While 80% of all grills purchased
are under $300 according
to the HPBA, it seems like the premium grill market has been taking off. That or a lot more of our friends are buying
high end grills from dealers rather than intermediate level grills from the big
box stores.
For the past two years I have
included the premium line of
Saber Grills in our grilling demos at The Great
Backyard Place in Knoxville. They are
the local Saber Grills dealer and wanted us to showcase this elite grill
alongside the kamado grill at our demonstrations.
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| Isn't this a gorgeous grill? |
Design, Features, and Claims
This grill is a looker. The clean, modern design uses the more
durable 304 stainless steel compared to the 430 that lower level grills use. The controls are intuitive and just where you
would expect them. This may seem like a
small thing but the control knobs turn smoothly like ice sliding on ice. You can just feel the quality in the details
like that.
Here are the features that this
Saber Grills model boasts:
- 100% Infrared
cooking system cooks with infrared heat instead of using hot dry air
(convection) like most grills do
- 304 commercial grade stainless steel
- Highly efficient using 30% less propane than traditional units (Pet peeve of mine - BTU's is not a power rating, it's a consumption rating like miles per gallon. A higher BTU rating just means a grill burns more propane and has nothing to do with how hot or how "powerful" a grill is.)
- 500 square inches of cooking space with another 175 square inches on the
two position elevated rack
- Side burner with porcelain coated cast iron grate
- Heavy duty 3” locking caster wheels
- Heavy duty 1” tube frame provides a stable and secure grill
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| Opened up and ready to rock and roll. |
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| A quick tour of the Saber's excellent set up. Far left has the IR emitter and grate off to show one of the burner compartments. Middle is the infrared emitter which is the work horse - preventing flare ups and creating even, infrared heat. On the right is the full grate and emitter in place. |
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| Closer look a one of the 3 burner compartments. Notice that it is completely sealed off from the others. This gives exceptional heat control for cooking at different temperature zones. The short silver stem at the middle bottom of the picture is the temperature gauge probe. |
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| Just to show how well the compartmentalized burners do at zone temperature control, here are readings from the left burner on high and the right burner off - a 600 degree difference! Don't try this at home but during our demo, I showed guests how I can have the left and middle burners on medium high and still put my hand briefly on the far right burner. Again...don't do this at home. |
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| A view of the sleek control panel. These control knobs operate as smooth as silk and glide effortlessly as you change temps. The electronic ignition has worked every time. |
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| Slide out debris tray for anything that falls through, although the emitters pretty much catch and vaporize just about everything before it ever gets here. |
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| As you can see, the temperature gauge is below the cooking grate. I have heard that causes accuracy problems; however, each time I tested it with either the ThermaQ or a laser non-contact thermometer, they were pretty accurate. I think the problem is that with the grill being so powerful, it is easy to keep the gauges pegged at 700f if you aren't careful. |
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| As simple as it is, the integrated tool rack is a nice touch that you don't see on a lot of grills. |
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| The grill grates are a thing of beauty. I hated to season them the first time because they will turn bronze the first time you use them. But they are meant to be used, not looked at. |
Performance and Testing
I’ve already “tipped my hand” and
told you what I think about this grill in general but here are the
specifics after several weeks of cooking on the Saber Grill.
- Ease of assembly rating is 0 out of a possible 5 swear words (lower is better). This was the easiest grill I have ever assembled because it comes mostly pre-assembled in the box and the pieces that do require assembly use the same bolt sizes. Of course our local dealer assembles them for you.
- Excellent control of cooking zones. Each burner is contained in it's own separate compartment which provides measurably better control of using different cooking temperatures.
- I love the two piece grate system. The infrared emitters convert all of the heat to infrared instead of convective heat and the stainless steel bars yield superb grill marks.
- Sturdy foundation - the grill's tubular frame provides a rigid "no flex" grill that is a solid cooking platform that feels stable.
- Speed - The Saber Grill is up to full temp in just about 10 minutes.
- Powerful infrared heat - despite being highly efficient, this grill cranks out some serious heat (over 700°f) capable of all your grilling needs.
- Reverse sear machine - The Saber Grill is perfect for using one of the most popular grilling techniques - the reverse sear.
Here are some of our test cooks. I hated tests in school but love them when it comes to grilling!
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| The rugged grill grates remind me of the commercial grills that I have used in professional kitchens - plenty of heat but also temperature control. Grilling a porterhouse steak just before a late afternoon storm rolled in. No photoshop effects here - those light beams and the wind swept smoke were all courtesy of the approaching storm. I take a lot of pictures of food but I LOVE this shot. |
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| Here I'm grilling some butterflied chicken breasts seasoned with just taco seasoning, cumin, and salt. We slice these up for burritos and such during the week. Infrared grills provide the best grilled chicken because it is juicier. |
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| We grilled some pork tenderloins that were trimmed and tied. I seasoned them with Meat Church Honey Hog, grilled for about 26 minutes over medium high heat until they were an internal temperature of 140-145°f. |
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| I sprinkle more of the BBQ rub on the cutting board and drizzle it with BBQ sauce. That's all the sauce you need, this board dressing is an Adam Perry Lang technique. |
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| Once you slice the pork tenderloins, their juices mix with the rub and sauce and coats everything so it turns out delicious and seasoned all over. |
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| We got these USDA Prime cap steaks which are made from the outer rim of the ribeye steak. The muscle is called spinalis dorsi and I think that is Latin for "best part of the steak". Two of the strips are rolled up together to form these cap filet. I seasoned them with my NMT Beef Rub and an ancho-coffee rub that I got from Zi Olive here in Knoxville. The two rubs work well to create delicious layers of flavor. |
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| Because these were over 2 inches thick, I went with a reverse sear. This slow roasts the steaks until they reach an internal temperature for perfect medium rare (127°f) and then finishes with a high temp sear. |
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| I have the center grate and IR emitter out in this picture just so you can get the idea. The left burner will be on high - providing the indirect heat needed to slow roast the steaks at 250°f on the right side. If you see the wire above the steaks, that is an air temp probe I clipped onto the upper rack to test the accuracy of the thermometers. |
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| I use my ThermaQ as a reference grade thermometer to test out grills. Here you can see the thermometer on the grill is about 250°f which is close to what the ThermaQ registers slightly above it. The small difference can be explained by the difference in location. |
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| Once the steaks have roasted and then rested until the carryover cooking stops, they go back on the grill for a high temp sear. Because the Saber Grill used just this one burner on high to maintain the indirect temp, it is already set up to sear without further delay. |
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| We served the cap steaks with garlic mashed potatoes, au jus, and a balsamic reduction. |
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| Juicy and perfect medium rare on the inside. |
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| We grilled out on the Saber Grill at our friend's house one Sunday. We were cutting up and having fun - the way grilling is supposed to be. |
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| We trimmed and tied a beef tenderloin and then seasoned it with the same NMT Beef Rub and the Ancho Coffee Rub. |
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| The set up we used shown before we closed the lid. Again, only the left burner was on. Next to the beef tenderloin was some jalapeno poppers that Darrin made for an appetizer. |
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| The beef tenderloin resting after the roast. With reverse sear, it is important to let it rest until the internal temperature stops rising and then actually starts to fall. This insures you are only searing the outside and not raising the internal temp since the insides are already perfectly cooked. You are just adding color and flavor to the outside during the sear. |
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| Darrin had some colorful veggies to cook while the roast rested. At this point we had all three burners on high. |
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| Adding the final layer of flavor on the grill, the infrared power of the Saber does an excellent job with searing. |
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| I didn't get a better plated shot because....well, we were hungry! But you can see how the outside is nicely crusted but the inside tender and juicy. I wouldn't try that on a gas grill that isn't powered with infrared heat. |
Final Thoughts
I'm a long term, charcoal loving, wood smoking, kamado grill using guy. But I'm completely enthusiastic about the Saber Grills infrared gas grill (R50CC0312). The powerful heat, the zone temperature control, its quality construction, and its beautiful styling bowled me over. I am impressed with how this grill cooks.
If you are in the market for a high end gas grill, you have got to consider this Saber Grill.
TL;DR
Price Point: depends on dealer but in the $1,000 neighborhood
Design: 5/5
Performance: 5/5
Value: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
[FTC Standard Disclosure] I received this grill for free from Saber Grills for testing and review; however, no compensation was offered or given to influence our opinion. If you think getting a free grill has influenced my opinion, go check one out yourself at a local dealer. I think you will be equally impressed.
