May is National Barbecue Month. And what better time to consider the latest survey information regarding the grilling habits of Canadians. The 21st annual Grillwatch survey, conducted by Toronto-based Leger Marketing on behalf of Weber-Stephen Products Co., probes the habits, knowledge and performance of Canadian grillers. According to the Weber survey, Canadians most often grill hamburgers, steak, chicken pieces and hot dogs. Steak still reigns supreme as the all time favourite barbecue food item. Rarely mentioned (1%) by survey respondents? Whole turkey, lamb roasts and scallops.

Despite their year-round love of the grill, survey results also indicate Canadians would like to increase their grilling expertise when it comes two particular items: beef roasts and pizza. One in seven Canadians enjoy cooking pizza on the grill. Mozzarella cheese and mushrooms achieved the highest grades as toppings. Out here in the West, pineapple ranked the preferred topping. My husband considers himself quite the gourmand when he tosses his special Saturday night pizza onto the grill. Unlike the survey results, which report that men wield the tongs as primary griller in most households (64%), this is the only occasion my husband takes control of the barbecue tools.  I was happy to hear that 24% of the respondents claimed grilling as a shared activity in their households.

When it gets down to regional food choices, Quebec grillers like to cook chicken more often, in Ontario backyard chefs have a hankering for ribs and Maritimers prefer steak.

Do your grilling habits match the survey or was your favourite flame-broiled item ignored?

Photo © alisdair. Published under a Creative Commons License.

Beef Medallion

When you come to our house you get served beef.  This is pretty much a given.

This weekend we had my parents up for a casual Saturday dinner.  I try to theme dinners – this Saturday night was France.  I served Steak Frites.  The steaks were lovely perfectly portioned grilling medallions.  The frites were a combo of potatoes and sweet potatoes with my secret spice mix.  All accompanied by a baby romaine salad with a Caesar vinaigrette dressing.   For dessert, local Stein’s Dairy Vanilla ice cream with maple syrup and fresh rhubarb from our garden.

But back to the beef…..I love grilling medallions.  They give you the perfect portion size, without having to slice and serve.  Serving medallions also allows me to cook to each guest’s desired doneness.  Which for Saturday’s dinner was one cooked to well (mom), two cooked to medium-rare (my step-dad and husband) and mine (softly mooing or rare).  Each of us got the steak we wanted in a nice little package.  This is the joy of grilling medallions.  They give you a steak house experience at home, without the need for a doggie bag for all those unnecessary (and sometimes excessive) leftovers.  Perfectly lovely, perfectly tasty and perfectly portioned.

Here is a great video cooking lesson for grilling medallions so you can try them out yourself.  If you want my secret spice recipe, I will give it to you – but I’d have to kill you afterwards.

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?