Infrared Burners Heat Up Backyard Grills

From CNN.com - Technology:

ALBANY, Georgia (AP) -- For a quarter century, chefs at pricey steakhouses 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. 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. "Infrared is really hot," said Leslie Wheeler, a spokeswoman for the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association, an industry group in Arlington, Virginia. "They're great for searing and then either you turn it down or move over to another burner for cooking." The grills are still 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. (Infrared falls between visible light and microwave energy on the electromagnetic spectrum.)

Read the whole article