New Grilling Gadgets
Make BBQing a Breeze

Barbecuing is like a religion to many, and every year it seems as if there is some new item to worship in the endless quest for grilling nirvana.

Most of the hubbub, of course, centers on the latest and greatest of the ever-growing behemoths that are called grills, but actually are beginning to resemble small sports cars.

They are certainly becoming increasingly comparable -- some of the top grills now have more switches than a Maserati and can cost about $6,000 right off the retail floor and up to $10,000 when fully customized.

Not everyone thinks strip steak deserves such pampering. In fact, improving ease of use seems to be a prime aim for makers of BBQ products, which have seen a rise in consumer interest in things like high-end portable grills, according to the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association. The Arlington, Va.-based trade group estimates about 15 million grills overall will be sold in 2004, up from a rainy 2003, goosed in part by households' increasing interest in accessories and their desire to own more than one grill type.

All these trends were reflected in a trio of new BBQ products I tested with my culinary consultant Ed over the past few weeks. The devices aimed to make the act of grilling quicker (in the case of an instant marinating machine), less fussy (a hardy but baby-sized grill) and more environmentally friendly (a manageable solar oven). And while all three had their issues, no surprise, they displayed welcome evidence that man does not live by monster BBQs alone.

Weber Baby Q Price: About $130. Comment: Cute enough to hug, but strong enough that even the manliest griller will respect it.

The promise of Eastman Outdoors' Reveo MariVac home tumbler is to save time by allowing users to marinate their meat or other foods within 20 minutes, rather than waiting for it to soak overnight in sauces. It's a laudable goal, I guess, though not a problem I had ever thought that pressing.

In terms of design, the toaster oven-sized Reveo is simple to use. You put as much as five pounds of whatever food you want to marinate into a small clear barrel, then attach a vacuum tube at the top for about two minutes to pull the air out of it.

According to the manufacturer, the vacuum opens up the food's fibers and allows it to absorb marinade more fully. The barrel is then sealed and placed on its side on two wheels, and tumbled from five to 20 minutes, depending on the food, to make it tender. The incessant slapping of the meat as it turns certainly suggests it will be beaten into submission.

That is the theory anyway, and the meat did emerge from its torture engorged. When grilled, the meat retained its attractive plumpness and color. But that turned out to be more style and less substance. In head-to-head taste tests with a variety of the same meats that Ed marinated at home overnight in the refrigerator with the same sauce, the Reveo meat was slightly drier and less tasty. While the Reveo did infuse the meat with marinade, it did not result in a stronger flavor and was much less tender, despite the beating the meat took. At $199, it seems a high price to pay for a result that a $1.99 piece of Tupperware delivers better.

In contrast, the $130 I paid for the Weber Baby Q seemed entirely worth it. Released late last year in limited supply and heavily pushed this summer season, the unit is a mini-version of the well-known grill maker's highly successful portable Q line, which attempts to mesh a powerful gas grill and a handsome design.

À Reveo MariVac tumbler Price: $199. Comment: It's easy to use in a pinch, but marinating the old-fashioned way still trumps technology in taste.

The Baby Q aims to be even cuter and more portable, seeming to be a replacement for Weber's clunkier Go Anywhere grills and other even more unattractive cheap camp stoves. For a long time, these were the only option for those in need of a smaller solution with gas--despite difficulty of use, a too-small grilling surface and an underpowered grilling mechanism.

The Baby Q tries hard to improve on that, with a bigger cooking surface (189 square inches versus 160 for the Go Anywhere), a stronger flame and some nice touches including an affixed drip pan. And, unlike most portable grills, the legs of the Baby Q were substantial enough that it did not feel as though it would fall over with the first gust of wind.

The unit came almost completely assembled, except for having to attach a handle and the lid with two pins, making it an almost out-of-the-box experience. Once Ed added on the 14.1 oz. propane cylinder, which must be bought separately, he was quickly grilling enough burgers for a hungry family of four.

Sun Cook solar oven   Price: Not yet priced. Comment: A major leap in often complex solar cooking logistics, although you're still at the mercy of a cloudy day.

The flame was strong enough for consistent searing and left good-looking grill marks that would have made Bobby Flay proud. Our only quibble with the unit was the small propane cylinder, which only provides about 90 minutes of total grilling time and cannot be refilled. Weber does sell an adaptable tube that allows you to attach a larger 20-pound cylinder, but that negates the promise of portability. With such an attachment, the Baby Q looks like it is carrying its own baby.

But both Ed and I were most intrigued with a new kind of solar grill we tested, made by a Portugal-based manufacturer called Sun Co. While it is still not priced or easily available, the grill attracted interested crowds at a recent major housewares show. That is because the grill, called the Sun Cook, is a marked improvement to past solar cooking solutions, most of which are gigantic and complex affairs that require a course in engineering to operate. They may have been fun for enthusiasts, but impractical for many novice solar cookers.

The Sun Cook goes a long way in reaching the average consumer, with a handsome blue square box that weighs about two feet by two feet and weighs 26 pounds. Made of plastic, metal and glass, it opens to reveal a nifty series of mirrors that pull out easily. After opening the unit, a user simply places food under the double-paned glass top into the box and faces it toward the sun. The rays then bounce off the various mirrors and are absorbed into the dark-colored box. And that's it.

Obviously, everything depends on the sun and its intensity, which is highly variable. And even on a very sunny day, cooking time is much slower since temperatures are not as intense as those from a grill's direct flame. You can try to estimate the timing with a sundial attached to the Sun Cook, but you're mostly left with checking the food periodically. Thus, the steak we cooked took about 45 minutes to cook versus less than 10 minutes on the grill, while a piece of chicken was done in 30 minutes and a sausage in 20 minutes. In addition, the food did not come out looking handsomely cooked, but resembled the sicklier look of something that had been microwaved.

And, because we cooked in San Francisco in the summer, we went into a mild panic when we saw the fog start to roll in mid-afternoon as usual, while we were trying to saute onions and boil water for rice. That had been going well, but as soon as the fog arrived, the cooking stopped cold. While that had happened with the Baby Q, it was easy to get more propane. The sun, of course, has its own rules.

Email your comments to rjeditor@dowjones.com.