Men in Aprons: Char-Broil 2007 Product Launch: Print This

Char-Broil Grill Built-In

On a cloudy Thursday afternoon, about 25 people crowded under a couple of tents set up outside Byrant Park in New York City to check out the 2007 models from Char-Broil. Chefs were on hand to cook delicious food on the grills and talk to the media about all the latest from TEC, most importantly, the infrared grills.

It seems as though Char-broil is planning on opening up 2007 with a bang. They're going to hit the streets running with the new infrared grills. These models have been growing in popularity over the last couple of years, and hopefully they will decrease in price.

At the heart of Char-Broil’s TEC Series is the patented glass-top infrared cooking system that is far more advanced than traditional ceramic infrared burners. The stainless steel burner is topped by a floating layer of glass that sits just below the air-lock stainless cooking grate. A layer of high-temperature glass evenly disburses the heat emitted from the burner across the entire grate and prevents air from flowing directly to food. With no hot air to dry out the food, the glass-top infrared cooking system produces 100% natural radiant heat working its magic to seal in flavor and moisture. And with no direct flame for grease to hit, flare-ups are virtually eliminated and food is cooked evenly.

Marvin Woods Grills

Chef Marvin Woods is cooking some soup, a pork tenderloin, and roasting some red bell peppers on the infrared grill.The model pictured here is the top of the line, four-burner model, capable of producing 48,000 BTUs of energy, not to mention a 13,000 BTU brass-capped side burner. All things considered, its power and technology are the main features of this grill. Everything else is just icing on a very powerful cake.

Double Door Offset Smoker

Char-Broil is re-releasing the smoker with offset firebox, an update on the Black Diamond model, formerly of New Braunfels Smokers. I have this model in the NBS version, and so far, I'm not really impressed on the update except for one thing. The firebox on my NBS is completely round. The ash that my coals and wood produce, fall under the grate, eventually clogging the airflow under the fire. If I'm smoking a brisket, I will routinely have to sick a shovel into the hot firebox to dispose of unwanted ash. The new model here offers a slide out ash tray, allowing easy ash disposal.

Char-Broil Smart Thermometer

One cool item that I am looking forward to trying is the remote probe Smart Thermometer. Not only does it have the basic features of alarms, meat settings, temperature settings, and remote sensing, the probe is a dual-function probe. It has a long L-shaped end that sticks in the meat, but it also contains a small probe on the wire that sense temperature inside the grill. So you can keep track of the meat and the grill's temperature at the same time.

Char-Broil Quick2Burn Charcoal

Now onto this special charcoal that Char-Broil is offering. Supposedly, this Quick2Burn charcoal lights in 5 minutes, and is ready to cook on. There are no special petroleum ingredients, and you don't have to use lighter fluid or a charcoal starter to get these going. All you need is a match or a light stick. Forsooth, I saw these coals light in 5 minutes. A red fire line crept over the length of the coal quickly. And supposedly, it was ready to go. What I don't know, and only time will tell, is how long the coals last, and if they really are fire-hot in 5 minutes. Can't wait to test this product.

With such a big emphasis on the infrared line, Char-Broil looks to take that market by storm, and at first glance the grills seem to peform as they are being marketed. I got a close-up look at the four-burner and got the low down from Marvin Woods. He seemed impressed with the grill and demonstrated it's power and it's usability. Based on my experience in New York, I think we can expect big things from Char-Broil in 2007.