Outdoor Cooking Remains a Cornerstone of the American Summer

According to numbers from the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association — one of the more niche special interest groups to find oneself among, surely — that other great American pastime, grilling, is in something of a renaissance. The association’s 2023 State of the Barbecue Industry report notes that 38 percent of all grill owners had purchased new hardware since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Firing up the grill throughout fall and winter has grown in popularity, as well, though nothing has yet come close to standard-bearer dates such as the Fourth of July, Labor Day and Memorial Day.

Several factors look primed to make this summer’s grilling season a particularly strong one. Coming off a yearslong home improvement boom, families who splurged on a new pool or updated patio will be looking for any excuse to be out-of-doors. At the same time, the ‘staycation’ has become more popular than ever, especially for households hoping to make their budgets stretch as far as possible. To top it all off, a certain country’s 250th birthday has already had folks celebrating all season long.

There are few better ways to combine all those interests than with a good old-fashioned backyard barbecue, but even bigger things might be at stake: Could the answer to intergenerational discord be found between two buns? Perhaps most encouraging for the nation’s grill manufacturers — and anyone else who appreciates a good char on their brats — is the next generation’s interest in the charcoal and propane arts.

A recent Talker Research poll conducted on behalf of Tyson Foods found a majority of Americans consider cooking outside one of the joys of the summer season, “with Gen Z being particularly stoked about backyard cookouts compared to other generations’ at 59 percent. Two out of three respondents said they planned to grill at least once a week throughout the summer. While classic, easily scaled entrees such as hamburgers and hot dogs are sure to dominate shoppers’ lists, one of the great things about planning a summer cookout is the endless amount of variety when it comes to menu curation.

“Our favorite family cookout foods are rib-eyes and our jalapeno cheddar bratwurst, best served with creamy mac and cheese and a grilled Caesar salad,” said Tyler Beaudreau, owner of Double B Farm and Ranch in Bigelow.

Raising cattle, chickens and hogs on their 125-acre Wye Mountain farm, Beaudreau and his wife, Laura, know a thing or two when it comes to quality ingredients, grilling or otherwise. Double B uses rotational grazing for its cattle, and the swine and chicken are free range. Growing demand for organic meat and eggs moved the couple to open the Double B Ranch Farm Market earlier this year.

“You can absolutely tell the difference in the quality of the meat,” Beaudreau said. “I have heard multiple times that people remember the taste of the meat from their childhood. Our beef also has nothing added, so the weight you buy is the weight you eat.”

Steak is likewise at the top of the list for Steve Edwards Jr., special projects manager at GES and part of the family behind the Edwards Food Giant and Edwards Cash Saver brands. Proudly billed as “The Meat People” thanks to the company’s embrace of in-house meat cutting and processing, Edwards stores pioneered the “Pick 5” deal now emulated by other independent grocers. Certain Edwards Food Giant locations, including Cantrell and Lakewood, offer dry-aged beef, as well. For a Friday evening or Saturday meal prepared on the grill, Edwards said he often reaches for a rib-eye or filet.

“My personal favorite thing to do, especially with a rib-eye, is to do a reverse sear so I can get it just short of being up to temp,” he said. “I’m on indirect heat, and it gets that whole thick cut all kind of to temp. Then you take it off, and you do a really high sear for those last few minutes to get that crust.”

Unfortunately, many families have been feeling extra heat from their wallets, rather than their favorite grilled fare. Inflation has been an ongoing concern for what feels like ages, while more recent and acute price spikes have shoppers looking even harder for cost-effective solutions vis-a-vis summer cookout plans. Meat remains virtually nonnegotiable, however. As Edwards noted, “you’re not going to see a whole lot of customers that are just going to pull meat out of their grocery budget.”

“What we’re seeing a lot more of is customers that are shifting the way that they shop for meat,” he said. “Someone else might say, ‘Hey, listen, I’m struggling for cash, and where I might used to go and get a [Certified Angus Beef] rib-eye, I might be getting a choice rib-eye,’ which might not have as much marbling, or they sit there and say, ‘Hey, I might opt for a top sirloin steak instead of a rib-eye.’”

Deals like the “Pick 5” at Edwards Food Giant are one way to get more meat for one’s bread, but there are others. Double B Farm and Ranch also sells beef by the whole or half cow, options that are more economical per pound, Beaudreau said. Those without the freezer space or appetite for making use of such a large haul, though, might consider one of the farm’s bundle boxes for a balance of variety and savings in a more manageable package.

“You will want to look for what you cook most,” Beaudreau said. “If you mainly cook ground beef, maybe take advantage of our 10-pound ground beef box for $8.50 a pound. If you are a big steak eater, you can purchase a whole loin from us on special order and cut your own steaks. This will save you money, and you can get the exact thickness of steak you would like cutting it yourself.”

Would-be cookout chefs should not overlook their nonbeef options, either, such as chicken and pork. One of Edwards’ favorite weeknight grilling meals was picked up from social media, he said, and makes convenient use of an oft-ignored part of the bird.

“Take some chicken thighs, and you marinate them in with a whole jar of canned jalapenos. Let them marinate overnight. Season your chicken thighs with some taco seasoning,” he said. “The next day, you throw them on the grill — and it’s really hard to burn those thighs — and you throw them on a sandwich. That is one of my family’s favorite grilling weeknight go-tos because you can marinate it the night before, and you can come home, and you can have dinner ready in 30 minutes.”

With the grill as one’s canvas and a bit of creativity, there are plenty of ways to keep the summer sizzle going for a bargain. Edwards also mentioned the possibility of marinating flank steaks for easy fajitas or picking up a two-pack of Boston butts for pulled pork that can be more easily portioned out to feed a crowd. Beaudreau, meanwhile, recommended using Double B’s stew meat for kebabs as another smart swap.

“Our stew meat is cut from the sirloin roast, so [it] is still tender and has a great beef flavor,” Beaudreau said.

The Meat People have a panoply of other items with which to bolster one’s summer meals, such as spinach-stuffed chicken, bacon-wrapped chicken and stuffed pork chops. Edwards highlighted the company’s line of brats and sausages, all made fresh and in-house. The chicken sausage is one of the company’s most popular items and something many folks grab while shopping for steak, he said.

“If they even mention, ‘Hey, those look good,’ We’re like, ‘Hey, take one home. If you’re grilling the steak, throw this on the grill. I promise you’re going to like it,’” Edwards said. “Customers come back for them all the time.”

Still, there is more to an ideal summer plate than the meat in the middle. Talker Research’s polling found potato salad, chips and baked beans taking the top spots when it came to party planners’ must-have sides, and plenty of family-functiongoers also opt for deviled eggs, coleslaw, mac and cheese, fruit salad, and broccoli salad. That is to say nothing of the seasonings, rubs, condiments, toppings and other ingredients needed to round things out whether one is fine-tuning the sear on their steaks or simply slinging burgers on a sunny afternoon.

“We have all the perfect cookout essential ingredients at our farm market, from seasonings and sauces to fresh vegetables and lettuce.” Beaudreau said. “We, of course, have all the meats and are always here to help with any questions, from preparation to presentation.”

Edwards mentioned baked potatoes and fresh ears of corn as two of his family’s favorite staple sides, not least because of how easy they are to incorporate into one’s food prep alongside the stars of the show.

“My big thing is if I’m grilling, I like to keep everything that I’m doing kind of in the zone that I’m working,” Edwards said. “I don’t want to have to run from the kitchen to the grill and back and forth, so if I can do it all out on the grill, that’s really what I’m trying to do. Same thing with baked beans. You can stick a little cast iron pot of baked beans on your grill with the rest of the stuff.”

People less inclined to whip up homemade sides — not to mention anyone looking for last-minute ideas on their way to the pool party — will find the Edwards Food Giant deli stocked with plenty of ready-made options primed for the occasion.

“Check out our smokehouse because we have the items that we smoke ahead of time, as well. Sometimes customers like to grab those just for a quick and easy meal,” Edwards said. “I’ll tell people, too, if you’re going to grill out and you don’t want to deal with making the potato salad, go over to the deli, and get you a big container of that, put it into a bowl, and no one has any idea whether you made it or whether it came from the store.”