Kosher Steak Kicks Off World’s Largest Barbeque

The grilling of a special kosher steak kicked off a Montevideo, Uruguay, cookout Sunday that set the record for the world's largest barbeque.

Some 1,200 backyard chefs grilled 12,000 kilograms of meat for the event, the centerpiece of which was a 1.5 kilometer-long star-shaped grill.

According to Rabbi Eliezer Shemtov, co-director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Uruguay, the kosher steak was roasted first, before the grill was rendered unusable for kosher purposes by the presence of not kosher meat. One of the world's major exporters of kosher meat, Uruguay shipped some 157,000 kilograms of kosher meat to markets in the United States last year, and more than 10 million kilograms to Israel.

Uruguay's National Meats Institute sanctioned the event to highlight the country's meat industry. An official with Guinness World Records certified that the barbeque bested a Mexican grilling record set in 2006.

According to Shemtov, the barbeque was an ideal opportunity to educate the public about Jewish dietary laws, which govern everything from how meat is slaughtered to how foods are prepared and served. After the initial grilling, Shemtov operated a stand that offered various kinds of kosher meat, an explanation of why kosher meat is different and other informational leaflets.

"People tend to relegate kashrut to some nostalgic tradition in the shtetl that is not relevant today," he said. "But at the barbeque, which is the epitome of a non-Jewish event, it was shocking for people to see a kosher stand and that the meat industry could make room in its event for kosher meat."

Shemtov also noted that the presence of kosher meat at such an event provided an opportunity for Jewish people to review their own religious practice.

"The record-breaking barbeque showed that kosher is cool," said Shemtov. "It broke down a lot of stereotypes."