TEC Infrared Grills Review - What Our Experts Have to Say About TEC Grills

If you're looking to pick up a high-end infrared gas grill, odds are you've come across the TEC Grills brand name.  You might be wondering why their grills are regarded as some of the best on the market - if that's you, you've come to the right place.

In this article, we'll go over all of the things that make TEC Infrared Grills so great, and we'll take a closer look at all of their series of grills - that way you can know which of their products is the best fit for you and your outdoor kitchen.

TEC Infrared Grills Review: Quick Look At Their Top Features

• All of their products are proudly made in the USA
• Powerful, 100% infrared burners
• Infrared grilling means no flare ups and consistent, even cooking
• Lifetime warranty on grill housing
• 10 year warranty on grill burners & cooking grates
• Built-In, freestanding, BBQ Island, and portable configurations available
• Their grills can hold steady temperatures in a range from 200ºF to 900ºF
• High quality 304 stainless steel housing and parts give sleek, modern look that will also last
• Radiant glass panels below cooking grates vaporize drippings, which rise back up to flavor your food
• Self cleaning - simply run the grill on high for 10-15 minutes after you're done cooking and all debris/drippings will be incenerated
• Plenty of accessories, add ons, and upgrades to choose from 

TEC Grills Brand Overview

Over 40 years ago, TEC invented infrared grilling. 

We'll touch on why infrared grilling is so special in a moment, but the punchline here is that TEC's infrared grills blew the competition out of the water in terms of cooking performance and consistency.

Their cookers all utilize patented infrared technology which leads to zero flare ups, and an incredibly uniform heat dispersion inside the hood of their grills.  And no flare ups combined with consistent and even heat all but makes the perfect surface to grill delicious food.

While other brands have entered the market in recent years with infrared grills of their own, TEC has remained ahead of the curve when it comes to pure infrared grilling in a couple of ways.

First, their grills have an incredibly wide temperature range of 200-900ºF, making roasting and smoking BBQ possible.  It's not all that uncommon for a high-end gas grill to be able to achieve that high of a temperature range, but it's extremely rare for a gas grill to be able to hold a steady and reliable temperature as low as 200ºF.

Second, they have developed quite an extensive line of grill accessories and outdoor kitchen appliances to seriously upgrade your outdoor kitchen setup.

A Closer Look At TEC Grills

TEC Sterling Patio 2FR 44-Inch Infrared Gas Grill

With two powerful 30,000 BTU infrared burners and 592 square inches of primary cooking surface area, it's easy to see why the Sterling Patio 44-Inch grill is TEC's most popular size.  This grill comes in a built-in, freestanding, and BBQ Island configuration, so there'e something that works for almost every outdoor kitchen vision.

No matter what you're cooking, you can count on no flare ups and no cold spots while your food heats.  Further, the grill uses less gas and produces juicier foods compared to other grills, thanks to two high tech infrared burners.

Almost every single component of this grill, including the ever so important grill housing and burners, are made of heavy-duty 304 stainless steel.  The stainless steel finish looks great and is designed to last for decades.

With a temperature range of 200ºF to 900ºF, you can cook virtually anything on this grill.  The range goes high enough to cook authentic, Neapolitan style pizza, or low enough to slow cook a pork shoulder or brisket (the infrared smoker/roaster attachment lets you add authentic wood smoke flavor too).  Of course, the Sterling Patio 44-Inch Grill performs excellently when it comes to the classics like steak, burgers, chicken, etc.

TEC Sterling Patio FR 26-Inch Infrared Gas Grill

If you're looking for a more compact grill, the Sterling Patio 26-Inch grill is an excellent choice that comes in a built-in and freestanding configuration. This grill is somewhat unique because it's only a 1 burner gas grill! 

You simply just don't come across those often, but it's a testament to how powerful and efficient this grill's single infrared burner is.

Even with the single burner, this grill boasts a temperature range of 200ºF to 900ºF, so you can enjoy the same wide range of cooking capabilities as the wider 44-Inch counterpart.

Size wise, this grill has 296 square inches of main cooking surface area to work with - enough to comfortably cook up to 16 burgers at a time.

At the end of the day if you're looking for a grill that's powerful, yet compact, TEC Single Burner 26-Inch Grills are an excellent choice.

TEC Patio vs Sterling Patio Grills

TEC's flagship series of grills are their Patio FR and Sterling Patio FR cookers.  Each series offers grills in a built-in, freestanding, or pedestal configuration.  The Sterling Patio also come in a BBQ Island configuration with side drawers and countertops for extra storage and work space.

What's the difference between TEC Patio and Sterling Patio grills?  The hood.  Patio grills come with a flatter hood whereas Sterling Patio grills come with a curved, double-walled hood.

Much of the difference is aesthetic, but the Sterling Patio hood does a tiny bit better at insulating - so has the slight edge in performance, especially in extreme cold weather (this is why the Sterling Patio series grills cost a little more than their Patio series counterparts).

TEC G-Sport FR 30 Portable Infrared Grill

If you're looking to take infrared grilling on the go, the G Sport Series is one of the best in class.  Many portable grills are designed to be so compact that you have to sacrifice serious cooking surface area to accomodate.

That's not the case with the G-Sport - with 309 square inches of cooking surface area it's essentially a full sized grilling surface that you can take with you on the road.  An optional warming rack adds an additional 115 square inches of cooking surface area to work with.

This grill comes as a table or countertop configuration, but TEC also offer a pedestal stand which transforms the grill into a freestanding unit.  The base unit comes with handles and weighs 80 pounds - which is probably a little heavy for most individuals but it's easy for two people to carry.

The G-Sport is fueled by 1 oversized infrared burner that cranks out 22,000 BTUs of heat, and can reach temperatures of 850ºF.  So it can't go quite as high as the Patio and Sterling Patio series, but it can get pretty darn close!

Performance wise, the G-Sport doesn't miss a beat.  It can achieve max temperature in as little as 10 minutes and can be used as a stove top cooking surface.  The self cleaning functionality is also present here, so your clean up process is a breeze.

For a deep dive on the G-Sport, head on over to our TEC G-Sport review next.

What Makes Infrared Grilling Unique?

So what's with all of the hype around infrared grilling?  We've touched on a couple of reasons why it's so great - namely that infrared heating eliminates the risk of flare ups and heats the inside of your grill perfectly even.

Infrared heating is fundamentally different than other types of heaters.  Without getting too deep into the science, the gist is that "traditional" heating elements heat the air, which in turn heats your food.  Infrared burners radiate actual infrared waves which heat the objects that they hit (like your food)!

There's a noticeable difference in how infrared cooked food turns out compared to food cooked over traditional heat.  Food retains significantly more moisture on TEC Infrared Grills compared to the competition.

Plus, this style of cooking leads to incredibly fast heat up times and lends itself nicely to stovetop cooking and baking.

TEC Grill Accessories

One of the most impressive aspects of TEC's product line is their extensive offering of accessories.  Each is carefully crafted and thoughtfully designed to add value and versatility to your outdoor kitchen set up.

• Infrared Smoker/Roaster: transforms your TEC grill into a smoker and/or roaster, opening up a world of possibilities.  The smoker/roaster is made of 304 stainless steel and includes a slotted roasting rack, a drip tray, and a chip corral (which allows you to add true smoke flavor to your food). Brisket, pulled pork, turkey, and much more are possible.
• Pizza Oven Rack: raises the cooking surface above the grates so that pizza cooks perfectly even.  A large open area and perforated rack allow plenty of heat to reach the crust so it crisps up while the inside of your dough and toppings remain moist.
• Commercial Style Flat Top Griddle: heavy duty, 12-gauge stainless steel cooktop fits perfectly on the grates of your grill.  Whip up some eggs, pancakes, burgers, or more with perfectly even on this flat top surface.  A grease trough is built-in to the front of the griddle to make clean up easy.
• Fryer/Steamer: rectangular, 14-gauge stainless steel fryer fits over one TEC grill burner and keeps oil temperatures steady.  Comes with a perforated insert that allows for you to steam foods like veggies or seafood.
• Fryer Basket: works in tandem with the fryer/steamer to easily fry whatever your heart desires, be it fries, onion rings, seafood, etc.
• Grill Tray: a thinly slotted tray that allows you to grill foods that might fall through the larger grate openings on the grill itself, such as asparagus, shellfish, or a veggie medley.
• Grate Rake: perfectly designed for TEC grills, the teeth of this rake are designed to scrape your cooking surface clean.  No more brush bristles that come loose and get in your food.
• Warming Rack: add extra cooking surface area to your grill and have a place to keep food warm with an elevated warming rack - you can choose whether the rack sits either 3.5" or 6" above the main cooking area.
• Meatloaf Pan: includes spatula with detachable handle that makes cooking the perfectly juicy meatloaf a breeze.

Outdoor Kitchen Appliances & Storage

If you're going the built-in route, TEC offers matching built-in drawers and access doors which can be installed into your custom counters.  Additionally, they carry an outdoor rated under-counter refrigerator and an outdoor rated under-counter ice maker to truly complete your outdoor kitchen.

Warranty Information

TEC offers warranty protection on their products in the following ways (labor not included):

• Lifetime Warranty: stainless steel housing
• 10 Year Warranty: stainless steel burners and cooking grates
• 1 Year Warranty: ignition system, radiant glass panels, all other grill components

Final Thoughts on TEC Infrared Grills

TEC is undoubtedly one of the best of the best when it comes to outdoor kitchen brands.  If you're looking for a high-end infrared grilling experience, it's hard to beat what they have to offer.

All TEC Infrared Grills provide great value crafted in the USA and built to last.  If you have any questions about their grills or product line, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.