For the outdoor culinary lifestyle fans and even the necessity buyer, the choice used to be between charcoal grills and open gas grills. If you preferred to show off your skill or perfect it through billowing smoke, much as your ancestors did, you chose the charcoal grill. Otherwise, you chose the gas grill.
But the choice is even more complicated with the availability of cutting-edge infrared grills. The choice is now down to the open flame grill versus the infrared grill. But whatever type of grill you might be shopping around for, Palm Beach Grill Center, located in Palm Beach County, has a list of items for you.
Infrared Grill vs. Open flame Grills
Form and Function
Infrared Grill
The infrared grill comes in the traditional style of ceramic plate with honeycomb ports with a stainless steel mesh on top. Anything else with ports not in a honeycomb fashion is most likely a fake. The ports in the ceramic plate produce flames up to 1200 degrees hot in 3-5 minutes.
The modern modification is the TEC’s Radiant Glass Panel system. This consists of a durable steel burner, radiant glass panel with a cooking grid on top. A grill that distributes heat more evenly and has better temperature control features.
The infrared grill works by producing an intensely high heat that is distributed more evenly. It heats the food directly through radiant heat, unlike the open flame grill that heats the air, which then heats the food.
This high heat directly at the food caramelizes it and locks in up to 35% more moisture than open flame grills. It also reduces the potential of flare-ups. The drippings are burnt up as soon as they are produced.
Pros and Cons of the Infrared Grill
- The intensely high, evenly distributed heat cooks your food quickly and evenly. This locks in a lot of the moisture making for tender vegetables and juicy steaks.
- You get steakhouse restaurant-quality food right in your backyard. Once you have learned to use it, the food produced is both delicious to eat and to show off to your friends.
- It is fuel-efficient and self-cleaning.
On the other hand, it costs more and requires a learning curve. Be prepared to burn your food in the beginning.
Open Flame Grills
AKA convectional or blue flame grill. The burners have ports that surround them. The grill is heated through these. The burner is cast iron or stainless steel.
The grill employs a heat distribution system consisting of heat plates, briquette trays, ceramic rods, or lava rocks. It is these that are heated, and they heat the food in turn.
It takes about 15-25 minutes to heat. Since the heat has to pass through a distributing system, hot spots are inevitable. These dry out your food as it cooks unless you keep basting.
Pros and Cons of the Open Flame Grills
- Better temperature controls. Not all foods need fast cooking at high temperatures. Most cooks start at the high heat of the infrared and finish slowly over an open flame.
On the flip side, it dehydrates the food and is prone to flare-ups.
Contact us
The choice of what grill to get, either the infrared or open flame grill, comes as a matter of preference. The grills are just different, not better or worse than the other. For the best grills in Palm Beach County, check out Palm Beach Grill Center.
