Infrared is the most forgiving way to grill. Here’s how it works

It’s a quintessential summer Saturday, and you’re hosting a barbecue. You’ve got steaks, chops, burgers, drumsticks, and corn on the grill. You’re in the zone—you’ve memorized the cold spots on your notoriously temperamental grill and are working around the hot spots. You close the lid and run inside to grab a few buns. When you get back, your grilling nightmare has come true.

A flare-up caused by your once juicy secret burger patty has caused the chicken to char, as well as the corn. Everything is torched to a crisp, and now you’ve got to make the dreaded call of shame to a pizzeria. Not exactly the cookout you had planned.

OK, you can wake up now. Fortunately, you can prevent this worst-case scenario from coming true, thanks to advancements in cooking technology. Innovation in the grilling space has come a long way since our parents’ days of dealing with nasty flare-ups. One wrong move or lapse in attention could lead to unevenly cooked, dry chicken or an undesirable platter of charred hockey pucks, ruining a meal. Thanks to the emergence of TRU-Infrared cooking technology—a mode of grilling that prevents flare-ups, eliminates hot and cold spots, and results in more tender food—you can feel confident in hosting a great cookout every time. So what is TRU-infrared grilling, and how does it work?

Even heat means better meat (or whatever you’re grilling)

Think of a traditional, convective gas grill. Because of the space between the grates, the heat must be transferred or carried through the air to the food. So, in turn, you’re more effectively heating the air around your food rather than the food itself.

“TRU-Infrared cooking technology, on the other hand, efficiently and evenly radiates intense heat directly to your food allowing food to retain its juices and prevent it from drying out,” explains Robert D. Hawkins, Product Manager for Char-Broil, which makes a particularly forgiving breed of infrared grills known as TRU-Infrared grills.

Char-Broil TRU-Infrared cooking technology offers a direct and consistent heat thanks to its patented emitter plate, which sits above the heat source and just under your food. The perforated plate slows heat, ensuring that it spreads throughout the grate, grilling your food evenly, every time.

“TRU-Infrared grills provide a wider cooking temperature range than other grills,” adds Hawkins. “This allows the griller greater grilling versatility.”

Heat your food, not the air

Slowing down the heat doesn’t just ensure an even temperature—it actually makes your food taste better. Your food is less likely to dry out, Hawkins explains. Instead of blasting heat up into your precious burgers and heating the air around them, TRU-infrared grilling offers direct, even heat. By eliminating this convective air movement, you’ll maintain the moisture barrier around your food—meaning everything you cook on a TRU-infrared grill will be noticeably juicer.

Hotter, faster, more efficient

While the heat itself moves slower in an infrared grill, this style of grilling takes no more time than traditional gas grilling. The heat travels directly through the steel emitter plate that retains the natural heat of the flames and radiates that heat back to your food. No heat is wasted between the source and the grate, so you’ll be cooking faster and at higher temperatures than ever before. Those high temperatures are why high-end steakhouses opt for infrared grilling systems. You’ll get better grill marks and faster sears to help lock in flavor. And with faster preheating and cook-times, grilling doesn’t just need to be a weekend luxury—just push a button on a Char-Broil TRU-Infrared Gas Grill and you’ll be cooking hotter and faster than in your kitchen.

No fear of flare-ups

The dreaded flare-up can turn a perfectly seared steak into a charred disaster. TRU-Infrared cooking technology prevents flare-ups, thanks to a steel emitter plate that lessens the airflow between the heating element and your food. So when juices drip, they are vaporized instead of mixing with oxygen and creating a flame. This forgiving feature means that you can enjoy your party without checking that the food isn’t on fire every two seconds. Imagine that.

The equipment that stokes your creativity

Maintaining even heat and preventing flare-ups are the two top priorities for anyone at the grill. Since Char-Broil TRU-Infrared cooking technology has got you covered on both fronts, you can flex your creative culinary muscles by adding smoke to the fire. “As you quickly become more comfortable with TRU-Infrared grilling, the more adventurous you can get,” says Hawkins. For instance, if you’ve assumed grilling with wood chips was outside the realm of your skills, Char-Broil TRU-Infrared grills, which make the task easy and convenient, may change your mind.

“One great advantage to a TRU-Infrared grill is that if you want to add smoky flavor to your food, simply place wood chips directly on our cooking grates,” adds Hawkins.

Thanks to the emitter plate, the chips won’t catch fire. And when you’re done grilling, clean up is easy with a simple wipe down. So with a grill this forgiving, the only thing you need to worry about is stocking the fridge to feed your friends every weekend.