Uruguay hosts biggest BBQ in world

Reuters

ANOTHER SHRIMP, MAYBE? In the attempt to get the Guinness World Record for the 'Biggest barbeque in the World', 1252 people in Uruguay grilled 12,000 kilograms of beef on a single grill totalling 1500 metres in length.

Reuters

SEEN THE WATTIES? Uruguayans barbeque beef during an to get the Guinness World Record for the 'Biggest barbeque in the World'.

Reuters

NNED A LIGHT? Barbequing 12,000 kilograms of beef on a single grill can get a bit smokey.

Reuters

MY THONGS: Uruguayans barbeque beef during an attempt to create the 'Biggest barbeque in the World'.

Reuters

OUTTA BREAD?! Uruguayans barbeque beef during an attempt to create the 'Biggest barbeque in the World' in Montevideo.

Relevant offers

More than a thousand barbecue fanatics in Uruguay grilled up 12 metric tonnes of beef on Sunday, setting a new Guinness world record while promoting the country's succulent top export.

Army personnel set up a grill nearly 1.5km long and firefighters lit six tonnes of charcoal to kick off the gargantuan cookout.

Some 1250 people grilled the beef and about 20,000 spectators cried with joy when a Guinness judge confirmed the barbecue record had been broken.

"I'm very proud to be Uruguayan. We have the best beef and now we have the world's biggest barbecue," said one of the volunteer cooks, sporting an apron and chef's hat.

The South American country bested a Mexican grilling record from 2006 by a resounding 4 tonnes.

The barbecue was organised by the National Meats Institute, or INAC in Spanish, which tracks beef sales abroad.

Beef exports raked in $US817 million ($NZ1047.4) million last year for Uruguay, a laid-back country of some 3.2 million people squeezed between larger neighbours Argentina and Brazil, also major cattle producers.

"Uruguay is very small, it's not known for other events so we have to use these kinds of gimmicks so people find out where Uruguay is and what it has to offer," said INAC's vice president, Fernando Perez Abella.

- Reuters