Product reviews: Grill Charms™, as seen on Shark Tank earlier this evening

Hot off the campfire

by Sarah Pendleton guest writer

[Editor's note - Sarah is a full-time freelance editor and writer]

We are a family of meat lovers. The grill gets fired up every weekend, rain or shine. It can be a hundred and ten or twenty below - we have to get our fix! Steak, chicken, pork chops; every Saturday is a carnivore's dream. After ten years of marriage, I'm still getting used to it.

I grew up as the eldest of nine, and we were dirt poor. I could make a pound of hamburger serve the whole family for four meals straight, with creative use of spaghetti sauce, potatoes, rice and beans. I had never had a honest to God, home-grilled steak before I got married on my twenty fourth birthday to a real man: a hunting, fishing, red necked card-carrying member of the National Grill Masters Association. Let me tell you - it only took one juicy Porterhouse to have me firmly addicted.

Now, ten years and three kids later, we are firmly committed to keeping the cattle industry alive and well. Even our eighteen-month-old loves nothing more than sinking the twelve teeth he does have into a tiny portion of succulent rib-eye.

There's just one little problem.

I like garlic, and just a touch of pink in the middle. Hubby likes lemon pepper - and lots of it; and he doesn't freak about a little reddish juice on the plate. We both love Lee and Perrins. The kids don't share our passion for spice - yet - and theirs better be well done! When you have five steaks on the grill, it's kind of hard to keep track. You have to keep cutting them open, and trying to figure out which one is seasoned and which one isn't.

That's why I couldn't believe it when a friend turned me on to Grill Charms™ . These little suckers are perfect for helping hubby keep track of which steak belongs to who, and the kids love the concept of being able to personalize their own cut of meat. Grill Charms™ are made of stainless steel, look like dime-sized thumbtacks, and have serrated edges so they stay in the meat during grilling.

The designs on top of each one let you differentiate the meat. I have already picked out the Charmed Life collection, which features a sailboat, a dollar sign and a crown among other designs. I am aiming for the Spicy Collection next, so I can tell the kids' mild chicken piece or pork chop from my own tangy rub!

I'm going to have to get the Steak Collection for those times we have friends over that want to specify bloody or burnt, and I'm definitely picking up the Pink Collection for my aunt for Christmas. She's a breast cancer survivor, and her hubby also is a member of the Grill Masters Club. At under $20 per six-piece Grill Charms collection, I might have to grab a few more sets for stocking stuffers - hubby and I have a lot of meat loving friends!

Check it out folks - this is the new 'hot item' for the grilling carnivores in your life; and if you're like me, you won't be able to stop with just one set!

reprinted with a breaking update, 2009
copyright 2008 - all rights reserved, Sarah Pendleton for Just Camping Out
______________________________________________

From our interview with Leslie Haywood, founder and president, Charmed Life Products LLC and inventor of Grill Charms™ :

I'm a grilling gadget gal from Charleston SC and I have invented the perfect gadget for those scrumptious dinners cooked in great outdoors.
...Sometimes it can be tough for the master chef to keep track of who wants their steak rare, who wants spicy, who wants mild, who's allergic to garlic - all while drinking that frosty cold beer, gazing at the stars, chatting with your buddies about the fish that got away, and try to keep the dog out of the munchies. Grill Charms™ make it all possible. They are the must have campfire gadget while enjoying your time in the wilderness or at the KOA. [~Jim]

UPDATE: Leslie appeared on ABC TV's new and exciting show Shark Tank, seeking a relatively small investment in her vision. She completely charmed the male investors -- they went from Sharks to pussycats.

Leslie had THREE OFFERS on the table, and had to agonize over which one was right for her business. Let's just say she did NOT walk away disappointed, as so many other presenters have in the past.

This is a great product, a classy lady, and made for riveting television. Best wishes to Leslie as she moves forward with Grill Charms™. ~Jim