Cuisine Canada Scene

Fire up your grill, May is National Barbecue Month!

If you haven’t already done so, the Victoria Day holiday is the unwritten season-opener for many backyard chefs. Around this time of the year, I look forward to receiving the latest Weber Canadian Grillwatch Survey results from fellow Cuisine Canada member and friend, Theresa Stahl, Director, Public Relations, Weber-Stephen Products Co., Canada. I was never a statistical whiz in university, but I can’t resist reading the mathematical research of others, especially when it pertains to food.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Canadian grilling census and after surveying more than 1,000 consumers, aged 19 and older, the results are in:

• 32 percent of Canadians, myself included, like to grill year-round
• the other 68 percent prefer to grill only during the summer months
• nation-wide 9 out of 10 respondents grill at least once a week
• Quebec and Ontario residents are most likely to fire up the grill more than once a week
• 9 out of 10 Canadians grill on either propane or natural gas for heat control and safety
• men control the tongs in 58 percent of Canadian households —but watch out fellows we ladies are gaining on you!

Who’s Cooking What?
In my home, I do the grilling. My husband, the “Admiral”, doesn’t contribute much in the way of food preparation, so the clean-up is his department. I generally go for an after-dinner walk and soak up the aromas of backyarders grilling their dinner. I have a trained nose for “Q” and can detect who’s having burgers, who’s having steak and who should have trimmed a little fat off that strip loin they’re cooking on too high a heat.

My nose and the Weber survey agree. For Canadians it’s all about meat. And we love our beef! Steak ranked as both the food item most often grilled and as the most favourite item, displacing the hamburger in the “most popular” category for the first time. Chicken pieces were second as “most popular.” In second and third place for most often grilled, hamburgers and chicken pieces rank respectively.

Staycation Trend
One of the most interesting items in this year’s Grillwatch Survey is a trend for Canadians to take a “staycation”. This phenomena began last year. Many Canadians reported they intend to enjoy a home-based vacation this summer. Almost 40 percent of those surveyed indicated they plan to take a staycation and/or a staycation plus one smaller traditional vacation. Of the survey respondents staying close to home this summer, 36 percent plan to use their outdoor grill more than in the past.

According to the survey there will be 36 percent more barbecues hosted by the stay-at-home vacationers this year. For the first time ever, Canada Day was ranked as the most popular grilling occasion for Canadians (68 percent) which toppled the previous record-holder — birthdays. Ontario grillers are more likely to fire up the barbecue for the August Civic holiday and Victoria Day than barbecuers in other regions.

Food writers and producers take note: Almost 45 percent of the “staycationers” said that they intend to try new grilling recipes and/or new foods on the “barbie”. Can you suggest a new food to try on the barbecue or do you have a favourite grilling technique to share?

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Barbara Barnes is a Kansas City Barbecue Society certified judge and a freelance Edmonton home economist who has authored a number of grilling books under the ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen banner. The sixth in this series, “Call of the Flame” will be released later this month.