What's New, Pussycat?: Char-Broil's New Cookers

This December, Char-Broil will be rolling out a whole bunch of new goodies. They were nice enough to send us a sample of their new double door offset smoker for the Paul Kirk bbq class a few weeks back and it looks like a really nice deal. It comes with cast-iron porcelain enameled cooking grates and what they call a water/marinade pan which allows you to keep moisture in the cook chamber and/or hold a baste or mop liquid. One thing that I really like about this new cooker, aside from the pull out ash drawer and reasonable list price ($199) is that the middle hinge between the two doors can be moved out of the way to enable access to the whole cook surface, which is nice when handling larger cuts of meat. At the same time, having the option to open only one door means that you won't lose as much heat, which is a bonus.

They're also introducing a new line of infrared gas grills in collaboration with TEC. I've used a TEC grill for years and love the infrared cooking technology-- especially for high heat grilling like steaks and chops. Apparently they've taken the infrared heat source to a new level ensuring even cooking, superior grill marks and less moisture loss. Here's how they describe it:

At the heart of Char-Broil’s infrared grills is a patented new burner system that is far more advanced than traditional ceramic infrared burners. An open flame is topped by a floating layer of glass that sits just below an air-locked stainless cooking grate. The layer of glass evenly disburses the heat emitted from the burner across the entire grate and prevents air from flowing directly to food.

They plan to roll out their new grills in Lowe's stores in December '06 at price points for the gas grills ranging from $699 to $999. I can't wait to try one.