One of the most frequent questions I receive from customers shopping for a high end grill is whether they should bother with an infrared sear burner.
About 10 years ago every high-end grill brand seemed to add one of these to their burner box. The infrared burner delivered temperatures over 1000F (typically much higher) that would sear and lock in the juices of your food. The only grill that did not offer an infrared sear burner was the DCS, which had the ability to run so hot that it delivered searing temps via their normal burners.
While the infrared sear burner became the sexiest feature over time, in the last few years I have noticed that customers have increasingly become more reluctant to buy one. I have been very clear on my various blog posts and YouTube videos that I am no longer a proponent of the embedded infrared sear due to the large amount of space it consumes (usually at least 33% of the grill) and its cooking limitations due to the intense heat it delivers - for example you would never cook chicken pieces with a skin on an infrared burner as the exterior would be cremated while the interior would still be nearly raw.
However, there is one infrared sear burner which I will wholeheartedly recommend: the Lynx Trident Infrared Sear Burner.
1) It's ability to provide a variable temp, ranging from an ultra low 300F up to 1000F.
Simply put, it provides the widest temp range of any infrared burner AND it also allows the griller to cook and not sear due to its ability to maintain the lower temps below 400 degrees.
While most other grill manufacturers seem to be in a race to boast about the muscle their grills offer, whether in terms of BTU output or the types of grates or ceramic system they employ, Lynx has taken a completely different path - they talk about the ability to show restraint.
2) Tired of Burning Your Food? Buy a Lynx Grill
As a griller who has burned my share of food, (especially when I made the jump from a moderately powered Weber to a Wolf/Twin Eagles grill), I now adhere to the narrative that its not about the power, but its more about the way heat is delivered and about CONTROL. Since Lynx' patented Trident burner is the only infrared that offers lows around 300F, as well as normal searing temps and everything in-between, we can make the case that it is the most versatile infrared burner on the market. As Lynx writes in their marketing materials:
Feel the precision of perfect control.
3) Ease of Cleaning
The other advantage of the infrared burner is the ease of cleanup. Whether you were cooking an incredibly marbled protein or you were marinading in a sugary, sticky sauce, the infrared burner quickly incinerates all cooking residue due to the high heat. This is unlike regular burners which over time will likely need to be manually cleaned to ensure that the ports aren't clogged from cooking residue.
How Does a Lynx Trident Infrared Burner Work
Typically infrared burners work by focusing the gas flame through a ceramic element filled with tiny holes. These small openings focus the flame on the face of the element, resulting in a powerful and potentially unrelenting heat that registers much higher than that of a stainless burner. The ability to harness that dragonfire is the key element that separates the Lynx Trident burner from all others. If you question this, I would ask that you try cooking chicken breasts with skin over any other manufacturers infrared burner. It will turn into a folly of charred exterior with pink interior.
If you have any questions about the amazing Lynx Trident burners, please call our Lynx grill specialists at 1-800-966-2878 or visit our outdoor showroom in Westchester County, New York