Full Disclosure: I was compensated by Char-Broil for this post, however, the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Drive in our neighborhood at any point after 5 pm on any given workday, or any point on a weekend for that matter, and there will be one constant thing.

The smell of someone grilling.

If you are lucky, smoke rising from a grill from someone, more than likely me, who have added a few wood chips to enhance the flavor. This story, though, could be said for any neighborhood throughout Kansas City, city that is known for its barbeque.

As the main evening dinner chef, I have come to love stepping outside, despite the weather, and firing up the grill. I do stop at severe thunderstorms because with all the trees in our neighborhood, I might be the one up in smoke instead of the steaks on the grill.

There are many reasons I choose the barbeque grill as much as I do, the convenience, the taste, and the sheer manliness of holding a spatula standing next to the grill.

The convenience

As a dad who spends about as much time standing next to the sink doing dishes about as much as I do standing outside next to my grill, I think about the number of dishes a meal is going to produce. Take a family of four, like mine, for our evening dinners, we already produce 4 dirty plates, 4 dirty glasses, 4 dirty sets of forks and spoons (don’t forget the knives for adults), and the pots and pans and bowls that all went into creating that meal. In my head, all I see is the time spent at the sink doing dishes instead of unwinding from the day.

The grill eliminates those pots and pans and sometimes even bowls that are used to create a meal. Even though one set of dishes might keep me from listening to one of my favorite podcasts, the less time I am able to spend at the sink means more time that I am able to spend with my family.  

The Taste

When it comes to cooking, my family wants something that will taste good. And when you cook on a grill, there is just no matching the flavor that you can get from it. Maybe it is something about the food touching the searing grates, or that they are sitting on top of an open flame, or it’s the smoke produced, I don’t know but the taste is something unmatched by stove-top cooking. And when it comes to making a meal for kids, the flavor is where it’s at. However, the tricky part of cooking on a grill for kids is burning the food. My kids will cut of whatever burnt part there is on their pork tenderloin or hot dog. Which if you want my opinion because really that’s what you are here for right, that is where all the flavor is at.

However, this is quickly solved by Char-Broil TRU-Infrared cooking technology. It prevents the flare-ups that cause that burning of the food. It also keeps the flavor juices into your food for enhanced flavors, which makes this the most forgiving grill you can cook on for the most unforgiving eaters.

The Sheer Manliness of Holding a Spatula Next To a Char-Broil TRU-Infrared Grill

Standing next to the grill seems to be a right of passage for a man. I remember the first time I fired up a grill and made ribeye steaks for my then girlfriend, now wife, in a small two-bedroom apartment. The grill sitting on top of wooden railroad ties built as a retaining wall,  and the next thing I knew, I had charred the railroad ties, and it is a story that we still tell to this day. (We even drive by from time to time and see the charred railroad ties just to reminisce)

Grilling has made me a better father in that it was where I started at cooking for my family. It has since turned into a joy of creating family meals and seeing the enjoyment shared by all as we sat around the table on the deck in our backyard enjoying a great Kansas City evening. It is one of those joys that I hope to pass on to my boys as they grow up so that they can become the family chef and be a better father at the same time.

Having grilled for now close to 12 years, I would like to say that I have perfected the art. When the reality of it is that art is only as good as the tools given to the artist. And having grilled on my Char-Broil TRU-Infrared Commercial 4-Burner Grill for a few weeks now, I can say that this grill has given my family many memories of great meals.

As I mentioned, I love that Char-Broil TRU-Infrared cooking technology prevents flare-ups, making it one of the most forgiving grills that you can get. But if you are like me, I also have 3 propane tanks sitting around 2 of which are empty (waiting for me to exchange) and the one that fuels this grill. I have always had to guess up to this point when a tank would be empty but with my Char-Broil TRU-Infrared Grill, there is no guessing about it, since there is a built-in fuel gauge preventing a run to the grocery store mid-grilling hoping that what heat is inside the grill stays inside until I can get a new propane tank installed (or with this grill, you could just hook up a natural gas line so you don’t need any propane tanks sitting around).