Charbroiling
| Charbroiler | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Cooking equipment |
| Industry | Various |
| Application | Cooking |
| Fuel source | Natural gas, Propane |
A charbroiler (also referred to as a chargrill, char-broiler or simply broiler) is a commonly used cooking device consisting of a series of grates or ribs that can be heated using a variety of means, and is used in both residential and commercial applications for a variety of cooking operations. The heat source is almost always beneath the cooking surface – for gas-fired applications this is referred to as an under-fired broiler. Most commonly the charbroiler is a series of long evenly spaced metal ribs over a large combustion chamber filled with an array of burners that may have a deflector, briquettes or radiant between the burner and the cooking surface.
The term charbroiler is typically associated with commercial kitchen applications, though the construction and cooking process is nearly identical to light-duty residential products referred to as grills. The terms charbroiling, broiling, grilling and char-grilling are often used interchangeably, though depending on the application and equipment involved there may be differences in how the food product is actually cooked. The Culinary Reference Guide identifies grilling as "the process used when an item is cooked on a grated surface to sear in the flavors and impart a degree of charring which gives the product a light charcoal smoke flavor."
Charbroilers may be either free-standing countertop equipment that sits on a stand or refrigerated base, or part of a larger piece of equipment such as a restaurant range. Nominal unit width (left-to-right) sizes are in increments of 12 in (305 mm), most commonly 24 to 72 in (610 to 1,829 mm). Typical commercial charbroilers are a system of three main characteristics: (1) burner, (2) radiant, and (3) grate. The various combinations of these individual aspects have a dramatic effect on the performance of the charbroiler, though other design features such as gas orifice sizing, under-burner heat deflectors, burner divider plates (also known as "superchargers") are also added to create unique and improved performance characteristics.
Under-fired charbroilers heat food products according to the three primary modes of heat transfer: 1) convection, 2) conduction and 3) radiation (infrared). Performance is defined by such aspects as time to heat, temperature consistency/evenness, recovery time, and productivity (pounds of food per hour for example). Most charbroilers have very pronounced 'hot' and 'cold' zones that are a function of the main system characteristics vary based on unit size and other aspects of construction. These temperature zones may vary between manufacturers, and change over time as the broiler components wear-in or fail. Certain commercial charbroiler products are designed to cook using only infrared energy, with a wide range of benefits to the charbroiled cooking process.
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