BBQ With Curves

Who wouldn't want one of these? We at BBQ Bling will be the first ones with our hands up when Alistair Messon's curvy BBQ reaches production.

The BBQ is crafted out of glazed ceramic so you can leave it exposed to the elements without any damage to the appearance.

A highlight of unusual style is the modular table top/preparation bench that can be removed by unclipping it from the cooker.

According to The Design Blog, Messon intended to "come up with a cooking appliance that’s fun, practical and plays its role with grace!"

"Amazing Grace", Ali we reckon.

UK BBQ Assoc Enjoys A Heat Stroke

BBQ Bling can hardly believe it's eyes. Not content with winning a record number of medals at the Beijing Olympics and hosting the 2012 Summer Games, the UK National BBQ Assoc is now claiming "leading nation" status in Barbecue.

Citing no clear methodology, the UK BBQ Assoc press release for the Second Annual "Have a Better Barbie Day" claimed the UK is now "officially the biggest BBQ nation in Europe"!

As the rare, but sweet smell of success, mingled with burnt sausages and imported New Zealand lamb, the Association extolled that the UK had beaten the "Germans into second place again in the European Barbi stakes, with 95 million BBQ occasions last year versus Germany’s measly 80 million".

Germany??? "BBQ occassions"???

Finally the heat and the fumes of a particularly strong red wine and garlic marinade, caused the Association to have another outrageous stroke claiming: "Even the Aussies can’t catch us, both in the Olympics and on the Barbi, as they could only manage a ‘daggy’ 28 million Barbi’s."

Back of the envelope research by BBQ Bling reveals that the UK is claiming 1.5 "BBQ occasions" (whatever that is!) per head for the Brits compared to a wishful 1.4 for the Aussies.

Even an Aussie vegan would fire up the BBQ more often than that, thinks BBQ Bling.

Continuing with the theme, BBQ Bling can reveal that only 7% of China's 1.3 billion population, would only need to fire up the Weber once a year to eclipse the UK's delusional 95 million cook outs.

Still, at least they have a National BBQ Association in the UK which is more than you can say for the Land Down Under!

US Homes Crisis Burns Barbeques Galore

BBQ Bling notes with some regret that the US Housing crisis has claimed another victim, Aussie icon Barbeques Galore's US affiliate filed for bankruptcy protection on August 15, citing a decline in home sales, as a ``trigger'' for its grill sales.

The petition for Chapter 11 protection, filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in California listed assets and debts of $10 million to $50 million each. Barbeques Galore estimated it has from 1,000 to 5,000 creditors and said that it plans to sell the company or form ``a consensual liquidating plan'' with its bank lenders.

The company, based in Carlsbad, California, is the world's largest specialty retailer of barbecues and accessories, and operates 65 stores, with 400 employees, in the U.S. mostly throughout California, Texas, Arizona and Nevada.

Affiliate Barbeques Galore Ltd., based in Auburn, Australia, and not included in the filing, was acquired by Australian buyout firm Ironbridge Capital in August 2005.

The first US Barbeques Galore store opened in 1980. From 1997 to 2005, the company traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq before its acquisition by Ironbridge Capital.

Ironbridge bought the company just before housing sales started to decline, the company said, citing annual revenue of $102.3 million for its fiscal year ended Jan.31, down 18 percent from $124.2 million two years ago.

It projects another 18 percent decline for fiscal 2009.

Source: Bloomberg

Ariete SteakHouse Grill

At BBQ Bling we think this vertical steak grill looks more like a toaster than a griller.

According to the Ariete product page this new electric grill takes true grilling to the table: "With SteakHouse Grill, food products cook without coming into contact with their fats as is true with traditional grilling".

Hogwash! From my recollection, the fats and juices are where "the flavour lives" so something that avoids contact with them is not likely to result in a edible meal.

If you like your steak tough and dry, save the $220 and eat at my mother-in-law's house!!

Mentioned on Gizmodo .

Killjoy BBQ Site Brands Condom and Knickers Auction a Scam!

The ebay auction of a cheating husband’s empty condom packet and large knickers which has swept the internet in the last week is probably a fake. That’s the bold claim from Aussie BBQ site Charcool.com.au.

“As Australia's most overlooked BBQ site we don't do a lot of myth busting but COME ON!” whinges the site.

"If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. (Like the story of the jilted woman who filled her ex-lover’s convertible with cement).

"This eBay auction is just an amalgam of a couple of earlier "cheating spouse" auctions held on the popular site over the past few years" Charcool claims.

In 2005, a DJ’s spurned wife in the UK auctioned her husband's Lotus Espirit for 0.50p in what would have been a great value promotional stunt for his radio station.

A year later, a British mother of two, who claimed she was dumped by her cheating husband, put his entire wardrobe up for sale on eBay.

Then in March 2008, the former lover of Wikipedia’s founder, Jimmy Wales, put his jumper and shirt up for sale on eBay after claiming he dumped her on his web encyclopaedia.

Not to be outdone, in March this year, a Welsh man put 200 pictures of his cheating wife up for sale quickly followed by a spurned Brit who tried to sell his philandering wife!

This is just "shameless self-promotion" says Charcool whose own eBay auctions have have failed to attract anything like the internet attention of the “Spurned-Wife-and-Tart’s-Knickers” story.

"Is it any wonder I can't sell legitimate products when all the attention is on this rubbish” asks the jealous eBayer.

"Just look at the bidding history since this thing hit the net big time! It started at $US0.69 on August 8 and has now been bid up to more than $US1,000,000!” observes a clearly jealous Charcool.

"Get a grip people! If you're looking for a bargain, check out our genuine Fathers Day gifts and portable BBQ contest at Charcool Australia.

"Fathers Day is just 2 weeks away and I'm trying to clear 500 BBQ Branding Irons and 120 BBQ Tool sets that would make great presents - but all the attention is on a this bogus auction."

Thermapen. Not Just for Red Meat.

Thermapen are acknowledged leaders in hot food probes thanks to their fast and accurate readings but at BBQ Bling we just love all the colours!

While very compact, the fold-able Super-Fast Thermapen can measure internal food or liquid temperatures in only 3 or 4 seconds which is quite an improvement on other thermometers that may take up to 20 seconds or more.

The ultra thin needle tip on the Super-Fast model only requires about a 2 mm immersion so you can take the temperature of the thinnest meats and vegies and only leave a tiny, self-closing hole instead of a gaping “juice-drain” left by digital BBQ forks.

The Thermapen even has an auto-off feature to save your battery if you leave the probe open over 6 minutes.

But best of all the Thermapen is available in 9 great colours so you can choose your favourite (mine's orange) or if you are more sensible, use a different colour for different foods to avoid cross contamination as the maker intended.

Thermapen have a great current special of 6 pens for the price of 5 plus a free wallet for $445. Thats $75 each!

Thermapen is avilable in centigrade or fahrenheit models but they aren't switchable.

Too Much Gaming is Bad for You!

Chill Factor 4/5

BBQ Grill "case-mod" proves link with stupidity!

From Technabob comes irrefutable proof that too much gaming is bad for you.

BBQ Bling's ongoing search for "the good, the bad and the utterly useless", hit pay-dirt in the useless category this week with the sorry tale of one poor Gamer who decided using an old BBQ as a computer case was a cool idea.

"The grill conceals a complete gaming rig, capable of pushing plenty of pixels for playing the latest and greatest computer games. Just pop open the lid, and hidden beneath the lid is a nice big widescreen LCD monitor and a powerful PC. Those glowing orange fans really make it look like the coals are nice and hot."

For some reason this story has been the toast of Blogland which confirms what BBQ Bling has noticed, there's just not much happening in the world of BBQ Gadgets at the moment.

Anyway thanks to Technabob and QuakeCon for adding a new word "case-mod" to our vocab.

If you want to see other examples of what all that hammering in the kid's room is about, follow the QuakeCon link. Or not!

This BBQ Marinator Doesn't Suck. It Vacuums

Vacu Vin Instant BBQ Marinator

Thill Factor 3/5

The efficient VacVin wine storage method has been transformed into this Instant Marinator for meat and vegies.

The Instant Marinater features a specially-designed dish and vacuum pump that allows you to marinate and tenderize all types of meat and vegetables in only 5 minutes.

Simply add your marinade to the food and then pump the air out.

I've used the wine version for years and this is a great product extension.

Wish I'd thought of it!

And it's available in Australia for $49.95 with a free recipe book.

Available from Everten Online .

Helios Solar Grill. Let There Be Light

Helios Solar Grill

Chill factor: 3/5

Or else use the retractable power-grid plug in the base!

The Helios, featured on Tuvie, is a solar power grill even if it looks like a public phone for ET.

It stores upright to keep a small footprint and easily cantilevers open and locks in place, when you are ready to cook.

In order to maximize safety, Helios designed it so that the reflective solar dish is pointed away from you while cooking.

Helios utilizes a reflective parabolic dish to focus sunlight onto a solar receptor, transforming it into usable energy.

While only a concept at this stage, the Helios (in Greek mythology: the sun) may turn out to be the future of BBQ if you can overcome the ugliness, diminutive size of the cooking surface and the time it will take to cook a meal!

Gold BBQ Seeks Sartorial Rat

Well, here at bbq bling we wish we had the budget to commission a gold BBQ so everyone would know how classy we are. You can't just leave it to them to figure it out on their own!

One of Australia's best known BBQ manufacturers Beefeater has done just that.

According to the company: "BeefEater commissioned the glittering grill (valued at over $50,000) in time for the Sydney Home Show as a wacky and fun way to celebrate recently being named the World’s Finest Barbecue."

The web site gushes on: "The unique barbecue featured a six-burner barbecue and wok burner, roasting hood and warming rack, high output burners, quartz start ignition, vaporizer grid and reflector system, all individually plated in 24-carat gold."

Since making its debut in Sydney, the golden grill has fired up barbecue fanatics across the globe, from Germany, the UK, Dubai and most recently at the HPBA Assoc trade show in Atlanta, US.

Regrettably gold is not a great material for BBQ construction and the company advises not to turn it on as it would simply turn black and give off toxic fumes.

So if you happen across a "rat with a gold tooth" let him know Gizmag found just the BBQ he was looking for!

Quick! Duck outside for a quick smoke pellet!

SmokePistol Pellet Smoker

Thrill Factor: 1/5

Smoking always seems such a daunting task but we have entered the era of "instant smoke " thanks to the clever people at SmokePistol .

The SmokePistol is a small electric appliance that you attach to your smoker or grill by drilling a 1/2 inch hole.

You then insert a little cartridge (aka "bullet") which will give you between 3 to 4 hours of continuous smoke. The bullets are available in 9 wood types - Hickory, Mesquite, Apple, Alder, Pecan, Cherry, Sugar Maple, Oak and Black Walnut.

Good consistent smoke for up to 4 hours with no wood chips, no ash, no mess!

Just light, load and leave.