Tec Infared Grills

Hi Guys, Need your help. Does anyone know about these grills? I know they get hot and a lot of restuarants use them to grill there meat. Are they worth the expense , $1600, and are they worth it? Do they seal in the juices THAST much better , or can I get the same effect using lump charcoal with a cast iron on my Weber Performer Kettle.I probablt think IF they were worth it, everery afficiano would have one. All help is apprecited!


Don

There has been some discussion about these guys here before.
Read this for more:
http://www.barbecuebible.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=1509&highlight=tec

Long time no see.

We also discussed that searing meat doesn't seal in the juices at all. In fact you may lose juice more quickly during the searing process (but not much). What searing really does is carmelize the outside surface of the meat giving it great flavor, texture and makes it more appealing to the eye.

I cooked on a small 2 burner TEC while on vacation in Hawaii last year. As advertised it does get EXTREMELY hot. I cooked chicken thighs and steak. It was hard to not get the chicken to flare up. Basically ended up cooking it on the opposite side and leave one burner off. I personally did not care for the infrared as primary heat source. As stated, it can be good for searing certain foods but I find that a limited part of my Qing and something almost any grill can do. For my money I don't think the TEC is versatile enough to ever include in my list of equipment.

No direct experience, but I've been told that they're difficult to use for indirect roasting at 325 - 350. People I've talked to who like them talk about "modifying the recipe to adapt to the needs of the grill." Sounds like cart before the horse to me.