[Rob Babcock]

I just got back from a week-long hiking and camping trip to Idaho and my Caveman Grill was waiting for me!   As you can see from the link it's a gas infrared top broiler that cranks out temps of 1,500 degrees F!  I've been wanting something like this and was almost ready to drop some larger cash when I discovered this little gem.  The cooking surface is small, about 65 square inches.  Basically it's big enough for one steak of almost any size or two fat burgers.  So far I've only had a chance to cook on it once but I'm impressed.  I haven't dug out my infrared thermometer but it feels like it's making the advertised heat.  After about 90 seconds my 2" thick sirloin had a great char on the top.

Time will tell how it holds up but right now I'm over the moon.  As a chef I can achieve results in the commercial kitchen that are hard to duplicate at home with home-type gear.  I was once Executive Chef at a place with a large infrared with a convection setting that could hit almost 1,800 F!   You simply can't get the same kind of char on a steak with the 700-800 degree max temps of a regular gas or charcoal grill.

Again, we'll see how it holds up but for $125 or so it's a great pickup!

[S Clark]

  That is SERIOUSLY COOL!

[Rob Babcock]

Hahaha, yeah!   Especially for the money.  I have to get a rolling cart to put it on, looking on Amazon now.  But in my limited time with it I'm really impressed.

[stlrman]

Just watched a bunch of YT videos . This thing is awesome !!! I want one !!!!
Do you buy a camping can of gas to hook it to
Thanks !!

[woodsyi]

I have been thinking of one.  I live with vegetarians which means I always have to stagger cooking my steak with the rest.  This could be a great solution to cooking everything at once and have a great tasting steak. 

Would this Big Horn Outdoors unit be an equivalent with double width?

[Rob Babcock]

Just watched a bunch of YT videos . This thing is awesome !!! I want one !!!!
Do you buy a camping can of gas to hook it to
Thanks !!

It comes with a hose that has the standard fitting to hook up to a regular propane tank like you'd see on any other gas grill.  But propane is propane so there's likely some kind of adapter to run it off the small green bottles, too.

I have been thinking of one.  I live with vegetarians which means I always have to stagger cooking my steak with the rest.  This could be a great solution to cooking everything at once and have a great tasting steak. 

Would this Big Horn Outdoors unit be an equivalent with double width?

Wow!  That one looks awesome.  It appears to be the same basic thing but larger.  The Caveman Grill costs just over half as much but that one is a better deal if you need a larger grill.  I'm generally just cooking for myself so the smaller one works fine for me.

I bought a cart for it today, I'll try to get a pic later.

[Rob Babcock]

Here it is set up!   I got a rolling wire rack and set a couple of brick pavers underneath to protect the wood top from the heat.  It doesn't seem to get hot under it but the space out front gets hot.  And this way I can set the screaming hot cooking rack on the brick.

[Rob Babcock]

BTW, I'm eager to use it to sear stuff cooked sous vide.

[stlrman]

That’s an awesome unit at a killer price !!
I realize it’s not for me even though I mostly cook for myself , I like to do a big cook off . Today I cooked chicken breasts on the grill . I ate five ounces , and  put six portions in the fridge and freezer. So the tiny space is not going to work for me .

[Rob Babcock]

I don't see this as a total replacement for a regular grill.  It's really just a high-powered searing machine.  But that covers what I generally do with a grill.

[RolandButcher]

I just ordered one - thanks for the tip!

[Rob Babcock]

Sweet!   I hope you like yours as much as I like mine.

[stlrman]

Rob , wouldn’t  the best searing be done in a cast iron pan over the stove on very high heat ? That’s what I have seen 95% of the serious steak guys do on Reddit .

[Rob Babcock]

That does work.  It's pretty hard to get a cast iron pan as hot as this broiler, but of course being on contact with skillet makes the sear fast.  The risk is in burning the oil.  And of course you don't want to do it inside, either.  Plus you still have to cook it to the point of searing.  Lots of ways to do a steak.

[max190]

I saw the Caveman the last time I was at Menard's.
Like Rob said, "Lots of ways to do a steak"
Seared some strips over the weekend using this guy https://vortexbbq.com/about/#direct in my Weber kettle.
 

[Philistine]

Rob Babcock is my role model 

I bought the Caveman this week and tonight had a filet mignon: first sous vide and then seared with the Caveman.  Perfect steak, this is my new future for a perfect steak 

[Rob Babcock]

That looks great!  I need to get my chamber vac machine set up here in my new place so I can get back to cooking sous vide.

[SoCalWJS]

Looks great!

I've been tempted by The Beefer or Otto Wilde for awhile now. This seems to be a very bare bones similar device at a much more reasonable price in comparison. May have to look into this. After following the link woodsyi posted, I see that there are now several brands coming out in direct competition to the 2 I mentioned. Looks like it's time to do more research.

How is the quality of the Caveman product? Do you think it will hold up over time?

[Philistine]

This is the second time using the Caveman, what’s going to keep it in good condition is clean up - no fun in spending 2 mins searing and 20 mins cleaning!  On both occasions I let it cool down overnight, sprayed on Dawn Powerwash and it cleans off with just a wipe, so great news here.  Quality and value is more than you’d expect for $100, there’s a few rough edges on the case but not a big deal.  I haven’t seen The Beefer, or The Gaspro, so can’t really comment on the respective qualities, I’m probably going to be using Caveman more than once or twice per week so expecting to get at least 3 years of life out of it.  At the price point you can buy over 5 of these vs The Beefer so, for me, it represents great value.  If it dies early, and it becomes an indispensable piece of equipment, I’d definitely take a look at The Beefer or Gaspro next time.  If nothing else it’s a low cost introduction to high temperature searing and I’m more than happy with it, I might even get a second for larger gatherings...

I see The Beefer has accessories, the pizza Stone is a no (way too small), but the burger plate and cover look interesting - it might be fun to see if these fit Caveman?

[Philistine]

I got lucky, Caveman fits on my pizza station: