Grilling is the perfect type of cooking to do while on vacation.

Dwayne is a master at the grill and even does Thanksgiving Turkey on his grill at home. Here at the Manta Ray Inn we have 2 grills for our guests to use so that they can enjoy the outdoors and have little dishes to do afterwards!

I found these statistics from 2012 on grilling from the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association:

Reigniting the Spark: Outdoor Cooking on the Rise

• The majority of grill owners use their grills year-round (62 percent), an increase of six percent points from 2009.
• Nearly all (99 percent) of grill owners used their grill in the past year, an increase of two percent points since 2009.
• Eighty-six percent of households own an outdoor barbecue, grill or smoker, a four point increase from 2009.
• Sixty-nine percent of households that own a grill own a gas grill, followed by charcoal (47 percent) and electric (7 percent).
• More than half (54 percent) of grill purchasers bought a replacement grill and 68% of those purchasers replaced their grill with the same type of grill

Grill Usage: Consumers Loves to Grill

• Traditional summer holidays top the list of the most popular grilling holidays: the Fourth of July (77 percent), Memorial Day (62 percent) and Labor Day (60 percent).
• Grilling Thanksgiving meals outdoors is increasingly popular among charcoal grill owners, up six percentage points since 2009 (15 percent).
• Nearly half (49 percent) of grill owners see their outdoor grilling area as a functional cooking area of their home, while nearly a quarter (23%) see it as a place to rest and relax and 29% view it as an entertainment area.
• Forty percent of consumers have a large moveable grill system on a modest patio/deck, with some outdoor furniture and an informal place to eat.
• Consumers say an easy ignition system (58 percent) and large grilling surface (53 percent) are the most important features of a gas grill, followed by ease of cleaning (39 percent), ability to heat up quickly (37 percent) and temp gauge/heat indicator (31 percent).
• Among all grill owners, the most popular utensils are long-handled tongs (72 percent), grill-cleaning brushes (68 percent), long-handled fork (60 percent) and long-handled spatulas (54 percent).
• Gas and charcoal grill owners view color of grill as a major factor in a purchasing decision, with 27 percent and 32 percent respectively, a ten and nine point increase respectively from 2009.
• When entertaining and cooking outside, electric grill owners use their grill an average of 14 times a year, charcoal grill owners 13 times a year and gas grill owners 12 times a year

Tasty Trends: It’s All About the Meat

• This year, meats, including burgers (84 percent), steak (83 percent), hot dogs (82 percent) and chicken parts (74 percent), top the list of the most popular foods prepared using a grill.
• Grill owners believe food cooked on their grills rather than their ovens is more healthful (38 percent), an increase of five points from 2009.
• Three out of four consumers who cook on a charcoal grill (75 percent) normally use barbecue sauce for basting during cooking.
• Dry meat rubs remain popular among consumers. In fact, dry rub usage has increased among all grill owners to 21 percent in 2011, from 14 percent in 2009.

Household Roles: Male or Female, Everybody Grills

• The male head (63 percent) most often makes the decision to cook, lights the grill (77 percent) and cooks (72 percent) on the charcoal/wood grills.
• Whether male or female, the primary grillers in seven out of ten households consider themselves to be extremely proficient or better than average.
• Across the board, males are most likely to make the decision to purchase a grill (69 percent), up two percent from 2009.

To read more visit their website:

http://www.hpba.org/media/barbecue-industry/copy_of_2011-state-of-the-barbecue-industry-report