This grill cooks big birds, ribs

Here's another cool toy for the griller in your life.

The Orion Cooker, which more closely resembles a small stainless steel rocket than any grill you're likely to encounter at the home goods store, is an unusual and speedy way to get your grill on.

Here's how it works. Meat is placed inside the barrellike chamber. Coals are lit in outer chambers above and below the food, creating a convection like indirect heating environment. It simultaneously smokes and steams the food.

The results are fast and moist -- a 15-pound turkey can be turned out in under 2 hours; six baby-back racks are done in just over 1 hour.

The Orion Cooker does a nice job and is ideal for people who like to smoke or cook whole birds and other large pieces of meat. Because of setup time and the amount of coal used, though, it's not a a replacement grill for somebody who just likes to do a few burgers.