Study finds most active grilling states aren't the warmest ones

Louisianans are the most likely to consider themselves grill masters (31%), according to new research.

A survey of 5,000 adults who grill, split by state, explored how these cooks get creative in front of the grate and found that one in six of all respondents consider themselves “grill masters” (18%).

Respondents from Georgia and Illinois followed as the second and third states that house the highest number of “grill masters” in the country (28% each).

Through rain, snow, or sunshine, people will brave the elements to fire up their grills. The most active grilling states are not necessarily the warmest ones.

Annual averages of grilling days peak in Wyoming (17.3 times), North Dakota (16.7), New Hampshire (15.5), Vermont (15.3), Minnesota (14.8) and Michigan (14.8) — well above the 12.5 times national average.

By contrast, Mississippi (9.8), New York (9.9), Texas (10.2), Pennsylvania (10.4) and Georgia (10.5) are at the low end.

Conducted by Talker Research for Perdue (https://www.perdue.com/), the survey found that grilling isn’t just good for your belly — it’s good for your psyche too: One in six respondents say grilling gives them confidence.

Half of grillers learned their skills from a friend or family member (49%), but a third are self-taught roasters who have figured it out on their own (32%).

Where grilling may not be as common in the Midwest and the East Coast, West Virginia (48%), Rhode Island (41%) and South Dakota (41%) are homes to the most self-taught grillers.

“The best grilling traditions aren’t really about perfect technique,” said Mark Anderson of The Grill Dads, a Perdue Farms partner. “They’re about sharing something you’ve learned, putting your own spin on it and giving people another reason to gather around the table.”

And there’s definitely something special about those Southern grilling traditions. Twenty-one percent of Americans believe Texas is definitively home to the best grill recipes, followed by Louisiana (9%) and Georgia (7%).

Texans know they’ve got it, too — having the highest percentage of respondents from any state to believe that their own state has the best grill recipes (92%) and is one of the top picks in every region of the country.

Respondents from Alabama (87%), California (84%) and Mississippi (83%) also expressed this confidence in their state’s cookout cuisine.

No matter where you go in the country, though, you’re bound to find people grilling up distinctly local versions of their favorite foods.

Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois and Tennessee all duke it out for who has the best ribs, while Connecticut, Ohio and Utah are among the states that insist that they do steak best.

The grill reflects the country’s diversity, with Alaska repping their “moose burger,” Florida and Louisiana bragging about their “grilled gator” and Montana touting their “elk steak.”

California embraces “Santa Maria style barbecue,” while Hawaii has their famous “kalua pork” and “Huli Huli chicken.”

Other parts of the country are more classic — Kentucky, New York and Pennsylvania are among a few states that prefer a simple dish like grilled chicken.

There is one area where respondents do want more grilling confidence: cooking with chicken.

Across the board, chicken options only take up three of the top 10 favorites to grill: chicken breasts (18%), chicken thighs (14%) and chicken wings (13%), as a third of Americans have avoided grilling these items out of fear of getting it wrong.

Other favorites include barbecue staples like burgers (46%), hot dogs (27%) and corn (13%).

When people do bring the bird, drumsticks (43%), boneless chicken breasts (33%) and chicken tenders (32%) are cuts that most often hit grills — ranking among the most crowd-pleasing grilled foods.

The most popular chicken recipes nationwide were teriyaki chicken (29%), smoked chicken (27%), honey garlic chicken (23%), rotisserie-style chicken (21%) and beer can chicken (20%).

That said, respondents also want to get more creative this summer and add dishes like Korean BBQ chicken (15%), jerk chicken (15%) and Cajun blackened chicken (14%) to their grilling repertoire.

“Chicken is the greatest cooking canvas in the world,” said Ryan Fey of the Grill Dads. “No matter the state, culture, climate, age or palate, there’s a grilled chicken recipe for everyone.”

GRILLED DISHES EACH STATE IS KNOWN FOR

• Alabama: “the famous grilled ribs,” “steak,” “Boston butt”
• Alaska: “grilled salmon,” “moose burger,” “halibut”
• Arizona: “carne asada,” “hamburgers,” “hot dogs”
• Arkansas: “ribs,” “catfish,” “corn on the cob”
• California: “Santa Maria style bbq,” “carne asada”
• Colorado: “Rocky Mountain oysters”
• Connecticut: “steak,” “burgers”
• Delaware: “grilled chicken,” “grilled blue crabs”
• Florida: “steak,” “grilled gator”
• Georgia: “steak,” “burgers”
• Hawaii: “kalua pork,” “fish,” “Kalbi (ribs),” “Huli Huli chicken”
• Idaho: “steak,” “potatoes,” “grilled trout”
• Illinois: “bratwurst,” “ribs,” “Chicago-style hot dogs”
• Indiana: “pork tenderloin”
• Iowa: “ribeye steak,” “corn on the cob,” “pork chops”
• Kansas: “Polish sausage,” “barbecue chicken”
• Kentucky: “hamburgers,” “chicken”
• Louisiana: “barbecued gator meat,” “ribs,” “grilled fish”
• Maine: “lobster,” “fiddleheads,” “mixed vegetables”
• Maryland: “bbq chicken,” “crabs,” “pit beef”
• Massachusetts: “lobster,” “hot dogs”
• Michigan: “baked beans,” “burgers”
• Minnesota: “Jucy Lucy’s,” “brats”
• Mississippi: “ribs,” “chicken”
• Missouri: “ribs”
• Montana: “Bison steak,” “brisket,” “elk steak”
• Nebraska: “steak,” “corn on the cob”
• Nevada: “grilled cod,” “chicken”
• New Hampshire: “steak tips,” “lobster”
• New Jersey: “hot dogs”
• New Mexico: “roasted green chilies”
• New York: “chicken,” “hot dogs,” “ribs”
• North Carolina: “BBQ pork”
• North Dakota: “steak,” “hamburgers”
• Ohio: “steak”
• Oklahoma: “brisket,” “burgers”
• Oregon: “grilled salmon”
• Pennsylvania: “cheesesteak,” “chicken”
• Rhode Island: “clams,” “steak”
• South Carolina: “chicken,” “ribs”
• South Dakota: “burgers,” “grilled pheasant”
• Tennessee: “ribs”
• Texas: “shrimp,” “brisket,” “ribs”
• Utah: “steak”
• Vermont: “maple ribs”
• Virginia: “burgers”
• Washington: “grilled salmon”
• West Virginia: “hamburgers”
• Wisconsin: “bratwurst”
• Wyoming: “steak,” “grilled bison”