I had hoped I’d get to try some steak cooked in a toaster — but not just any toaster. And, like so many other products here at CES 2024, it includes AI. But when I walked up to the unusual vertical infrared toaster called Perfecta by Seer Grills, the curious countertop appliance was only running its cooking programs with dummy meat inside. A disappointment for sure, but even without sizzling meat on hand, the sheer physics of how the Perfecta grill claims to sear steak boggles my mind.
That’s because when in possession of a pricey piece of meat like ribeye there are few tried and true tools for nailing the cook, and a slot toaster isn’t usually one of them. OK, so it’s not exactly a meat toaster. More of an oven, that’s designed like a toaster and marketed as a grill. The unique Perfecta grill cooks steak, chicken, fish and other meats standing up with AI-controlled and mega-powerful infrared burners on either side.
Why, you ask? (Because I certainly did). It’s so the meat gets even heat from both sides. The food is cooked so fast, Seer Grill founder and CEO, Suraj Sudera tells me, that juices don’t have time to escape before being locked inside a seared crust, even though your cut of meat is essentially suspended in midair.
Horizontal grilling is so last year.
After you’ve loaded the filet or chop vertically into the cage and engaged the proper cooking cycle, infrared burners close in from both sides with blazing temps of over 1,000 degrees F — that’s not a typo. The Seer Grill finishes thick steaks and chops in under two minutes, no flipping required.
AI automation in tandem with the user’s feedback from various cooks, helps the Perfecta get smarter over time.
And if you’re jonesing for something carbier, the middle cage can be removed and replaced with a pizza peel to cook personal pies (horizontally, this time) in less time than it takes to order Dominoes.
Would you deign to cook a steak upright? The people behind Seer Grill’s new AI-controlled Perfecta think you’d be silly not to.
Does the Perfecta deliver on all its claims? We’ll have to take their word for now. The team wasn’t cooking any actual meat when we got an up close and personal look at the curious countertop appliance — only running its cooking programs with dummy meat inside.
The Perfecta grill will be rolling out in the second half of 2024. It’ll cost a whopping $3,500, but you can score $1,000 off if you preorder one before Jan. 15.
Follow more of CNET’s coverage of CES 2024 here.
