Review: Grill Daddy Heat Shield Tongs and Spatula

By Dru Chai

BBQ is a multi-billion dollar industry -- that's BILLION with a "B." A large chunk of that are the accessories. Everyone knows you just can't have a grill and be done with it. There's just so much more to improve upon your BBQ grilling and smoking experience. According to HBPA's 2013 State of the BBQ Report, some of the most popular utensils are long-handled tongs (72%) and long-handled spatulas (54%).

Recently, I spent a few grilling sessions using a couple of GrillDaddy's products:

- Grill Daddy Heat Shield Stainless Steel Tongs
- Grill Daddy Heat Shield Stainless Steel Spatula

I had to entertain some guests during my backyard BBQ, so I wasn't able to capture "in action" photos with food and fire, but you get the idea in the photos below. Both products obviously did its job as a pair of tongs and a spatula, but what sets these apart from the competition is the heat resistant shield that keeps your hands, fingers, and knuckles from being burned on a flaming hot grill.

These Grill Daddy tools are sturdy and made well, so nothing felt flimsy. Time will only tell on how long these tools really last, but it all depends on how frequently you use these tools. From the grip to the length of both the tongs and the spatula, they were a good fit with my 22" Weber Kettle Grill.

You may be asking yourself, so what's the point of having a heat shield when I already have a heat resistant glove? That may be true, but I know there are many grillers who refuse to wear a heat resistant glove or mitt because it's just not "manly" enough or they feel like it takes too much time putting it on and taking it off while grilling. With these tools, you quickly grab and use them with ease.

So the heat resistant shields on the Grill Daddy products are meant to do exactly that -- shield your fingers from the flame. They definitely do get rather hot (of course, it's steel) so it's perfect for a quick flip of the burger while the flames are going up.

A few other things to note. Despite what the packaging or advertisement says, the "telescoping" feature isn't really that reliable. I tried to extend it, but it just didn't really work that well. The pop out meat thermometer from the bottom of the spatula handle is a cool feature in theory, but the thermometer isn't the most reliable. Think of it more of a temperature gauge, more than anything. It's best to have your own dedicated digital thermometer. I recommend the Thermapen.

Overall, a couple of solid BBQ accessories if you spend a lot of time grilling over a flaming charcoal fire. It's also a good gift for that grill master in your family.

Dirty Smoke rating - (3.5 out of 5 stars)
- Grill Daddy Heat Shield Stainless Steel Tongs
- Grill Daddy Heat Shield Stainless Steel Spatula

Deep Fried Doritos: The Negative Response on Twitter

By Dru Chai

Now, I've never experienced anything on social media that went full blown viral on the Internet, no matter how many times I want my dogs to do something funny or stupid. But in my little world of food and BBQ blog readers, it occasionally happens to me -- just on a much, much, smaller scale.

A couple of years ago, my Facebook and blog post on the Big Beefy Rib went on a mini viral spree for about a day leading up to the OC Fair. Earlier today, I tweeted a couple of photos from the OC Fair -- deep fried bacon wrapped pickles and bacon wrapped churros on the grill. According to Twittersphere (and by Twittersphere, I mean my 400 followers), it was yawnsville. A few retweets and favorites each. No replies. Crickets chirping.

Then I posted this:

Lightly battered. Crispier, greasier, and cheesier. Everything you'd expect out of deep fried Doritos. @ocfair pic.twitter.com/PbNZJIsOZ1
— Dirty Smoke BBQ Blog (@dirtysmokebbq) August 3, 2014

The deep fried Doritos was something that was on my radar this year to try. Chicken Charlie's is always coming up with new deep fried concoctions every year, so I make it a point to try something different at every OC Fair visit. Within minutes and probably for a good hour or so, my phone was blowing up with notifications. Retweets and favorites -- yes that was somewhat expected. But the tweet seemingly struck a chord with Twitter users from around the globe and garnered reply after reply after reply.

So here's the play by play...

It was either a passionate "NO" or the long-winded and dramatic "omg... NOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

Other replies included the Sylvester Stallone impression of "YOOO??? DEEP FRIED DORITOS??? WO??"

Others were short and simple like "SMH" or "hell no." Just in case... (SMH = shaking my head)

Someone was probably hallucinating and tweeted "looks like a mini roach is on one of them so nope." Uhh, there was no roach (it was a piece of burnt cheese). But hey, whatever you need to see to convince yourself there, buddy.

So there you have it. When it comes to deep fried Doritos, Twittersphere has a strong and passionate opinion. With food, especially with something as widely known and beloved snack like Doritos, people tend to get really riled up if you mess with a good thing.

I think that's why some people were so quick to judge and form an opinion -- even without giving it a try. People were probably really scratching their heads thinking why someone would deep fry a bag of Doritos, since... it was already deep fried in the first place become a chip. Minds were blown.

In the end, I tweeted something to the effect of "don't knock it until you try it." Which... if you want to go on a deeper level, should be applied to anything in life. Be open minded. You just might surprise yourself. So go ahead, challenge yourself and go outside the norm and your comfort zone! Eat those deep fried Doritos without prior judgement.

I'm glad I did.