Beef Baron's New $1,200 Countertop Grill Promises To Produce The Rolls-Royce Of Steaks

Pat LaFrieda may not be a household name, but he's royalty in the steak world. He's the third-generation king of the Pat LaFrieda empire, which supplies beef to some of the top restaurants in the country, as well as to all Shake Shack locations. This is to say: Dude knows steak. Now for the first time, he's released a LaFreida-branded grill. It costs $1,200 and looks like the lovechild of a George Foreman Grill and an Easy-Bake Oven.

The grill is a partnership with German company Otto Wilde and can reach temperatures up to 1,500 degrees F. The company says this fast, high temperature will recreate the meaty-crust steakhouse sear on your own home countertop. The propane-fueled grill also emits radiant heat from the top of the chamber, which prevents the "air-drying problem of conventional convection grills as well as flareups and nasty charring."

I personally do not have $1,200 sitting around to drop on a kitchen appliance, but to be honest I've never been a great steak-cooker, so this probably isn't up my alley anyway. If this grill was endorsed by anyone other than Pat LaFrieda—like some former boxer, say—I'd be more skeptical. With his endorsement though, I'm more inclined to think it's legit. Hey, how about you buy one and invite me over for Porterhouses?