Our New Gas Grill: Char-Broil TRU Infrared

Last week I shared with you that we had went to Sears to look for a new grill, as part of the free photography class I am taking sponsored by Sears Grilling. We did lots of comparisons and walked away fairly certain about the one we would buy.

During the week, I was sent a gift card to go buy our new grill. After we got back from our trip to Comic-Con, we headed back over to Sears go buy the gas grill we wanted, but after getting there, we found that it was out of stock. The sales associate checked the inventory at all the other local Las Vegas Sears stores and it was out of stock at those stores too. It must have been quite popular!

So, a change of plans. We checked the other options and decided we’d go with something different. Very different. My husband had a major interest in the Char-Broil TRU-Infrared gas grills, so after a look at the different models with this new cooking system, we made our decision.

This week our class focused on taking better product photos — with a big focus on our lighting. Well, I hope you’re ready — because I’ve got lots to show you!

Our Char-Broil TRU-Infrared Gas Grill has grates unlike any of the previous grills we’ve had. But, if you lift the grates, it looks very much like other gas grills. I don’t really understand much about infrared energy, but this type of grilling is supposed to help keep our food from drying out, giving us juicier steaks, burgers, etc. This photo below, we show you how it looks both with the grates in place and with one removed.

Here’s a close up of the grates. Quite different, huh?

Many gas grills have a single lid mounted temperature gauge, but our new grill has several. There is one located directly above each knob that is used to show the temperature of each grate.

This is designed to give us precise control and monitoring of the food cooking.

Our new grill has a side burner, but I’ll be honest…I really don’t care about this very much. We had a side burner on our old grill and I don’t think we ever used it. This is never a factor for us in which grill we decide to buy.

How about you? If you have a gas grill with a side burner, do you use it? Is it a factor in the grill that you buy?

When we were deciding on our new grill, we knew that we wanted one with doors covering the bottom area. This grill has a double doors that open to a storage area underneath where the propane tank is held. It also has a little shelf area too, which was something we liked.

One the inside of one of the doors on the bottom of the grill, there is a small basket. We think this will be useful for holding salt, pepper, and other seasonings.

Near the back of the grill, above the grates, is a smaller rack that can be used for keeping food hot, but away from direct heat. We often use this area for foods that cook quickly.

We didn’t buy the BBQ tools below on this trip, but they are too awesome to hide away. I bought them from Sears a couple months ago for my husband and he LOVES them. They have an automotive tool theme — see the little wrenches on the spatula?

Even the handles say “Craftsman” and look like screwdriver handles. They are sturdy too! I see us using these for a long time.

We love all the chrome and the overall design of this grill. Little things like the curve in the handles really appeal to me.

I have found myself wishing today that I could tell my dad about the new grill. My dad loved barbecuing. He would barbecue almost every single week, if the weather was good. He used to ask me (almost) every Sunday if I had barbecued during the week. Many weeks I told him that I hadn’t and he would say the same thing — a mini-lecture about how lucky I was to live in an area where we could grill year-round. After he passed away, I swore to start grilling more as an honor to him.

And so far, we have been.

Needless to say, we are really excited to cook on our new grill…my mind is thinking of all sorts of great food we could make!

If this was your grill, what would you grill first??

Disclaimer: I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Sears #CBias #GrillingIsHappiness. All photos and opinions are my own.