Fun Facts About Grilling, Smoking and BBQ

We love our outdoor cooking! Grilling and smoking is a huge industry that captures the hearts of newbies each year! Here are some fun BBQ And Grill facts that you may not know. Check them out then get ready to fire up the grill!

  • Seven in 10 U.S. adults own a grill or smoker, and in Canada, ownership is 8 in 10.

  • Gas is the most popular grill type (64%), followed by charcoal (44%), then electric (9%).

  • According to many language historians the word “barbecue” comes from barbacoa, used by the Taino people of the Caribbean, which translates to “sacred fire pit.”

  • The most popular holidays for barbecuing are, in order, July 4th (71 percent), Memorial Day (57 percent), and Labor Day (55 percent).

  • The most popular foods for cooking on the grill are, in order: burgers (85 percent), steak (80 percent), hot dogs (79 percent) and chicken (73 percent).

  • May 16th and July 4th are both National Barbecue Day.

  • The most popular barbecue utensils are long-handled tongs (77 percent), followed by forks (64 percent), long handled spatulas (59 percent), and then grill cleaning brushes (63 percent).

  • Hard woods like hickory, mesquite, oak, and pecan are usually used for pork and beef because they impart a strong smoky flavor, and fruit woods like apple, cherry, and pear impart a sweeter, milder taste and are better for smoking fish and poultry.

  • The American Royal World Championship is the largest barbecue competition in the country, with more than 500 teams competing, on average.

  • According to Estately, Oklahoma is home to one barbecue joint for every 5,000 residents!

  • 60% of grillers/smokers learned it from a family member, usually their father, uncle or brother.

  • Lyndon Baines Johnson, Texan extraordinaire, was famous for using barbecue at cookouts to host visiting world leaders. LBJ was also the first President to bring BBQ sauce to the capital.

  • According to Major League Eating, the “greatest eater in history” is Joey Chestnut, from San José, California. In 2007, he ate 45 pulled pork sandwiches in 10 minutes!

  • Charcoal briquettes were invented in 1897 by Ellsworth B. A. Zwoyer, but it was automobile manufacturer Henry Ford who first commercialized them.

  • In 2012, during a visit to the U.S. by British prime minister David Cameron, President Barack Obama gifted him with a BBQ grill!

  • “Smoking” was used as far as 6000 years ago in order to make meats safe to eat and store. The meat was exposed to smoke and low heat to prevent bacteria and enzymes from growing.

  • Year-round grilling, really is a “thing”.

    • 33% Grill when it’s below freezing

    • 63% grill monthly

    • 48% fire up year-round

What was something you enjoyed learning when you started outdoor cooking?  Let us know in the comments….

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