Scientists cook the perfect steak with lava

If you're ever bored of barbecuing, scientists from Syracuse University in the US have come up with the perfect alternative for your next backyard get together: lava grilling. Just ignore the fact that this is totally not safe to try at home for a few minutes, because the steaks cooked up in this video look ridiculous.

Set-up as part of the Syracuse University Lava Project, this cook-off was a collaboration with experimental UK chef Sam Bompas and the Syracuse University earth sciences team, who have created a car-sized, man-made volcano that melts rock down into lava in around 70 hours.

The researchers use these synthetic lava flows to learn more about the morphology and behaviour of molten rock, but in July last year they decided to team up with Bompas to see if they could create the hottest barbeque in the world. The result? A grill that reached just over 1,000 degrees Celsius (2,000 Fahrenheit) - more than double the maximum temperature of average ovens.

"Cooking with lava is simply the most spectacular way to grill a 10-ounce rib-eye steak," Bompas told Kara Manke over at NPR last year. "You are standing before this molten lava that flowing out, and it is beautiful."