Restaurants have cooking devices that are out of reach for a home kitchen. One of the hottest, literally, is a salamander—a super broiler, much more powerful than a home oven. It quickly sears food with intense heat. Having such a device at home was once a pipe dream, but today, we're stepping outside to fire up a Bighorn Outdoors infrared grill to cook in a whole new way.
Hello and welcome to "I Want to Cook." With over 32.8k subscribers on YouTube, Chef Matt’s channel is dedicated to helping you become a better cook. In this video, he steps outside to review the Bighorn Outdoors infrared grill, a unique outdoor device he's been using to cook up a storm.
What Makes This Grill Different?
Before getting into what he has been cooking with it and how it works, Chef Matt wants to explain how it differs from an ordinary gas grill. While this unit does use propane, specifically a 20 lb unit, the biggest difference between this infrared grill and a standard gas grill is the way it heats.
Top-Down Heating & Intense Heat
An ordinary gas grill's flames come from the bottom, cooking food on the grates. But with this unit, the heat actually comes from the top down, like a super broiler. Instead of just flames, it uses a very special ceramic heating plate that gets ultra-hot. As Matt puts it, "It’s kind of like having the sun in a box because it provides very intense heat up to 1,500°." That’s a lot hotter than you can get in a typical outdoor gas grill.
Design, Portability, and Mess-Free Cooking
Another difference is the design. A gas grill has a lid you can close, but this unit is open. Despite being open, it gets and remains very, very hot. It’s also smaller than a typical grill. Bighorn Outdoors makes two sizes: a smaller 9-inch unit and the 16-inch unit that Matt is reviewing. Its smaller size makes it portable, easy to take on a road trip, or load into an RV.
Chef Matt notes that you should place the grill on a sturdy, non-combustible surface, like a metal cart. He also found it to be less messy than a typical grill, which often requires scraping. This unit is quite easy to clean, with stainless steel plates that can be hand-washed or, according to the manufacturer, put in the dishwasher.
Assembly and Accessories
This unit comes mostly assembled, only taking a couple of minutes to set up, which saves hours compared to a traditional grill. It also has a little front table, but Chef Matt advises that for a proper setup, a surface should be placed underneath this table for support.
The grill comes with two grill plates and a handle tool for removing them, which is essential because the plates get super, super hot. The tool allows you to pull out the plates and your food safely, keeping your hands away from the intense heat.
Cooking with the Bighorn Infrared Grill
Similar to a gas grill, this unit has an electric start—you just press a button to ignite the propane. It also has a backup match holder in case the ignition isn't working. From there, you can adjust the heat in a couple of ways. You can use the knob to control the temperature, but the better way to control the temperature and searing is by moving the plates up and down. The top position delivers that intense 1,500°F heat for an ultimate sizzle, while the lowest position will be about 450°, which is still very hot.
This grill heats up very quickly, getting blazing hot in just 3 to 5 minutes, which is a key differentiator from a standard grill. Once ignited, you'll see the ceramic element actually glow.
What to Cook for Best Results
This grill is optimized for thicker cuts of steaks, such as ribeyes and sirloin. It excels at creating a perfectly crispy, brown top and bottom while leaving the inside a nice medium-rare. It does this incredibly fast, just like a restaurant's salamander.
Thinner cuts of meat don't fare as well, as it’s difficult to get a crispy exterior and soft interior with them. To cook a steak, you can place it directly on the grates, and it will be perfectly done in just a few minutes. You can also use a pan, like a carbon steel pan, to catch drippings and make cleanup even easier.
Unexpected Culinary Uses
Beyond steak, Chef Matt has discovered many other uses:
- Peppers and onions for fajitas, getting them perfectly charred.
- Seafood, such as salmon or shrimp.
- The best quesadilla he has ever made, with perfectly crispy tortillas and gooey cheese, all in about a minute.
- Any food that would benefit from a gratin or a nice sear, like loaded potatoes or casseroles.
- Crème brûlée—it can even be used to crisp up sugar on multiple dishes at once.
- It also works as a pizza oven, as it comes with a dedicated pizza plate for ultra-fast cooking.
Conclusion: Is This Grill for You?
So, who is this unit for? And do you need one if you already have an outdoor grill? If you're like Chef Matt and you love to cook outdoors, this grill has a definite place. He finds it to be faster and sometimes easier to use than a standard grill, and it does an excellent job of searing. He also likes that it's smaller and more portable than a typical grill.
If you have some outdoor space, even a small patio, this unit can make a great addition or even a replacement for an ordinary grill. Chef Matt invites you to fire up your own culinary creativity with this grill. He’s excited to continue using it and discovering new ways to cook.
