Char Broil’s ‘Urban’ infrared grills have been nothing short of a revelation and have enjoyed great popularity, especially with younger homeowners. After years of Weber dominance, Char Broil has finally hit a home run and is seeking the top spot in the small grill market with the ‘Urban’ grill.
Char Broil Urban Gas Grill – Infrared, Meet the Flame
Infrared grills are the standard bearers in the world of barbecues. With temperatures exceeding 1600 degrees, your standard charcoal or gas grill is like a candle to an infrared grill’s torch. Infrared grills are used primarily in restaurants because the high heat allows chefs to grill meats to perfection in minutes. Also, infrared grills can be tremendously expensive, often costing 2-3 more than a gas or charcoal grill.
Char Broil’s Urban Grill is advertised as ‘infrared’ gas grills. What’s going on here? How can an infrared grill be billed as a gas grill and vice versa? Is this a marketing gimmick meant solely to lull gullible buyers with the “infrared” label?
Yes and no.
There’s no way Char Broil could incorporate true infrared technology into a grill that starts at $300. Therefore, Char Broil developed a unique technology that combines infrared radiation along with traditional open flame heat. Hence the combination of ‘infrared’ and ‘gas’ in his nickname.
To achieve this, Urban grills use a thin sheet of perforated steel. The heat, both through infrared radiation and the traditional open flame, passes through the perforations and cooks the food. Technically, it’s infrared. Actually, it is not.
How?
not true infrared
Before I can give you an answer to the question above, you first need to understand how infrared (IR) grills actually work. ‘Infrared’ literally means ‘below red’. Infrared is electromagnetic radiation that lies just below the spectrum of red light (hence ‘below red’). It has a longer wavelength than visible light and therefore cannot be seen with the naked eye. Infrared radiation is a normal part of the light spectrum and is largely responsible for its heat capacity. Nearly 49% of the sun’s heat is transmitted in the infrared range of visible light.
If that scientific gibberish left your head spinning, all you need to know is that infrared radiation can heat up incredibly quickly. A true infrared grill can reach temperatures over 1200 degrees in seconds.
This grill, however, uses a weaker variant of infrared radiation called “medium wave” infrared. This is much weaker in intensity than the true IR. In fact, on Char Broil Urban gas grills, most of the cooking is done with the open flame itself (convection). Infrared just works as an afterthought, meant to make the grill more appealing to the lay buyer.
So yes, Char Broil Urban gas grills use infrared as a marketing gimmick. It is not true infrared and as such it does not add anything particular to the performance of the grill. In fact, the design can deteriorate performance over time, as food debris clogs the perforations in the steel sheet.
Solid performer, however
Despite the aforementioned flaws, the Char Broil Urban grills are still a solid performer and provide a decent amount of heat with ample cooking space (320 square inches along with 125 square inches of additional cooking area) in a compact design. . I have recommended this grill in the past, and will take a chance and recommend it again. Yes, it uses IR as a marketing ploy, but barbecue manufacturers have been guilty of much worse. In the end, the Char Broil Urban Gas Grill is a compact, all-round grill that’s perfect for younger buyers. However, seasoned experts would want to look elsewhere.
key statistics
Cooking area: 445 m2. inches (320 + 125)
Burners: 2
Heat output: 20,000 BTU/hr.
Price: $299