BBQ Grills & Infra-red Burners;
A bbq enthusiast will always argue charcoal grilling brings out the best flavours in your foods. The charcoal smell and glowing briquettes are all part of the bbq grilling experience. The question for becomes how or what do infra-red burners have to do with good old fashioned charcoal grills. In short, our Napoleon infra-red burner bbqs cooks the same way as a charcoal grill.
Glowing charcoal briquettes actually emit infrared energy when your food is being cooked. The advantage is this process limits the drying effect. The infra-red burner has 10,000 ports each emitting a flame causing the surface of the ceramic burner to glow and in turn emit infa red heat.
The ability to regulate the bbq burner heat temperature, maintain a consistent heat make this grilling process easier than charcoal. When cooking different foods you may also want to regulate the the length of the cooking process for hight or slower cooking, regulating this process is much simple on your infra-red burner.
Cleaning my bbq infra-red burners;
Cleaning a bbq grill as always a challenge. Infrared burners are no different and require regular maintenance. Given the intense heat your infrared burners emit food particles will fall onto the burners. Once your grilling is complete to clean you burners is as simple as turning the grill to high, closing the lid and waiting for about 5-10 minutes.
Protecting your infra-red ceramic bbq burner;
Infra-red burners are built to provide years of grilling service. To maintain its life there are some very important “don’ts” when it comes to ceramic grills. If you crack your ceramic burners they will not work and are not covered under Napoleons bbq warranty program.
- Ensure you don’t hit or strike the ceramic burner with a hard object.
- Don’t throw copious amounts of cold water onto a hot ceramic burner this will crack the surface.
- Don’t throw water onto the burner to put out a flame
- Note if the ceramic or interior of an infrared burner becomes wet while not in use later operation can result in the creation of steam which may produce enough pressure to crack the burner.
- Don’t impair the ventilation of hot air produced from the grill. For burners to function properly thy need hot air to escape, the burners will become deprived of oxygen and may result in a back flash.
A few more benefits to a Napoleon bbq infra-red burner;
- Infar-red burners use less gas and propane
- These bbq grills shorten the amount of time used for cooking, may be beneficial during colder months
- Faster searing of your meats allowing you to quickly lock in the natural juices
- Your pre-heat times are much shorter and you can get grilling much quicker.
- Infra-red burners are more efficient than tube burners, infra-red penetrates the food directly
- All these benefits save money on fuel and are more environmentally sensative
Grill a perfect steak on your infra-red bbq burner;
With any attempt at cooking your favourite steak on the bbq it starts with your selection of the perfect cut of meat. My preference is always to ask for a steak cut with marbled fat distribution and about 1″ thick. The fat is essential as it acts as a natural tenderizer while cooking the meat while keeping the meat moist and flavourful.
I suggest you pre-heat your bbq grill for about 5-10 minutes with the lid closed. This will get the temperature of the grills hot enough to sear and caramelize the meat instantly.
Place your steak over the infra-red burner for approximately 2 minutes on each side this will sear all the juices and produce a perfect rare steak. For medium move your steaks over to the tube burners and cook for about 4 minutes and for well done approximately 6 minutes. For medium and well done steaks the initial 2 minutes on the infra-red sears all your juices and flavours into the meat.
Visit our bbq homepage and find a Napoleon BBQ grill or see us in store.