Grilling Still on Fire

ROSEANNE HARPER

PALATINE, Ill. — American grill owners are grilling more often than they were a year ago, a new study shows.

In fact, 71% of consumer respondents — up from 69% last year — said they fire up their grill “at least once a week” during their grilling season, according to the study, released earlier this spring by Weber-Stephen Products, the leading manufacturer of charcoal and gas grills.

Another 47% — up from 43% last year — said they grill at least a few times a week, and a whopping 95% said they “grill dinner on a regular basis.”

Supermarkets are busy underscoring the value of various items in their meat departments as grilling season gets into full swing.

For the first time, Weber-Stephen's GrillWatch researchers asked how many hours per week Americans grill during the summer. The overall average of respondents' answers came out to 4.4 hours, but one third said they spend 5 hours or more grilling each week, and 67% said they spend up to 4 hours.

Nearly a third (31%) of grill owners said they're grilling more because they're “trying to eat healthier.” Thirty-nine percent said they're grilling leaner meats, 38% said they're grilling more vegetables, 34% said more poultry and 22% said more fish.

While most respondents said they grill dinner on a regular basis, 37% said they now grill lunch on a regular basis, too. Two percent even said they grill breakfast or brunch on a regular basis.

Other studies have shown Americans scratch-cooking more often these days, and probably a lot of it is done outdoors. Not surprisingly, 81% of grill owners in the recent GrillWatch survey said they prefer grilling outdoors to cooking inside. That's up from 78% last year.

The annual Weber GrillWatch survey was conducted by a third party, Greenfield Online. All respondents were over age 21 and own a gas, charcoal or electric barbecue grill or smoker. The selection of respondents was balanced demographically to represent households across the United States, researchers said.

71%
The percentage of American consumers who grill outdoors at least once a week during the summer.

Source: Weber-Stephen Products