think that by now they have resolved the problem with those screws but keep an eye on them.

[Jeekinz]

I have a conventional burner gas grill with an infared rotisserie burner. I haven't used it yet, but if I don't turn it on once every few weeks, it gets loaded with residual grease and grill junk. So I light it up and it smokes like crazy for 5-10 minutes.

What keeps those burners on your grill from loading up with fat/juice drippings?

[Floyd]

Originally Posted by john a

I'm sure it will serve you well. I would think that by now they have resolved the problem with those screws but keep an eye on them.

After hearing all the bad new I went back to Lowes to ask the manager what the return policy was on grills. To my chagrin all of the Tecs that had been there just weeks before were gone. It seems that Lowes is no longer selling them. That was it for me so I returned the grill as I had not had it over 30 days. I have spent a lot of money at Lowes and will continue to. They were very easy to deal with and I prefer them over Home Depot. Just the same I decided to try a Red which is also made by Char Broil but they were only available at Home Depot. Please tell me there's no defects with the Red as well.

[Floyd]

Originally Posted by Jeekinz

I have a conventional burner gas grill with an infared rotisserie burner. I haven't used it yet, but if I don't turn it on once every few weeks, it gets loaded with residual grease and grill junk. So I light it up and it smokes like crazy for 5-10 minutes.

What keeps those burners on your grill from loading up with fat/juice drippings?

The infrared part of the grill never got covered in anything because the intense heat on the glass turns everything near it to dust. That's one of the advantages of the grill style, it's self cleaning. I just wiped the glass off with a rag before use. How the new grill works is yet to be seen.

[Poppinfresh]

Way late to this thread, but my 2 cents:

Infrared is no different than any other heat source except for woods and charcoals (which are woods).

There's nothing wrong with infrared, it does a fine job; but ultimately, it doesn't matter one way or another which way you go. The advantage infrared brings to the party is that you can go from stone cold to 600 degrees in a matter of moments, whereas with a fire based grill you have to wait 10 minutes or so.

If there was any *actual* difference in flavor that you noticed (and not just "new grill smell" where everything tastes better because you have a brand new bright and shiny object lifting your spirits i.e. psychosomatic), it would have only been from the fact that your meat was seared more properly on the infrared. This isn't the result of the infrared, but rather an issue with you not waiting long enough for the gas grill to heat up enough to create a proper sear (or, alternately, perhaps your gas grill was uneven in terms of its hot zones)