But Wait! There's More...

With my old Chinese gas grill literally standing on its last legs (bricks) last summer, I seriously doubted that I could find a replacement that would last any better. The main feature of my old one was the rotisserie and to get another barbecue with an infra-red back burner with any semblance of quality could run a thousand dollars or more. I checked on eBay and found there were rotisseries from the inventor of 'Spray-On-Hair' himself, seventy-five year old Ron Popeil. The picture above shows the smaller 'Standard' model. I determined I had to have the bigger 'Pro' model but they seemed pricey at $250 plus. I wasn't sure they even worked so I didn't feel confident forking over that kind of dough.  I watched eBay every day or so for four months. At a few weeks before Christmas I managed to successfully win on a 'Pro' for $55. plus $15. freight from Nikomis FL to my box in Port Huron MI. Seventy bucks is worth a gamble.

I wrapped it up as a gift 'to the family' and put it under the tree. I was a little worried that this machine would be less than represented as of course it was (and still is) the centerpiece of the late night infomercials. I'm sure Tim and Wendy shared my apprehension as they tore open the well packed box at Christmas. How can you trust someone who markets 'Spray-On-Hair'? After all, somebody liked it so well they put it on eBay! My family never knows what to expect from me and since I hadn't even opened the package myself, I didn't really know what to expect either.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that the oven was in great shape, like new, and I was thrilled to see it perform beyond all our expectations.

Click on the pic to enlarge.

We invited Erin over and we all enjoyed this 17 lb turkey, roasted to perfection. (we had ham on Christmas and I was craving turkey)  It was juicy and flavorful with nice browned skin all the way around. Ron Popeil was right. You just 'set it and forget it' for delectable roasts right on the kitchen counter-top. I would recommend it to anyone! I'm not alone. He now claims to have sold over 7 million of them.

Major Bonus: Well it looks like I just need to buy a regular gas Bbq without a rotisserie back burner so I guess I've saved big-time!

Does Spray-On-Hair work as well as the rotisserie? I'll let you know if I buy any.

Click the button below only if you want to see part of the rather corny infomercial.

A Note About Popeil: As a bit of a designer/inventor/enterpreneur myself I was always fascinated by the Ronco pitches. The first time I remember this company with its showman-like repetitive commercials was back in 1969 when I worked as a prop man at our local TV station. One of the directors, Jerry Hancock, did the 'voice-over' for 'the Pocket Fisherman' and the 'Hair-Wiz' by Popeil for all of Canada (and US?). I never owned one of these miniature fishing rods, which I figured was nothing more than a toy but Ronco sold millions of them. I was very surprised one day when my father (always an ardent angler) showed me his pocket fisherman. As a salesman on the road, he would use it when he traveled and had time to kill waiting to see a prospective customer. I only saw it once, so I'm not sure it was his favorite purchase.

There's an interesting history of Ron and Ronco on their company web page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Popeil

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