Char Broil Tru Infrared Grills

[ControlD]

Does anyone have one? My current Grill (Kenmore) is getting close to 25 years old and it is pretty much worn out. I think I could squeeze another couple of years out of it with some replacement parts, but I think it's time for something new. Anyhow, I saw these infrared grills at Lowe's, and they look pretty nice for the money. I have read some reviews that make it seem like cleaning the grill is a chore however so I was hoping someone here might have some first hand experience.

The Weber gas grills look nice too, but they are about twice the cost.

 

[dullard]

I want one of those grills (similar reason) but the same reviews scare me away. The grilling performance is supposedly superb (according to several different grill reviews) by having lots of tiny air holes evenly distributed throughout the grill. But, I keep hearing reports of people having to disassemble the grill and bring it inside to scrub out those little holes that get clogged with grease after each and every time you use it.

To me, a grill should be self-cleaning (burn off the last meal, and the ash that remains is your flavor for the next meal, giving propane grills nearly the same flavor as charcoal without any of the inconveniences). I can't stand the idea of adding tons of cleaning time to each use. But, I too have never tried one of these.

 

[kranky]

I'm very impressed you got decades of service from a Kenmore grill. That's something.

No way would I want a grill that requires serious cleaning after each use. I'd justify the extra cost of a Weber by figuring it's worth 10 cents per use (over its lifetime) to me to avoid having to do that.

 

[RLGL]

I got 14 years hard usage from a Weber

 

[ControlD]

I'm very impressed you got decades of service from a Kenmore grill. That's something.

No way would I want a grill that requires serious cleaning after each use. I'd justify the extra cost of a Weber by figuring it's worth 10 cents per use (over its lifetime) to me to avoid having to do that.

I think the secret to grill longevity is keeping it covered. Mine has been outside on my deck for all those years but I always keep a cover on it when not in use. One nice thing about having a Kenmore grill is that parts are cheap and readily available. I would guess parts are also easily obtained for a Weber grill.

I should probably be happy I got so much life out of a $179 grill and get something nice this time around.

 

[Ns1]

i like infrared grilling in concept but the reviews for char broil are less than impressive.

 

[pauldun170]

When we replaced out grill earlier this year, Charbroil was high on "features", short on quality steel and construction. Burners tended to be weak as well.
Seems to be most grills you find in chain stores use thin 430 steel + low grade materials on components. Generally you can expect only a couple of years on most brands.
You end up with an ok looking hood and a mess of rusty, corroded crap underneath.
Weber is still top notch (allegedly) but you pay for it.

We went with a Broilking Signet.

 

[Kaido]

I have this one: (currently $162 shipped from Amazon, a little bit more at Lowes)

https://www.amazon.com/Char-Broil-TRU-Infrared-Smoker-Roaster-Grill/dp/B00365FIAS

It does 3 things:

1. Smokes
2. Roasts
3. Grills

I got it to replace my gas grill (RIP) & also to try out deep-frying a turkey. I had read that the infrared method was nearly as good, without the risk of burning your house down. It can also smoke (not a true cold smoke, but it goes down to 250F or so). For the price, it's a nice AIO unit. Very compact too. Bonus, if you like deli meat, you can make your own by roasting or smoking it & then slicing and storing it.. I have a cheap deli slicer (lets you slice as thin or thick as you want to) & a FoodSaver vacuum-sealer (seal packages of sliced meat up & store in the freezer for months or years). I started down that route back in '09:

https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/how-to-save-a-bunch-of-money-on-chicken-and-turkey.279462/

Lots of copycat flavor recipes for doing stuff like roasted turkey & chicken. For example:

http://nourishingminimalism.com/2014/12/diy-turkey-deli-meat.html

More flavor, cheaper price, and the fun of doing it yourself (grilling, hur hur hur). It's not the world's best at anything...there are better gas grills out there, there are turkey friers, there are cold smokers...but nothing that gets you all 3 for under two hundred bucks & does a reasonable job at everything, all without taking up a massive amount of space on your deck.

 

[NetWareHead]

To me, a grill should be self-cleaning (burn off the last meal, and the ash that remains is your flavor for the next meal, giving propane grills nearly the same flavor as charcoal without any of the inconveniences). I can't stand the idea of adding tons of cleaning time to each use. But, I too have never tried one of these.

Propane doesn't burn "dirty". You wont get the same flavor from propane as charcoal, propane simply lacks the rich amount of combustion products that charcoal delivers. See this: http://amazingribs.com/images/pix/different_smokes.jpg

Regarding the ash from the burned off food from last meal's cooking, there is no more "flavor" left in ash. Its inert and offers nothing to food.

You might get some flavor if you never clean your grill and the remaining food catches fire the next time you fire up the grill. That alone would deliver some flavor but not the constant flavor that burning charcoal delivers.

Anyway, not cleaning your grill also helps to rust it out. The leftover food/grease putrifies within the grill and attacks the metal surface within. IMO, its kind of overstated that never cleaning your propane grill gives it that "charcoal" flavor. Your just burning spoiled food and seasoning with that.

I try to get some "charcoal flavor", when using propane, by using the highest possible heat setting and burning the food (sear marks or having a flare up deliver some flavor to the food). But other than that, I clean my grill a few times a year for longevity purposes. And when I want real charcoal flavor, I dig out my charcoal grill and use that.

 

[Deeko]

I have a Char Broil Infrared - but it's not the Lowe's version that has all the holes; it's the version they used to sell at Home Depot that has a solid infrared trough. I went with this one for exactly that reason - thought the holes would be awful to clean. I've been very happy with it so far; six years in and still going strong. Easy to clean, heats up very hot very fast, cooks evenly. Highly recommend it.

 

[Exterous]

I have one - it doesn't look like they sell my version but its pretty close to this:
http://www.lowes.com/pd/Char-Broil-...Propane-Gas-Grill-with-Side-Burner/1000107411

I've had it for 2.5 years now. Cleaning is a pain but it seems to be holding up reasonably well. Not as well as a Weber likely would but better than a lot of the reviews I see for other grills. If I were to do it over again I'd get a weber. They clear them out from time to time so if you keep your eye open you might be able to snag some for a more reasonable price. I've seen Slickdeal posts for the E-310 for $249-349

 

[Hinda65]

I have the grill Exterous posted above from lowes....That's a pretty good price for it too. I love the infrared cooking. It gets super hot and is great for meats and charring vegetables... My only complaint with the grill is it takes a long time to reach max temp....15 - 20 minutes to hit about 575. my old grill was a piece of crap and didn't even have a thermometer so I can't gauge if that is comparable to other grills?

I only use my grill twice a week and I tend to use dry rubs vs sticky sauces but cleaning is a breeze...I leave the burners on high for about 10 minutes after grilling and everything pretty much disintegrates...Every couple weeks I takes the grates and stainless steel plates ( with the little holes) off and clean them with the provided tool...It takes 3 minutes. I'm far from a grill king, I wish I knew what cooking on a nice open burner grill was like to offer more of a comparison but I do know this grill cooks a damn good piece of meat.

 

[Exterous]

I have the grill Exterous posted above from lowes....That's a pretty good price for it too. I love the infrared cooking. It gets super hot and is great for meats and charring vegetables... My only complaint with the grill is it takes a long time to reach max temp....15 - 20 minutes to hit about 575.

I did forget to mention that I do really like how well it cooks meat and how even the heat is. Mine takes about 1/2 the time to get to 575 with all the burners on so YMMV on that

 

[pauldun170]

I have the grill Exterous posted above from lowes....That's a pretty good price for it too. I love the infrared cooking. It gets super hot and is great for meats and charring vegetables... My only complaint with the grill is it takes a long time to reach max temp....15 - 20 minutes to hit about 575. my old grill was a piece of crap and didn't even have a thermometer so I can't gauge if that is comparable to other grills?
.

It takes forever to heat up because of the 8500 btu burners.
It's a bit underpowered.

 

[pauldun170]

When I was shopping, these sites helped alot
http://amazingribs.com/index.html
http://bbq.about.com/od/grills/u/equipment.htm

 

[ControlD]

Thanks all. I will do a bit more research before getting something new. I will most likely pass on the Char Broil due to the cleaning issues. Hopefully some of the nicer grills will be on sale soon as stores start making room for snow blowers.

 

[Kaido]

Thanks all. I will do a bit more research before getting something new. I will most likely pass on the Char Broil due to the cleaning issues. Hopefully some of the nicer grills will be on sale soon as stores start making room for snow blowers.

Do you have a budget in mind?

 

[ControlD]

Do you have a budget in mind?

Around $500 or so would be OK. I could be convinced to go a little higher if I had to, but I am always looking for a deal.

 

[Kaido]

Around $500 or so would be OK. I could be convinced to go a little higher if I had to, but I am always looking for a deal.

I have a Traeger pellet grill. It's basically a convection oven that uses food-grade pellets to smoke food. Really great, consistent results. Right now, Green Mountain Grills are the most popular successor to it. The base black Daniel Boone is $549: (wi-fi is available for an extra fee)

http://greenmountaingrills.com/product-category/grills/

Read up on them. They don't act quite like gas grills, so it's not like you'll be standing over it flipping burgers. It's more like an ultra-accurate smoker slash outdoor oven. Very cool device.

 

[dullard]

Propane doesn't burn "dirty". You wont get the same flavor from propane as charcoal, propane simply lacks the rich amount of combustion products that charcoal delivers. See this: http://amazingribs.com/images/pix/different_smokes.jpg

Regarding the ash from the burned off food from last meal's cooking, there is no more "flavor" left in ash. Its inert and offers nothing to food.

You might get some flavor if you never clean your grill and the remaining food catches fire the next time you fire up the grill. That alone would deliver some flavor but not the constant flavor that burning charcoal delivers.

Anyway, not cleaning your grill also helps to rust it out. The leftover food/grease putrifies within the grill and attacks the metal surface within. IMO, its kind of overstated that never cleaning your propane grill gives it that "charcoal" flavor. Your just burning spoiled food and seasoning with that.

I try to get some "charcoal flavor", when using propane, by using the highest possible heat setting and burning the food (sear marks or having a flare up deliver some flavor to the food). But other than that, I clean my grill a few times a year for longevity purposes. And when I want real charcoal flavor, I dig out my charcoal grill and use that.

The only situation where you are correct is when you want low and slow: cooking for hours. Other than that, few if any, would be able to tell the difference between a non-cleaned propane and a charcoal grill. Yet almost anyone could tell the difference between a cleaned and a non-cleaned propane grill.

And, no, it is never burned spoiled food. That food scrap was left on a grill near 500°F, and then restarted near 500°F (depending on how you like to grill). It is not spoiled at all.

 

[pauldun170]

Weber Spirit fits your budget and is highly regarded (about 500). Good warranty
If you need more cooking area, Broilking Signet (With (about 400, so you can grab a new cover if you get the broilking). You might be able to find a sale on a Weber Genesis.

Both Weber and Broilking are made in North America.

At the $500 price point, I'd skip charbroil (weak burners) and avoid Nexgril\Kitchen Aide (shit designs with shit metal).
Dyna-Glo....from I what read - tough to clean...quick to corrode.

 

[Paratus]

Wow my Weber only lasted 18 years and is on its last legs.

This guys grill didn't last more than one grill.

WARNING mid 90's web site.

http://www.bkinzel.de/misc/ghg/

Spoiler

3 Gallons of Liquid Oxygen ready to grill in 3 seconds

 

[ControlD]

I was sort of eyeing the Weber Genesis. It has a larger cooking area which is one downside to the current grill I am using.

Lowes has $100 off of those now, so $599. If it is going to last a good 20 years like my last grill that seems like a worthwhile investment.

 

[NetWareHead]

The only situation where you are correct is when you want low and slow: cooking for hours.

You can get flavor imparted in the few minutes it takes to cook a burger so it applies here as well, not just in a low and slow hours long cook.

Other than that, few if any, would be able to tell the difference between a non-cleaned propane and a charcoal grill. Yet almost anyone could tell the difference between a cleaned and a non-cleaned propane grill.

Disagree. You are burning and flavoring with 2 different things. Charcoal is typically pure carbon. Grilling remnants can be anything. Not cleaning your grill keeps all of those remnants from previous grilling behind. When that stuff burns in the next cook, thats the flavor you are talking about. Dripping cheese that fell through the grates, that lost slice of zucchini, the crusty bits you scrape off of the grates are what you are burning to flavor your food. There is a difference in taste between actual charcoal flavor and burned remnants flavor typical of propane grills. Charcoal is typically stronger flavor too.

And, no, it is never burned spoiled food. That food scrap was left on a grill near 500°F, and then restarted near 500°F (depending on how you like to grill). It is not spoiled at all.

I'll enjoy food from either real charcoal or a dirty propane grill, but lets call it what it truly is. Grilling remnants (food scraps) with the passage of time and absence of refrigeration will spoil, dropped food goes bad, grease turns rancid etc... When you have a propane grill that is smoking, its not the propane smoking, its the leftover grilling remnants catching fire and smoking.

 

[dullard]

I'll enjoy food from either real charcoal or a dirty propane grill, but lets call it what it truly is. Grilling remnants (food scraps) with the passage of time and absence of refrigeration will spoil, dropped food goes bad, grease turns rancid etc... When you have a propane grill that is smoking, its not the propane smoking, its the leftover grilling remnants catching fire and smoking.

In all my propane grilling, what gets left behind is carbon. Carbon from charcoal and carbon from old food taste the same in quick cooking: delicious. I guess I just don't somehow toss old zucchini, cheese, and grease onto a cold grill and let it sit there.