Grudge Match 3 and BBQ.

Coming soon, the race of the year: Grudge Match 3

See Brett Middleton's latest Grudge Match when a Subaru WRX and a Mitsubishi RalliArt Lancer go head to head at Wakefield Park.

If you love these iconic cars, drop over to our fiends at GM3.com.au and get instant access to a heap of performance information and see the full Grudge Match 3 video before it's officially launched on YouTube launch on October 1st.

GM3 can show you how to get more power out of your RalliArt Lancer than a factory EVO 10 or how to make your Subaru WRX just as quick as a k10 STi!

And whether you drive a Mitsubishi or Subaru, you can support your make and model with a cool accessory even Brett didn't think of....


a BBQ Branding Iron with WRX, MIT or any other 3 letters (eg STI, EVO or heavan forbid HDT) from the Charcool shop and get a 10% discount by entering the GM3 discount code during checkout.

Fast cars, cold beer and great BBQ. Boys heaven. Enjoy the ride.

5 Great Fathers Day BBQ Gifts for Australian Dads

Fathers Day in Australia is Sunday, September 6, 2009, and at Charcool we've got 5 great BBQ gift ideas for every budget.

Suggestion 1: A Cool BBQ Branding Iron from Texas Irons

Go on! Make his day with a quality, stainless steel BBQ Branding Iron from Texas Irons. He'll be the talk of the town telling his mates about his new toy.

Ideal for branding steak; chicken breasts; rissoles; bread rolls...everything straight from the hotplate.

Fast heating, simple to use and easy to clean!

A personalised BBQ branding iron from Charcool is an inexpensive and unique Father's Day for the BBQ fanatic in your life.

At less than $40, your Dad will make a great impression.

Suggestion 2: A Rockin Dad BBQ Tool Set

No doubt who this one is for!

Show Dad how much he rocks with this great Rockin' Dad Barbeque Tool Set from our friends at Texas Irons.

Thrill your "Grill-meister" with this quality, easy to handle, 3 piece spatula, fork and tongs set made from stainless steel and featuring the unique "Rockin' Dad" Old West brand.

He'll remember Fathers Day 2009 every time he flips a steak or picks up the snags.

Suggestion 3: A Fair Dinkum Drover's Cutting Board with his initials

Preparation is just as important as cooking technique and every chef should have a solid timber cutting board to get the show on the road.

This Aussie made board is big enough for most jobs around the home but compact enough to take along camping or on picnics. The Charcool's Drover's board is a great all rounder for the Best Dad in the World.

Made from 100% Australian Camphor Laurel timber and featuring 2 distinctive salvaged Red Gum handles for easy handling, this versatile board is perfect for carving, chopping, or for presentation as a antipasto platter or server.

Aussie Camphor Laurel is naturally anti-bacterial, smells great and the soft, medium density grain is kind to your knives!

To make Dad's new board a gift to remember, we will personalise it by branding his initial (up to 3) in the top right corner. He'll never forget the gift from 2009.

Suggestion 4: Buy him Sausage Bloke for company

Money can't buy you happiness but it can buy you company!

Sometimes it gets a bit lonely at the hotplate catering for the family while they're eating and enjoying themselves.

Nothing draws a crowd faster than a Charcool "Sausage Bloke" when you cook snags!

Dad Sausage Bloke

Made from food grade stainless steel, Dad's Sausage Bloke is a great novelty gift for the man who has everything!

Suggestion 5: Super Yacht Charter

Finally, if money is no object, shout Dad to a week of BBQ frivolity in the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Indian Ocean or South Pacific aboard the super yacht, "Lauren L"

As his helicopter lands on the sun deck, he'll wonder where the $1,332,859.40 is coming from!

But with a Health and Beauty Centre; Media Room; Library; 2 dining areas (one seating 12 and the other 50 people); open bar areas, sun deck with Jacuzzi, four large tenders, internet access in each stateroom and a helicopter landing pad he'll quickly settle in.

The Lauren L usually charters at €770,000 per week plus all expenses (including gas bottles and heat beads) but mention Charcool and travel before the end of September and it's all yours for just $969,352.29!

50 Ways To Get Swine Flu Revenge!

With Swine Flu now sweeping the country and making media celebrities of health officials, you're probably asking what you can do if your kid's school or your workplace is placed in a seven day lockdown.

So for the 167 Australians now diagnosed with Swine Flu; students at the six schools which have been closed due to the out break; members of South Morang Aussie Rules footy team or for returning passengers on the "flu ship" Pacific Dawn, we present 50 great ways to get your own back while in quarantine.

The list includes: Bacon flavoured fairy floss, Bacon martinis and Bacon popcorn. If you are especially vindictive there is even a "Make Your Own Bacon" link.

And most importantly, while you're in quarantine breaking out in rashes and getting crackling on the Swine Flu hotline, remember you it not just you, we're all at risk!

Can I Get Swine Flu From Eating BBQ Pork?

Does the current media circus over Swine Flu mean that you need to give up "pigs lips" (sausages), pulled pork, ham and eggs or bacon cheeseburgers?

According to to the folk at the US Centre for Disease Control, human infection happens intermittently, with most cases occurring when patients have direct contact with pigs.

Human-to-human infections occasionally occur with virus transmitted through coughing, sneezing and coming in contact with a person or object with the virus.

However, people cannot become infected by eating pork or pork products. Cooking pork to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit (72 degree centigrade) kills the virus as well as other bacteria, notes the CDC.

The BBQ Jew blog raises the interesting co-incidence that "swine flu was first identified in hogs in 1930, around the beginning of the Great Depression.

Now we are in the midst of another economic crisis and the swine flu is back in the news."

The current run rate for swine flu is more than 1600 cases in Mexico where the suspected death toll has climbed to 149.

There have been 40 cases in the US, where Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, said that there have been no deaths and only one hospitalization.

Besser said "The best way to keep the disease from spreading, he said, is by taking everyday precautions such as frequent handwashing, covering up coughs and sneezes and staying away from work or school if not feeling well."

State of Origin BBQ Branding Irons

There's nothing like a BBQ to celebrate the NRL's annual clash of Canetoads v Cockroaches that is Rugby League's State of Origin series.

Having friends around for a BBQ to watch the games can be almost as good as being there live!

Check out the advantages: first, you can get the full strength beer of your choice; second, you can get a great feed from a "backyard maestro" for less than the cost of a new car and now, with Charcool's special State Series BBQ branding Irons, you can imprint your state's initials onto everything from steak to humble pie!

Charcool has been importing BBQ Branding Irons from Texas for over 3 years and while they sell primarily as birthday or Fathers Day gifts, State of Origin is a great opportunity to get creative.

If your interstate mates think their team can win, now you can make them eat your words!

For the special State of Origin price of just $34.95 plus post and handling you get a 38cm stainless steel branding iron with lacquered handle and your choice of NSW or QLD letters to really show your support.

Made from high quality, food grade stainless steel and featuring large, sand-cast letters, these branding irons leave the dodgy, aluminium ones in their wake.

Fast heating, simple to use and easy to clean! That's a Texas Irons BBQ branding iron.

Size Makes a Difference:

Texas Irons letters are more than twice the size of other branding irons so the imprint really shows up on finished foods. As an result, unlike other retailers we could mention, we don't photoshop our images to enhance the result.

We cooked, branded, photographed and then ate (yum) all these steaks and you can too!

Perfect for branding steak; chicken breasts; rissoles; bread rolls...everything straight from the grill.

Hurry Buy NOW. Origin Game 1 kicks off in Melbourne on June 3

O-Grill BBQ - O for Outrageous

If you don't already have one of those single burner, gas canister driven cookers that morphed from Chinese restaurants to your camping gear about a decade ago you really should get one. They retail for less than $20 and 4 gas canisters cost around $10

Since I love my camping stove, I got really excited when Google alerts tipped me off to the release of the O Grill. A very similar item for BBQ grilling.

The O-Grill comes in 6 funky colours and is a truly portable gas grill that weights only 12 kgs. O-Grill Boasts a full 225 sq inch coated cast iron cooking grid, 9600 BTU Stainless Steel Burner and compact clam-shell design. O-grill sets up in 10 seconds, is easily cleaned and stowed and measures 20.5"x8.5"x23" (525x215x580 mm).

Ok! So how much? In the UK the O-Grill will set you back GBP149 (AUD 310), in the US you can pick one up for $US168 ($AUD240) but in Australia you'll pay the princely sum of $AUD419 for the pleasure of having an O-Grill.

Outrageous! No wonder they are scare as hens teeth on the net. My suggestion the Biji BBQ featured here last week and the single burner $20 cooker. Just as good, half the price!

Light Up Your BBQ!

How's this for a handy BBQ/camping accessory? Combination Salt and Pepper shakers with LED lights that double as lanterns.

What a formidable combination! Space saving, useful and sensible.

In our convergent times, many dual purpose items just don't pass the logic test. They remind me of the old joke about what you get if you cross a kangaroo with a sheep: a woolly jumper!

But these S&P shakers make a lot of sense. You are going to take both items camping or use them when you BBQ and eat outdoors at home so why not combine the two and save some space and money?

The lanterns are battery powered and have a handy hook for hanging. The spice shaker bottoms are refillable. They come in a set of 2 (one for salt, one for pepper) for $24.99.

via: Craziest Gadgets

How to excel at BBQ!

Forget painting by numbers, why not BBQ by cell address with this nifty piece of modernist industrial design from Art Lebedev Studios?

The Gridus grill has the capacity to take portion control to a whole new dimension.

The BBQ grill top has numbered rows and lettered columns neatly arranged in a tribute to the world's most popular spread sheeting software - Microsoft Excel.

Great for accurately calculating the largest piece of meat on the grill, the Gridus is sure to be a big week-end hit for Business Analysts and Investment Wankers.

Biji BBQ - Rough enough for the Bush!

I love Aussie ingenuity and when I saw this great Biji-Barbi, portable BBQ at the recent Brisbane 4WD show, I just had to have it for BBQ Bling!

The Biji is a dished BBQ plate, modelled on the Australian plough disc/shear, with three fold up legs and a practical, long, fold-up handle.

It's small, foldable and ideal for use with a single gas burner or for open fire cooking.

It is easily cleaned and stored and features a neat range of accessories including (possibly the only affectation about this no-nonsense portable barbeque) a canvas carry bag.

According to its designer and manufacturer, Tony Upton, who came up with the idea for the Biji (from "Murrumbidgee") to take on a fishing trip, up to 8000 units have been produced (in Australia) and sold to date.

The Biji comes in Large (430mm/17" diameter) and Medium (350mm/14" diameter); with or without a centre hole to drain the fat and with a range of optional flippers, bags and tools.

Prices are reasonable at $79 for the Large and $67.50 for Medium with a $10 post and packaging fee anywhere in Australia.

While it wont feed the multitudes, it's a great gift for the fisherman or week-end camper and will easily knock up a feed for a small group. Get one here!

Throw Another Human On The Grill

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) whose TV ad featuring naked veggies was deemed too steamy to screen during Superbowl XLIII, has turned up the heat with it's President Ingrid Newkirk willing her body to the organisation and stipulating that "the meat of my body, or a portion thereof, be used for a human barbecue".

PETA draws a lot of criticism for it's unabashed publicity seeking, with each campaign more wacky and sensational than the last. On the other hand, when you are up against some of the biggest advertising budgets and most powerful congressional lobbyists in the country, it's very unlikely that the meek will inherit anything much at all.

Although PETA is loathed by many conservatives in the US, especially in the South, where BBQ comes just after guns as a fundamental right, I don't see what's so incompatible with being a carnivore and believing in humane farming methods.

PETA also draws a lot of criticism for "objectifying women" in pursuit of animal rights (or self glory, depending on your view) and it is true that attractive women, usually scantily clad, feature prominently in many of their campaigns.

It seems to me that the reason this grates so much, is that this advertising staple looks so out of place when the object being advertised isn't a car or an up market consumer brand. When The Onion makes such an observation it's satire when PETA does it, it's exploitation.

All very interesting. Take some time to wonder around the PETA website and don't miss PETA TV. You may not agree with any or all of it, but it's worth a few minutes.

Little Wombat Portable BBQ and Fireplace

One of life's most enjoyable pleasures is relaxing around a campfire.

But having a campfire these days is increasingly regulated so Gold Coast inventor, Grant Sampson, turned his talents to the Little Wombat - a compact bbq grill with rotisserie that doubles as a fireplace.

Whether you’re in the backyard, on a beach, or caravanning, the Little Wombat is definitely a nifty gadget. The non vented fire box and double skinned insulation delivers all the pleasure of a traditional open fire with a real safety focus.

The non vented construction means the fire can't drop ash on the ground and the wool keeps the box cool and kid-friendly.

The Little Wombat has been brilliantly designed with specially made cast iron cooking plates, a D cell battery operated rotisserie for cooking roasts and the stainless steel lids double as serving trays.

Dimensions
500mm x 360mm x 235mm High
Total height off the ground with legs extended is 430mm.

Weight is 15kg.

Each Little Wombat comes complete with;

	Fire box
	2 lids/serving trays
	2 cast iron cooking plates plus
	Hotplate Magic for treating plates
	Complete rotisserie
	Canvas carry bag
	Full instructions

The Little Wombat is currently available for $299 + $30 postage incl GST. Order here.

Be sure to tell Grant you heard about his wonderful Australian invention at Charcool.

What the? $100k and no BBQ?

Ingenious, minimalist, cubist, plain, stark, austere - they all describe this "typically Japanese" portable home design.

Despite some tongue-in-cheek commentary from GadgetKing, in some way this just works, showing just how much space we really require for all the necessities -- just 3 square meters.

If you hooked it up with a Helios portable solar bbq you'd be pretty set for just about anything.

It's rather hard to tell how much under floor storage the Paco carries so 3 days with the kids and the inside would most likely resemble a dumpster. Maybe that's why they designed the hinged lid?

And at around $AUD100000 for the deluxe version, even after $21,000 first home owners grant, I think it will be a long way from cencept to commercial reality.

Via

If you cannot resist a peek inside, the home’s innovative roof flips up to reveal a modern interior. The movable roof is achieved by hydraulic cylinders, allowing you to sleep under a roof or under the stars without ever leaving the comfort of Paco House.

The Paco House is available in four basic plans.

Plan A features the kitchen, shower, shower curtains, bathroom, epoxy painted floor and ceiling lighting at a total price of 6,300,000 yen. Plan B boasts a kitchen, epoxy painted floor and ceiling lighting at a price of 5,250,000 yen. Plan C features the epoxy painted floor and ceiling lighting for 4,725,000 yen. Plan D is the home’s basic shell, which you can customize to your needs and interests, selling for 4,200,000 yen.

Grill a Bastard. Honest!

What's left of the Australian Democrats have come up with a cunning plan to make themselves relevant again following the loss of their last senate seat in the 2007 Australian federal elction

The Democrats have launched a new site: bastardwatch.com.au with a new twist on their old slogan of "Keep the bastards honest".

The Grill a Bastard game was launched on the Australia Day week end and involves scortching 5 sausage pollies (Kevin Rudd, Malcolm Turnbull, Julia Gillard, Stephen Conroy and Peter Garrett) on the grill by turning up the heat.

The Dems have announced that over twelve thousand visitors grilled the pollies over the Australia Day weekend.

Visitors were also invited to ‘nominate a bastard’ of their own. Predictably the "human press release" Kevin Rudd was nominated (24%) well ahead of other pollies for his support for the ban on gay marriage.

Stephen Conroy was nominated by 15% of players for his plans to censor and slow the internet while Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull barely registered (3%) with site users.

According to the Dems, a lot of people wanted to nominate the banks.

To nominate your own bastard click here. To date, no one has nominated charcool.com.au but you're welcome to draft us into the Bastard Hall of Fame

Try putting lipstick on this pig!

We've been meaning to post a piece on the Ozpig for some time and it has been remiss of us not to feature this truly Australian bbq innovation.

The Ozpig is a portable steel bbq come outdoor fireplace for camping or caravan use.

The original inspiration for the Ozpig's barrel body was a 9kg gas bottle but these days he comes purpose built with detachable legs, chimney, hot plate and diffuser.

This type of fireplace is generically called a choofer and a number of camping sites have pages dedicated to making one at home if you don't want to stump up the $240 for a professionally built one like Ozpig.

The Ozpig is perfect for cooking everything from a roast to muffins.

Your Ozpig comes with 2 warming plates, one for cooking and the second for warming and you can also purchase a diffuser.

Pivot the top plate away and add the diffuser on top of the flames. You now have the option of two warming areas while cooking on top of the diffuser. The diffuser is excellent for toasting bread & muffins. It can also be placed under your camp oven to reduce the heat (stewing).

Having 2 plates and a diffuser enables you to keep your kettle hot on one, your chili or stew hot on another while cooking on top of the diffuser.

With a look only a mother could love, the Ozpig is a great gift for all camping enthusiasts. Weighing approximately 17kgs, the Ozpig comes with it's own vinyl carry bag.

See it most major camping and caravan shows or visit the Ozpig site.