Connerton CN-SM-36 36 In. Gas Salamander Broiler, 35,000 BTU Infrared Ceramic Burner, Crank-Adjusted Chrome Rack, Standing Pilot

The Connerton CN-SM-36 is a 36 in. wide, 18 in. deep, 18 in. tall gas salamander broiler with one 35,000 BTU pre-mix atmospheric infrared ceramic burner, a single front control knob, a standing pilot, and a crank handle on the right side that raises and lowers the grid rack, built for the finishing end of a steakhouse line, a hotel kitchen, or a gastropub that plates gratins and broiled fish to order. The infrared burner works from above, so you crank the rack up close to crust a rack of lamb or drop it down to glaze a tray of crème brûlée without moving the pan. Through a Saturday night of prime rib caps and lobster tails the ceramic face keeps radiating at full heat while the crank sets the distance for each dish. It is a top-heat broiler with no cooking surface below the rack and no oven cavity, so it is for broiling, browning, and finishing, not for roasting or flat-top work. It sits on a counter on 4 in. chrome plated legs, mounts on a wall with the bracket kit, or mounts over a range with a range mount kit, and takes gas at the rear through a 3/4 in. NPT connection with the standard regulator supplied.

One 35,000 BTU Pre-Mix Atmospheric Infrared Ceramic Burner

One large heavy duty infrared ceramic burner heats the full cavity, rated at 35,000 BTU/hr on natural gas and 32,000 BTU/hr on propane. Pre-mix means the air and gas are blended before they reach the ceramic face, so the face burns evenly edge to edge and glows at a steady temperature. Infrared heat is radiant, so it strikes the surface of the food directly and sears the top of a steak or the crumb on a gratin far faster than hot air alone would. Connerton lists the burner as high efficiency for that reason: the energy goes into the food and the grid, not into heating the room.

Standing Pilot Ignition With a 1 Minute Preheat

A standing pilot keeps a small flame at the burner, so a turn of the single front knob lights the ceramic face at once and the broiler is ready after a 1 minute preheat. That short preheat is what an infrared ceramic burner buys you: there is no heavy element or thick plate to bring up to temperature, only the ceramic face itself. Between tickets you can leave it on the pilot and have full broiling heat back in about a minute.

Crank-Adjusted Heavy Duty Chrome Plated Grid Rack With 4 Position Rack Guides

The grid rack is heavy duty chrome plated and rides on a ball-end crank handle on the right side of the unit that raises and lowers it under the burner. That is the working difference of a salamander: you move the food to the heat with one hand while the pan stays put, so a thick-cut pork chop can start low and finish high for color. The side walls also carry 4 position rack guides for setting a base height. The interior opening is about 30.72 in. wide and 15.52 in. deep on the dimension drawing, and the handle projects from the right side so the top view of the unit is 24.78 in. deep including the crank. Connerton does not print the travel range of the crank, so plan the mounting height around the 18 in. tall body.

Stainless Steel Exterior and Interior on a Welded Stainless and Aluminized Steel Chassis

The exterior and the interior are both stainless steel, so the cavity that takes rendered fat and broiler splatter cleans with the same wipe-down as the front. Underneath, the chassis is welded stainless and aluminized steel. A welded chassis has no fasteners to work loose through years of heat cycling, and aluminized steel resists scaling at the temperatures around an infrared burner, where a plain steel frame would pit and flake.

Removable Full Width Stainless Steel Spillage Pan

A full width stainless steel spillage pan sits below the grid rack to catch drippings from the broiling meat and the juice that runs off a fish fillet. Because it spans the full cavity width, nothing that falls from the edge of the rack lands on the base of the unit or on the counter. The pan lifts out for washing at the end of service.

Counter-Top, Wall Mount, or Range Mount With a 3/4 In. NPT Rear Gas Connection

Connerton builds this salamander for three placements: on the counter on its 4 in. chrome plated legs with adjustable feet, on the wall with the optional wall mount bracket kit, or above a range with the range mount kit that Connerton provides with its heavy duty range. Gas enters at the rear through a 3/4 in. NPT connection with a standard regulator supplied. It runs on natural gas at 5 in. W.C. or propane at 10 in. W.C., so specify the gas type when you order. The unit weighs 92 lb net, which matters when you are choosing a wall bracket location.