Some other questions:
Boy, that sure seems like it would take up a lot of real estate with EW burners. Just sayin'. I'd rather have half-griddle, if all it does is sear.
I have an IR Sideburner on my Broil King, it must be because of the intense heat. It completely carbonized and burns off any drippings.
Ed, good point. I didn't even think about that. Time for bed.
And therein is the crux of the situation...the sideburner is in addition to the main burners, not a replacement. Giving up that much main burner area for a sear burner is a reach for me on a EW grill, unless there is some other purpose I don't know about (very likely!)
From what I have read, IR burners generate intense heat that is used to put a char or crust on the surface of whatever protein, or to cook thin proteins quickly to avoid drying out. They don't offer any particular advantage over other heating methods for cooking thicker proteins that take time for heat to penetrate completely. Used to be the thinking was to sear or char first to seal the surface, then cook at a lower heat setting to cook to the desired doneness, but reverse searing, where the searing is done after the doneness is achieved, is the current vogue. I'm not an expert, so tell me if I'm wrong!
It all vaporizes when you have the burner on high. I only have ones for the Genesis 2.
I still have the Genesis II to keep "playing" with the IR burner.
I need more testing on low setting. I believe it will go down quite low so I do not think you will be giving much up in terms of space but more testing needs to be done in that area....Why I still have the Genesis II in my garage. The problem for me is I cleaned up that grill to flip it now I need to get it greasy with some more cooks. Not to mention it is in the detached garage and my Broilmaster is on the attached screen in porch and so much more convenient to run in and out.;-)
One potential advantage I can see with the E310 is that you can easily swap the burner/Afterburner in and out if needed, if the Afterburner tends to clog up on low. I really like the open flame aspect! But I'd like to see some serious crust on that burger next time.
To me, and maybe my age is showing, but convenience is paramount! I must go in and out a dozen times during a 2 or 3 hour cook.
That is true as it does install in a minute or two. With the Napoleon I just pre-heat it for a minute or two and what ever is there vaporizes. I have used it quite a bit and still clean. I do plan on taking it apart and giving the whole side burner a good cleaning once or twice a year with the rest of the grill. The Genesis 2 makes that real easy as there are no screws.
I do not have a Genesis 2 with a sear burner but as I understand it, the Weber sear burner is just an extra burner between 2 others.
I have an E330 with sear station and it gives a nice hot area and gives a nice overall sear, not just grill marks. I like that you can sear and move to a cooler area, but you first have to heat the entire grill then light the sear burner. Takes a while until it is ready. It costs you a couple hundred bucks to get that feature on a new Weber, so the aftermarket conversion is quite cost effective.
So would you describe this as a game-changer for a Genesis II? I wondered why Joe bought ten of them...From what I have read, IR burners generate intense heat that is used to put a char or crust on the surface of whatever protein, or to cook thin proteins quickly to avoid drying out.
Not really.
Infrared burners generate intense radiation. Which is different than temp/heat.
The idea here (a fine one imo) is cooking via radiation rather than convection. Not just getting higher temps.
Gassers cook mostly by convection (i.e. a flow of hot air). That's not the perfect grilling method for a steak. Charcoal, in contrast, cooks mostly by radiation.
Because radiation is a great grilling method, high end gas grills often add an IR burner. Joe's gizmo is a clever way to add IR capability to a mostly convection Weber Genesis.
Note that the Weber sear station burners just add more heat via more convection. The sear burner is just another gas tube -- it isn't an IR burner (which is what the fancy grills have).
Here's a pretty good explanation of how convection, radiation and induction differ.
The Thermodynamics of Cooking and How Different Cooking Methods Work
Learn about thermodynamics: the basis of all cooking! Find out how heat transference works by conduction, convection, radiation, induction, and infrared heat in your grill, bbq, and smoker.amazingribs.com
