And Now, for a Mitt that Wins!

I've got hair on my knuckles.  I'm so happy.

See, I'd grilled without hand protection up till now.  And you can do that, if your hands aren't real sensitive to heat.  It won't kill you, just cremate the hair on your dominant hand.  But otherwise, you can totally do it and...

...hell, who am I kidding?  Grilling without a glove or hot mitt or something is ridiculous.  I did it mostly because the dexterity that a glove affords is kind of useful when you're trying to flip a bunch of asparagus without making half of it fall through into the coals.  So grilling hand protection needs to allow your hand to move unimpeded, while still protecting you from 450 degrees of radiant heat.  It's a tall order.

But it's also an easy one.  For under $15 on Amazon, I scored the Pit Mitt. 

Stretchy Aramid fiber (Kevlar!  Like body armor!) glove, silicone grid on the surface so you can keep a grip on your tongs, fits an adult male hand tightly, acceptable dexterity.  Done!

In the Pit Mitt, your hand gets fairly warm a good few minutes arranging the coals after you dump out your chimney starter - but your bare hand would be well into first-degree burn territory.  You can flip a half-dozen burgers and not feel anything but the barest warmth.

I have no idea how many shopping days are left till Christmas, but it'd make a great Christmas present, too.