Grilling America’s grillers

With 17,431,500 gas, charcoal, and electric grills shipped in North America in 2007, according to the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association, it’s clear that Americans love to cook outdoors.

Indeed, 68 percent of U.S. consumers live in a household that grills outdoors, according to a recent nationwide survey* conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. Their primary reasons for grilling? Survey respondents say they enjoy spending time outside (88 percent), prefer the taste of grilled food (86 percent), grill when entertaining (72 percent), and want to keep the kitchen cooler and lighten the clean-up load (both 62 percent). Here's what else the survey revealed:

Holidays like Memorial Day, Father’s Day, and the 4th of July are popular grilling events, but Americans who grill fire up their cookers on more than just those occasions. Forty-one percent grill year-round, half do so more than once a week during the grilling season, and a highly dedicated 15 percent grill four or more times per week.

Weather can’t deter these fire-cooking fiends. Sixty-eight have grilled while it was raining, 32 percent have grilled in temperatures below freezing, and 26 percent have used their outdoor cooker while it was snowing, sleeting, or hailing. (Do they still drink beer in that nasty weather?)

Given this propensity to flip burgers, sear fish, and grill vegetables, it stands to reason the biggest problem people face is running out of fuel (36 percent). Other issues they encounter are flare-ups (32 percent), losing food between grates (29 percent), overcooking/burning items (27 percent); only 11 percent deal with undercooked food or drop what they’re cooking on the ground (15 percent). I wonder if they eat it. . . .

Grilling safety is always a concern. Fortunately only 9 percent of grillers admit to grilling in their garage, though we think that number should be 0. Twelve percent of consumers admit to having burned themselves and 2 percent indicate they have burned others. Two percent have started a fire in which they needed a fire extinguisher, and 1 percent caused a fire for which they had to call the fire department.

It’s likely that men are the ones dealing with grilling problems and safety matters. Among married households, 78 percent of men are the primary grillers—though less than a quarter of them handle the indoor cooking. Still, 40 percent of women say they are the person in their household responsible for the outdoor cooking.

The most common type of grill is a freestanding gas model with cart (owned by 35 percent), but 32 percent of those who own a gas grill also have a charcoal/wood grill, and 77 percent who own a portable model also have at least one other type of grill.

When it comes to shopping for a grill, 55 percent of consumers buy a new one once their old model is rusted or corroded. However, 53 percent of consumers indicated they parted with their previous grill simply because they were ready to upgrade to a new one.

Consumers consider a number of factors in selecting their new grill, with size of cooking area (67 percent), price (65 percent), and fuel type (65 percent) leading the way.

The average amount they spent on their grill is $275, with 11 percent spending $500 or more. (Men spend $35 more than women do, on average.) As we found in our latest grills report and review, you don’t need to spend big bucks to get a grill that excels in our tests.

Sixty-three percent of consumers have assembled their current grill themselves or had another family member do it. It took the majority less than two hours to assemble the grill (84 percent), though 15 percent needed two hours or more to complete the job, and 12 percent had extra parts once they’d completed. Let’s hope they weren’t essential items.

Before you buy a grill, read our June 2008 gas-grills report and visit our gas-grills product page. Then follow our expert advice to ensure you avoid common grilling mistakes and keep your grill cooking better, longer as you make our delicious, easy-to-prepare dishes and use chef-restaurateur Bobby Flay’s recipes.

*The Consumer Reports National Research Center conducted a telephone survey of a nationally representative probability sample of telephone households from March 27 to March 30, 2008. A total of 1,001 interviews were completed among adults aged 18 and older. The margin of error is +/-3.2 percent points at a 95 percent confidence level.

Comments

[amstar7th]

I have a major concern with your rating of gas grills in that you gave the Brinkmann grill a CR Best Buy Rating. These grills handle nicely for 1 season but you CANNOT get replacement parts - the company says you can but the parts are back ordered and never arrive. I've just gotten off another discussion board about this company and it appears lots of people have similar concerns.

[Darrell]

I agree 100% with Amstar's comment above. I purchased a Brinkmann charcoal grill this past Saturday. Fired it up on Sunday. In the first use, the lid handle broke off and the charcoal door latch stripped. They have three telephone numbers, which you will sit on hold for periods of time up to a half hour waiting and no one picks up.

On hold they say that you can order warranty parts on line. Sure if you want to give them a credit card so they can charge you shipping. Last time I checked warranty parts weren't supposed to cost the consumer.

I finally reached a live body after five calls and a collective 2 hours on hold only to be told the handles are on a month backorder.

Oh well Brinkmann. I'm taking this back to Home Depot today for a full refund. I won't be buying another Brinkmann product.

[grace moss]

please take the time and energy to rate charcoal grills! im purchasing one very soon ( i wont get ratings from consumers -not good) just because its not used by all of the world? come on consumers is suppose to be non-baised isnt it? im also a member doesnt that matter?

[Nathan Schroeder]

I will second Grace Moss's comments. I came to consumerreports.org today to prepare to buy a charcoal grill, and found no guidance whatsoever. Please, do some tests of charcoal grills! Even if (for example) the brands and models change too fast to make a full Ratings worthwhile, at least do some tests and tell us which features are worth paying more for and which aren't!

[Pamela Schade]

I have a Weber Genesis propane and I am happy with it but...would lke to have a small Japanese tabletop Yakitori Grill as opposed to the Korno...can I use Kingsford charcoal as opposed to the specialty Japanese charcoal? Lots of interest in this type of BBQ

[rudy]

I also would love a report on charcoal grills...the charcoal taste is just different than propane!