Every guy loves their BBQ, and many guys love their watches too. So it may be common to see guys working up their magic with the barbeque while wearing their beloved watches. But should you wear a watch to cook BBQ?
You can wear a watch to BBQ since it helps you time your cooking, and some guys just cannot take it off. However, you should clean your watch frequently, as it may be exposed to smoke and liquids from raw meat and may contaminate your food.
In this article, we explore further details to see if wearing a watch to BBQ is a good idea. We also share some tips on wearing a watch for BBQ and watches that are suitable.
We also discussed if you should wear a watch to cook in the kitchen or as a barista. Feel free to click on and read up if they suit your fancy.
Why You Should Wear A Watch To BBQ
You should wear a watch to cook BBQ as you still need to tell the time. Wearing a watch also helps you to time your cooking and helps you to feel more comfortable. The key is to ensure hygiene as your watch may be exposed to dirty things that may contaminate your food.
You Want To Tell Time. Often, BBQs are done outdoors, where it’s you, the grill, the grass/patio, and the open sky. In many situations, you would not have a clock to refer to. Constantly asking people for their time can be troublesome, not to mention annoying.
This means having a watch on your wrist would be very helpful. With a simple flick of your wrist, you can quickly tell the time.
Serves As A Timer. Grilling meat is a time-sensitive process. Once you dial in the temperature, you need to watch the time to avoid overcooking or undercooking your expensive cut of meat.
A watch can quickly help you with this. Heat up the grill, lay in your cut of steak, and eyeball your watch dial until it’s time. Flip the meat over, and eyeball your watch dial again for the time to elapse.
And you get for yourself perfect grilled meat.
With your watch, your quest to grill up the perfect steak cut will be a lot easier.
You Just Feel Comfortable With It. Some of us may dislike going completely naked on the wrist. Some of us are so used to wearing a watch that going without one seems weird. When asked, some would say things like their wrist feels ‘cold and naked.’
If you feel more at ease when wearing a watch, you should continue to do so when grilling up at your BBQ station. There’s nothing wrong with having complete control over your options.
Why You Should Not Wear A Watch To BBQ
You may want to think twice before wearing a watch to cook BBQ since your watch may contaminate your food. You also may dirty your watch from the oil and sauce. Exposure to heat and hot metal may also damage your watch.
You May Contaminate Your Food. There is a reason why USFDA suggested that working staff that prepares food and drinks to not wear any jewelry below their forearm, including things like rings, bracelets, and watches.
The point is that these items may introduce contaminants into food and drinks and poison those who consume them. You may need to think about the same risk when you wear a watch to grill your BBQ.
Your watch may trap dirt, sweat, or grime that you may accidentally introduce to your meat, sauce, or bread.
You May Dirty Your Watch. BBQ cooking can be messy. There are wood chips, heat, and smoke, not to mention the scrubbing and clearing when you are done.
You may expose your watch to smoke when grilling. When scrubbing your grill, you may also have some char, soap, and gunk on your watch.
These black marks may be hard to remove, especially if your watch strap is made of water-absorbent materials such as leather or cloth.
On top of all that, you may be doing a lot of washing, which means your watch may trap this water and become gunky.
You May Damage Your Watch. BBQ cooking may introduce your watch to things that may damage it. Heat may soften your rubber gaskets and potentially affect your watch’s water resistance.
Hot smoke may somehow enter your watch, leaving condensation on the inner end of your watch crystal, requiring a visit to a watchmaker to clean it up. On top of that, you may knock and scratch your watch.
Best Watches For BBQ
If you intend to wear a watch to cook BBQ, consider watches with a smooth, waterproof surface. The watch should also use an impact and scratch-resistant case. A medical watch worn on the chest instead of the wrist may be an excellent option.
Smooth Surface. A watch with a smooth case may be ideal, as it reduces the risk of your watch trapping and retaining contaminants, such as juice from raw meat or soap water. The smooth surface also helps keep the watch easy to clean since it does not have too many folds and crevices that make cleaning difficult.
For example, a quick rinse with soap water is all it takes to clean the watch instead of properly scrubbing it with an old toothbrush.
Waterproof Straps. Waterproof straps will also help make cleaning easier. A waterproof strap will not pick up raw meat juice, soap, water, or anything that may dirty the watch.
Consider watch straps made of silicone, polyurethane, or rubber. Avoid straps such as leather or cloth since they are water absorbent.
Nylon straps may not be too water absorbent. Still, they do not have a smooth surface, meaning they might trap contaminants easier.
Impact/Scratch Resistant Case. BBQ can be hard on a watch, as the heat, smoke, and possible exposure to wood and metal contact could damage your watch. At the most basic, you may pick up scratches or nicks.
This means watches with a case made of materials such as resin may be a good idea. Resin watch cases do not scratch easily. Even if they do, they hide it well. It is also impact resistant, so they do not nick as easily.
Consider Medical Watches. Medical watches are watches were worn typically by doctors and nurses, usually on the chest. You may consider doing the same for your BBQ grilling.
When worn on the chest, a medical watch is far away from the grill, meaning less exposure to heat and smoke. It also helps you to tell time quickly. You also reduce the likelihood of stretching your watches since you are not wearing one.