If you are reading this Schwank Grills review, chances are you thinking of investing in a portable 1500 degree infrared grill. But first, let’s dig into what an at home portable infrared grill is and why you would want an at home salamander or portable infrared grill that heats up to 1500 degrees in the first place.

What is a Portable 1500 Degree Infrared Grill?

If you’ve ever eaten at Morton’s, Del Frisco’s, Cut 432 or other renowned steak houses, you’ve experienced Schwank’s own infrared burner restaurant technology.

A cooking salamander or salamander oven in a restaurant is a standalone high heat broiler meant for cooking proteins quickly.

A commercial infrared broiler. Photo taken from Schwank grills website.

Steak houses have been using commercial infrared broilers that cook from the top down to quickly cook steaks since the 80s. Infrared broilers can get up to 1500 degrees making it easy to cook a steak quickly while keeping it moist and juicy on the inside.

Unlike cooking on a grill where your protein is above the flame and all the fat and steak juices are lost in the cooking process, infrared burners cook with a high heat broiler at the top with the protein below the burner, leaving the steak’s fat and juices to drip down into the drip tray that can be used as a finishing sauce later. This process cooks a steak more quickly while also keeping the steak juicy since it cooks so incredibly fast.

Previously, this infrared burner technology was only available in commercial restaurant kitchens, however, it has recently become available in the past few years for at-home cooks with smaller, portable infrared burner technology hitting the market.

Infrared burners on the Schwank Portable Infrared 1500 Degree Grill.

The beauty of this technology available to the open market is that now, anyone can have a steakhouse-worthy steak cooked at home in their backyard. If you love a steak that has the perfect browned crust on the outside while still moist and juicy on the inside, a portable infrared grill could be the perfect investment for you. The added value of this method of cooking is that the infrared grill takes mere minutes to heat up and cooks a steak in as little as three minutes. This is a fraction of time compared to your average gas grill. While you can’t cook as many steaks at one time as in a gas grill, the finished result of the 2-3 steaks you can cook at one time in a Schwank will be steak-house worthy results, with the added benefit of retaining all that glorious steak fat and juice to be mixed with butter as a finishing sauce at the end.

What Do You Cook in a Portable 1500 Degree Infrared Grill?

The Schwank 1500 Degree Portable Infrared grill, like all portable infrared grills, is most notable for cooking the perfect steakhouse-style steak. However, you can cook all proteins (quickly) in the Schwank, with the same benefit of retaining moisture because of how quickly they cook. With the addition of the Pizza Stone, the schwank can also cook pizzas.

So, while many people think that portable infrared grills are a one-trick pony meant only for steak, you can cook all your proteins, veggies and even pizza in this grill.

Watching the fat sizzle, crackle and pop while cooking a steak in the Schwank is a full sensory steak ASMR experience.

Let’s not forget how they also beautifully melt cheese on your proteins! Who else loves blue cheese-crusted steak? I first had this at Ruth’s Chris because my good friend is a bartender and he suggested this, and now I’ve been doing this at home in my Schwank. If you are a blue cheese lover, and you love steak, blue cheese crusted steak will rock your world!

Mini Portobello Mushrooms stuffed with blue cheese and herbs cooked in the Schwank.

Schwank Grills Price point

The Schwank Grill currently comes in one size and is priced at $1250 for a propane hookup and $1350 for a natural gas hookup. They offer financing on their website.

Warranty: Schwank grills offers a one year warranty and replacement parts or entire grill replacement during this time if the grill was used according to specifications. You can read their full warranty disclaimer here https://schwankgrills.com/pages/warranty

Competitors to Schwank

Competitors in this space include the Beefer and the Otto Wilde. The Beefer has a different configuration where you are cooking your steaks two deep versus a wider, more open configuration with the Schwank where you can see your steaks cooking. There are other differences too where the Schwank has more flexibility for moving the steaks up and down with a lever to be closer to the broiler versus the Beefer you must remove the steaks manually and then place on a different rack.

I’d say the most close competitor to the Schwank is the Otto Wilde Pro, another German-born infrared broiler. Some of the things that I see that Schwank differentiates itself on is being easy to transport with side handles that make it easy to take with you or move around in your backyard. Please note I haven’t cooked on an Otto Wilde or Beefer so I can only really give my experience on the Schwank. Noted differences are based on what I can tell with online search.

I also see a lot of inexpensive, $300 price range grills claiming to do the same thing on Amazon. My experience is that lower-cost grills usually use lower grade stainless steel that will rust over time. In the world of grilling, the grade of stainless steel used is usually the big price differentiator in grills. Lower price point usually means lower grade stainless which means it will usually rust very quickly. From a rust standpoint, you pay for what you get in grills. This is just my experience as someone who has tested a lot of grills and lives in the humid, rainy tropical climate of Southwest Florida.

What is good to know about the Schwank is that they have been doing Infrared Technology for almost 100 years. In fact, they are under the multi-national company the Schwank Group, that has been creating this style technology for industrial applications since 1933. It was in the 1980s that this concept was applied to infrared broilers to revolutionize steakhouses. I share all of this so you know that you are investing in a company who literally created this technology and is not new to the market- ie, this is NOT their first rodeo. Notably, they pretty much created this technology that has been used for decades in commercial restaurant kitchens.

One other things to add, I've been writing about grills since 2008 and rarely encounter grills actually made in the USA. So, it is worth mentioning that Schwank Grills are actually manufactured in the USA (in Georgia). This is highly unique in a world of grills made and assembled in China.

Cleaning of the Schwank Grill

The grill plate, drip pan and grill liner for the Schwank are all removable and can go into the dishwasher! That is a major bonus to me- I love things that are easy to keep clean.

Storage for Longevity

I’d highly recommend purchasing the grill cover- taking the extra step to cover your grills makes a big difference in how long they last. As someone with over 30 grills in my backyard, I can say this 100% makes a difference in the longevity of any grill you purchase.

Overall thoughts on the Schwank Grill

I am having a ton of fun cooking on this grill. While I may have a ton of grills in my backyard, I appreciate the simplicity and ease of use of the Schwank. As a certified steak judge, I’ve had my fair share of steak in my life and I can say this grill produces amazing steaks. As a busy mom who works round the clock, I also appreciate that I can get this baby lit and up to temp in mere minutes, and can cook a beautiful ribeye or piece of salmon in mere minutes.

On the [TAG8], I got addicted to steaks finished with butter. So, the ability to mix butter with the “fond” aka juicy steak bits that fall in the drip pan to use as a finishing sauce at the end is a major bonus for me.

Butter mixed with steak juices and “fond” make for a magical finish on steak! So good!!!

Another thing I really like about this grill is that it doesn’t take up a ton of room in my backyard. Sure, I have a large 4 burner gas grill in my backyard (and many others) but as a family of 3, I am usually only cooking 2-3 steaks or burgers at a time anyway. So, the fact that I can get the grill lit up lightning fast and have dinner on the table in under 10 minutes is a major bonus for me.

I’d definitely recommend this grill for anyone who loves a good grilled steak, and appreciates the portable and compact nature of this small yet mighty grill! I can honestly say that this little grill has become one of my favorites in my backyard. I think anyone would have a ton of fun with this grill and it’s a solid investment for someone who appreciates a perfectly cooked steak. To learn go check out their website SchwankGrills.com.

Note: I was NOT paid to write this review. This is an honest review of my experience using the Schwank grills. I have been paid previously for ads on my IG feed for Schwank but this review is based on my real experience using this grill. I have used and reviewed many grills and this is my honest opinion. I have had a great experience using this grill.

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