Home: Barbecue
Glass BBQ   (+27, -1)  [vote for, against]
Watch the flames!

I want a barbecue/grill made of glass. That way, you can watch the flames AND easily check to see if the steaks are done without flipping them!

The only downside is that soot and grime would dirty the glass; but you could just wash it. Glass is pretty easy to clean. Or use the self cleaning glass that someone nicely put a link to.
-- DesertFox, Nov 06 2004

Self-cleaning glass http://www.pilkingt...english/default.htm
Sounds like one of our ideas. But it isn't! [wagster, Nov 07 2004]

Solar fondue Solar_20fondue
Could be used as barbecue. [django, Jul 29 2007]

Cleaning problems abound, but *wow* would it look cool when first used.
-- wagster, Nov 06 2004


Yes!

We must clean it after every use!

It could also be used as a mini-greenhouse when you aren't using it as a grill!
-- DesertFox, Nov 07 2004


"Honey, why does my burger smell like compost?"
-- RayfordSteele, Nov 07 2004


Make it out of Vycor(r) and heat it electrically. Get it to incandescence, red heat, to clean it. All carbon based residue will ash out. Not too hot, though or the potash content might dissolve into the glass & permanently discolor it.
-- TD3, Nov 07 2004


I had a grill with a glass door. The glass is not easy to clean. Tar and carbon. It's a bitch.
-- ldischler, Nov 07 2004


Would it have a glass stem as well, like a wine glass?
-- bungston, Nov 07 2004


Copious quantities of alcohol make finding the starter switch interesting, too.
-- RayfordSteele, Nov 07 2004


Excellent.+
-- nomadic_wonderer, Nov 07 2004


Is there something that could be done to the glass to make soot and grime not stick to it? Like charging it, or running an airflow along it, or something?
-- jutta, Nov 07 2004


Funny you should say that [jutta], but there is. See link.
-- wagster, Nov 07 2004


This style would go with my computer. Now all I need would be titanium cooking wear. +
-- sartep, Nov 07 2004


The "How it works" link from [wagster]'s link is good - sunlight is used to activte a catalytic reaction on the surfce of the glass to break down organic dirt. Or something.
-- hippo, Nov 08 2004


When I picture this barbecue, it is as a slumping, solid pedestal of congealed green glass, shot thru with bubbles and strands. Perhaps an artifact salvaged from a nuclear strike. The advantage, of course, would be when the grill is fired up, the entire thing glows eerily from the coals within.
-- bungston, Nov 08 2004


cool idea, you could use high heat borosilicate, and then you dont have to keep opening the bar b q to see how everything is doing - probably cool smoke swirl effects as well
-- costellogroup, Jul 26 2007


What if there is a sudden rainstorm while your grill is red hot?
-- GutPunchLullabies, Jul 26 2007


There would probably be less soot and residue if it were a propane grill.
-- S Murder, Jul 27 2007


Also there would be less if you only grilled foods containing no carbon.
-- bungston, Jul 27 2007


You can also make a griller by using a magnifying glass [link] - he said, shamelessly promoting an older idea of his. :-)
-- django, Jul 29 2007


I don't follow this. I'm envisaging a regular barbecue which is basically a tray of charcoal with a wire mesh above it. If the tray is made of glass, you'll get a nice view of the charcoal, but how do you see the underside of the steak or whatever through the coals?
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 29 2007


Since I only use my grill <10 times a year, I like the idea it could be used as a greenhouse the rest of the year 'round! Nice addition.
-- paix120, Dec 01 2009


[MaxwellBuchanan], many barbecues at people's homes (at least here in the US) look like a sphere or a box with the "wire mesh" suspended above the bottom half where the coals are, and the top half being a lid with a handle. So the grill is totally enclosed during cooking. If it were a glass sphere, you could see the flames and food (and smoke) as the food cooked instead of having to lift the lid to see inside.
-- paix120, Dec 01 2009


I think you'd need some sort of static charge to keep the smoke particles off of the glass.
-- FlyingToaster, Dec 01 2009


There would need to be some sort of smoke filtration system because aside of the smoke sticking to the glass, you have the problem of the smoke inundating the entire inside of the grill making it difficult to see the food.
-- Jscotty, Dec 01 2009


Some self cleaning ovens have a catalytic coating on their insides... the catalyst is merely heat activated, so should be good inside of a bbq.
-- goldbb, Aug 25 2010



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