Get Your Grill On

The following factoids are from www.hpba.org.

A Sizzling Industry

· More than 17.4 million grills were shipped in 2007, marking a 13 percent increase since 2000.

· Nine out of 10 (95 percent) grill owners used their grill in the past year, an increase of 4 percent over 2003.

· Nearly eight out of 10 (77 percent) households own an outdoor barbecue grill or smoker, a 5 percent increase from 2003.

· Sixty-eight percent of households own a gas grill, followed by charcoal (37 percent) and electric (2 percent).

· LP gas grills continue to be the most widely owned type of grill, with 94 percent of all gas grill owners owning an LP gas grill.

Grill Usage

· The majority of grill owners use their grills year-round (58 percent), and 45 percent use their grills one to two times per week during the peak grilling season (May through September).

· Traditional summer holidays top the list of the most popular grilling holidays: the Fourth of July (69 percent), Memorial Day (56 percent) and Labor Day (50 percent).

· Nearly half (43 percent) of grill owners see their outdoor grilling area as a functional cooking area of their home, while a third see it as a place to rest and relax.

· Forty percent of consumers have a large movable grill system on a modest patio/deck, with some outdoor furniture and an informal place to eat.

· Consumers say an easy ignition system (72 percent) and large grilling surface (55 percent) are the most important features of a gas grill, followed by durability (52 percent), ease of cleaning (47 percent) and safety (42 percent).

· Multipurpose utensils such as long-handled tongs (80 percent) and forks (64 percent) are the most popular utensils used by gas grill owners, followed by a grill-cleaning brush (74 percent) and long-handled spatula (58 percent).

· Among charcoal grill owners, the most popular utensils are long-handled tongs (77 percent), forks (64 percent), grill-cleaning brushes (63 percent) and long-handled spatulas (59 percent).

Tasty Trends

· Meats, including burgers (82 percent), steak (79 percent), chicken parts (72 percent) and hot dogs (71 percent), top the list of the most popular foods prepared using a grill.

· Charcoal grill owners are most often prompted to cook on their charcoal grills by their desire to eat good-tasting food (77 percent).

· Four in 10 consumers who cook on a charcoal grill (39 percent) normally use barbecue sauce to add flavor to their dishes. Most popular flavors include hickory (65 percent), mesquite (49 percent) and honey (49 percent).

· When charcoal grilling, over half of consumers (56 percent) use marinades.

· Dry meat rubs are popular among consumers. In fact, dry rub usage has increased among gas grill owners to 59 percent in 2007, from 21 percent in 2003.

Household Roles

· The male head (52 percent) normally makes the decision to cook, lights (65 percent) and cooks (59 percent) on the charcoal/wood grills.

· When entertaining and cooking outside, the male head normally cooks on a grill: specifically, 67 percent on a gas, 62 percent on a charcoal and 56 percent on an electric grill.

· Whether male or female, the primary grillers in the majority of households considers themselves to be average or above in terms of cooking skills.