One of South America's smallest countries proved on Sunday it can hold the biggest barbecue in the world. Some 1,250 Uruguayan grillmeisters sizzled up 26,400 pounds (12,000 kilograms) of beef Sunday, beating a 2006 record set in Mexico. "It's all so beautiful. It's a record," Guinness World Records judge Danny Girton said after the chefs, in white hats and aprons, smoked and barbecued their way into the record book with help of 6 tons of charcoal and 1,500 metal barbecue stands. The barbecue was so big that firefighters were called in to light the grills and make sure the flames did not get out of hand. It beat the previous record of 17,600 pounds (8,000 kilograms) of beef, Girton said. Uruguay, a ranching and farming nation, last year exported more than US$1 billion (euro630 million) in beef -- its chief export. The load of meat cooked Sunday set off swirling clouds of aromatic smoke, as 20,000 spectators devoured the cuts quickly. Congratulations, I wonder when the grillers in Texas are going to step up to the plate. 20,000 people at a bbq? Who brought the moist towettes?