Saber Select 4-Burner Infrared Grill | Expert Review

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The Skinny:

• Quickly preheats for steakhouse-level searing and outstanding cooking performance
• Patented infrared system provides even heat and converts flare-ups into flavorful smoke
• Impressively built with 304, commercial-grade stainless steel in all the right places

The Skinny:

• Quickly preheats for steakhouse-level searing and outstanding cooking performance
• Patented infrared system provides even heat and converts flare-ups into flavorful smoke
• Impressively built with 304, commercial-grade stainless steel in all the right places
• Control knobs feature blue LED accent lights for stylish nighttime grilling
• 13,000-BTU side burner handles secondary cooking tasks like making sauces or sides

The Saber Select 4-burner infrared grill stands out among Practical-class gas grills for 2 major reasons: an all-infrared cooking system and premium-grade construction in several key components. For starters, infrared heat brings an array of benefits to the grilling experience: faster preheats, greater fuel efficiency, fewer flare-ups, and juicier results than what you’ll get from the dry convection air in traditional gas grills. Oh, and did we mention most steakhouses use infrared technology? As for the build quality, 304-grade stainless steel is the gold standard for outdoor durability, making it a rarity for Practical grills. Either factor would’ve been enough to catch our eye, but the combination meant we just had to take a look under the hood.

As usual, our in-house grill expert Chef Tony was more than up to the task. This Saber Select grill review is based on findings from his series of data-driven and real-world tests, which are designed to deliver objective results. Let’s get into the nitty-gritty details surrounding the grill’s quality, performance, and features so you can have a better idea of what to expect from the Saber Select 4-burner infrared gas grill.

Quality:

• We noted this above, but it bears repeating — Practical-class gas grills typically contain little, if any, commercial-grade (304) stainless steel. That’s why Chef Tony was eager to put his XRF gun to work testing Saber’s claims of commercial-grade components. Indeed, the following parts proved to be 304-grade stainless steel using XRF-gun analysis: the 14-gauge hood exterior, 16-gauge main cooking grates, 18-gauge tube burners and their accompanying triangular heat tents, and 20-gauge infrared emitters. Seeing commercial-grade material featured in the Saber Select’s most work-intensive components is a great sign of long-lasting quality.

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The other grill components registered as various lower grades of steel, but nothing was outside of what we expect in the Practical class. The control panel checked in as 16-gauge, 201-grade stainless steel; the hood interior (yes, it’s doubled-lined for better insulation) is 18-gauge, galvanized steel; the firebox is made from 14-gauge, enameled steel; and the warming rack turned up as porcelain-coated steel. Says Chef Tony: “All of those things combined tell us that, in the Practical class of grills, the Saber Select gets high marks for quality.” Saber’s warranty, meanwhile, maxes out at 10 years of coverage on the stainless steel and side burner components, with less protection for the remaining parts.

Performance:

• To get things started, Chef Tony set thermocouples across the grilling surface to measure temperature extremes and evenness. The 15-minute preheat test yielded an average temperature of 691°F with all burners on high; “definitely impressive,” Chef Tony says, “and certainly enough horsepower to have you searing whatever you’d like in about 15 minutes.” As for high- and low-end temperatures, all burners on low for 30 minutes produced an average of 446°F — admittedly “a little bit high,” though lower temps can be achieved with one or two burners left off — while all burners on high for the same period resulted in 716°F on average. The greatest temperature variance for those tests occurred in the front-left corner: 54°F lower than average for the low-temp trial, and 78° lower than average during the high-temp run. All told, Chef Tony considers these numbers “very impressive” for a Practical-class grill.

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Real-world tests only reinforced that temperature data. Even when loaded down with 18 burgers, the Saber Select infrared grill had no trouble handling rendered fat. Instead of leaving Chef Tony to battle pesky flare-ups, the infrared emitter immediately vaporized fat drippings and returned it to the food in the form of flavorful smoke. (As Chef Tony explains, it’s the same “grilled flavor” we associate with charcoal, only on a gas grill.) For good measure, the burgers also cooked as evenly as our grill tester hoped.

Next was a surf ‘n’ turf test designed to measure how well the grill can handle different heat zones at once, featuring T-bones and ribeyes on one side, and scallops and lobster tails on the other. The steaks picked up bold sear marks, the seafood received the medium heat needed for a perfect finish, and Chef Tony once again observed a steady stream of flavor-packed smoke from the vaporized drippings. In short, another major check mark in favor of the Saber Select 4-burner grill.

Finally, Chef Tony devised a threefold challenge for this Saber Select grill review: grilling sweet potato planks, bacon-wrapped asparagus, and double-boned pork chops at the same time. The difficulty? Sweet potatoes can be hard to cook through before the center chars, bacon is basically a flare-up factory, and pork chops have a bad habit of drying out over intense heat. Well, Chef, how’d it go? “I’m pleased to report that none of these things turned out to be a challenge for the Saber Select, which means that in the performance department, Saber gets two thumbs up.”

Features:

Now that we’ve given Chef Tony room to gush about Saber’s infrared cooking system, let’s take a second to explain how it works. A layer of full-coverage emitter panels sits below the main grill grates, evenly directing the heat of the gas burners to the cooking surface while vaporizing the drippings into flavorful smoke. They’re key to the whole operation, and Chef Tony came away impressed with Saber’s patented design. The burners below ignite with push-button, electronic startup — an easy and reliable system that’s a welcome sight on any Practical grill — with flame carryover tubes that ignite any burner from an adjacent lit burner. And as a stylish yet helpful bonus, Saber Select control knobs feature blue LED accent lights for easier use at night.

We’ll wrap up by turning our attention to the grill cart itself, which includes plenty of thoughtful touches to enhance your grilling experience. Most notable is the 13,000-BTU side burner built into the right side shelf, perfect for whipping up a quick sauce or side dish; the left shelf serves solely as a side table but folds down for a smaller storage footprint. To ensure safe storage, the grill cart is fully enclosed with heavy-duty doors that have helpfully integrated tool hooks and baskets. They free up more room for your propane tank, which securely fits into a built-in holder alongside the integrated fuel gauge. The Saber Select grill also features a removable warming rack, 4 caster wheels (2 of which lock), and a front pull-out grease tray for quickly cleaning up any truly wayward drippings that somehow evade the infrared system. They’re nothing overly spectacular, but when taken in total, the Saber Select infrared grill has clearly separated itself as a leader in the Practical class.

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