The Australia day barbecue is an annual tradition, where beer joins forces with the sizzle of grilling sausages as mates get together and enjoy the public holiday. Here are ten simple tools you can use to make your Australia Day barbie something to remember.
1. Weber Q200
The first thing you need in order to have the world’s best Australia Day barbecue is an awesome barbecue, and few perform better than the Weber Q. The Q200 offers plenty of cooking space for you and your mates, is compact enough to take camping with you and offers over 60 barbecues off a single 9kg gas bottle.
Price: $385
Web: eBay
2. Stake BBQ multi-tool
Real men don’t use pithy tongs and barbecue scrapers. They use specially crafted BBQ multi-tools, which combine everything you need into a single device. The Stake BBQ tool is the only tool you’ll ever need, thanks to incorporating of a scraper, tongs, and fork all in one handy tool. You can even use it to push the bangers off the fork to serve them up, reducing the washing up to a single utensil. Winning.
Price: $US30
Web: Thinkgeek
3. Batman Apron
Okay, in the real realm of Gotham City, it’s highly unlikely that you’d ever see Bruce Wayne’s alter-ego standing in front of a Weber cooking snags and downing a cold one while Alfred sat in a deck chair sipping a Pimms. But in our world, that scenario is entirely possible, thanks to this Batman apron. Protecting your body from the evil splatter of your meat’s bubbling fat, it’s not just an apron, but a super-apron. And therefore worth every cent.
Price: $US24.99
Web: ThinkGeek
4. Barb i Cad
It’s summer, and that probably means that the barbecue is getting a pretty heavy workout. This caddy is perfect partner for the outdoor grill, offering a convenient way to carry all your condiments, utensils and paper towel. Of course, deciding whether the worcestershire sauce is more important than the American mustard is the next challenge, but it’s one we have every confidence you will overcome.
Price: $30
Web: Top Buy
5. Steven Raichlen Best of Barbecue Stainless Steel Kabob Rack
This Australia Day, it’s time to throw another shrimp on the barbie. The only way to do it though is with a premium set of barbecue skewers. These stainless steel skewers both look elegant, are flat to keep your food from spinning around, and the stand offers the ability to cook them over the flame without exposing them to the searing of prawn on grill. Plus, they’re dishwasher safe, so cleaning up should be easier than guessing the winner of Triple J’s hottest 100.
Price: $US20
Web: Amazon
6. BBQ Branding Iron
If you have a problem remembering which steak was the rare one and which was the medium-well, why not fix it by branding each steak with your own personal message. With a full alphabet – including spaces – it’s easy to sear the name of the steak’s owner into the piece of meat’s flesh, so you’ll never forget who ordered what again. Plus, it will cement your position as master of the grill, something all men aspire towards.
Price: $US17
Web: ThinkGeek
7. Wiltshire Bar B Cook mini meat thermometers
The overdone Australia Day steak is a far too common occurrence across the nation. Don’t let it happen to you with these mini meat thermometers, which tell you exactly when your meat is cooked to order. The set of four includes two thermometers for chicken and two for meat, so you can avoid salmonella poisoning with the honey soy chicken as well as cooking the perfect medium-rare steak. Masterchef, eat your heart out.
Price: $15
Web: OO
8. Bear Paws meat handlers
Sometimes, being civilised around the barbecue is so un-Australian. Much better to let your inner bear loose by shredding your meat with a pair of bear paws. Actually, these look kind of useful, providing a secure grip to hold meat while cutting or transporting it from plate to barbecue or vice versa. They can also be used to shred meat making them perfect for your Nanna’s pulled pork recipe. Just don’t use them in a fight, okay?
Price: $16
Web: Amazon
9. GrillPro 00150 Cast Iron Smoker Box
If you want to take your Australia Day steaks to a whole other flavour planet, it’s time to invest your hard-earned cash in a smoker box. Fill it with special wood chips and smoke out your meat before cooking to give it an amazing level of flavour. Just be careful not to overdo it, or your meat could come out bitter. This particular box is made from cast iron, making it easy to clean and impervious to damage.
Price: $US15
Web: Amazon
10. Grillfloss
Just like your teeth, keeping your barbecue’s grill all nice and clean requires more than just brushing. Enter Grillfloss, a handy stainless steel tool that lets you scrape away the crap from your grill. But where traditioanl brushes and scrapers let you tidy up the top of your barbecue and not much else, the Grillfloss scrapes underneath as well, removing residual food and fat with a simple push, rotate, pull motion.
Price: $US25
Web: Amazon
