You Go, Grill!
I’ve always loved grilled food and we have certainly grilled our share of ribs, steaks, burgers and hot dogs over many summers. But until recently we fell short of the 26 times per year average grill usage per household, as reported by the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association.
We just purchased our first gas grill last month and now I get it. Almost-instant heat. Minimal food prep. Nominal cleanup. Delicious, healthy meals. What’s not to like? We’re now grilling several times a week, weeknights included.
Gas grilling is hardly different from broiling in the kitchen. Which may be why, although still a heavily male activity, more than 35 percent of women are now grilling, according to the same survey.
I asked Steven Raichlen, the ultimate barbecue guru, why he thinks more women are grilling. Steven is a superb teacher who gets around the country teaching and meeting consumers so he has a good handle on what people think. You can watch him in action on PBS-TV’s Barbecue University, learn from his best-selling barbecue books and use his well-designed barbecue tools and accessories that anticipate and solve every barbecuing need — my client, The Companion Group, is the manufacturer of this signature line of products.
“First, grilling in general has become increasingly popular and sophisticated and this rising tide lifts all boats regardless of gender,” said Steven. “Second, grilling produces some of the best, most theatric food there is and more and more women want to be a part of the action.”
He went on to say, “Third, women have already been a huge part of American barbecue. After all, who decides when to have a cook-out, chooses the menu, picks the guest list, invites the guests, does the shopping and prep, sets the table, and organizes the dinner? Statistics show this is more often the wife than the husband.
“Finally,” he surmises, “more and more writers, TV hosts, grill manufacturers, and others are addressing the one issue that has historically kept some women from grilling — a general apprehension about fire and fear of lighting the grill. With the proper tools and training (like a chimney starter for charcoal or like the Propane Safety Council’s instructions for safely lighting a gas grill,) more and more women are doing the fun stuff, namely becoming comfortable with lighting the grill and doing the grilling.”
For a woman’s point of view, I asked Kansas City Barbecue Queen, Judith Fertig, co-author with Karen Adler of The BBQ Queens’ Big Book of Barbecue. Said Judith, “Women have been cooking over an open fire ever since cooking was invented eons ago. Yet when you had to do all your cooking over a wood fire, it was messy, sometimes dangerous, and required a certain amount of know-how. (Fireplaces didn’t come with an instruction manual like microwaves do.)”
She recounted that “By the early 1900s, technology had improved to the point that even the woodstove was fast disappearing in place of the gas stove. By the 1950s, we had electric stoves. And by that time, cooking over a fire was relegated to camping or dad at the grill. American culture went through this ‘dainty’ phase when white sauce, canned vegetables and even pre-sliced bread were the desired elements on your plate. But, unfortunately, we sacrificed flavor for convenience. Duh!
“Alice Waters led the charge for women taking back the flavor when Chez Panisse opened in the 1970s. She is a big charcoal grilling fan; her father grilled and in Provence she learned how great other foods taste when grilled,” Judith explained.
“Grilling led to slow smoking or barbecuing. In the 1980s, the Kansas City Barbeque Society began holding barbecue contests that attracted competitors throughout the country, several notables being women, such as Karen Putman and Donna McClure,” added Judith.
“In the early 1990s, Karen Adler gathered together an all-woman barbecue team after a Kansas City deejay proclaimed that women couldn’t barbecue, and all hell broke loose. The members of the ‘Que (short for barbeque) Queens consisted of bbq contest competitors, bbq sauce makers, bbq restaurant owners, bbq writers, bbq publishers, and so on. In the Battle of the Sexes barbecue contest that followed, we beat the men’s team 2 out 3 times and then they wouldn’t compete anymore!” she said.
And Judith enjoys the irony. “As you might have seen on the TV Food Network’s ‘Grill Girls’ special, lots of women are heading back to the grill and smoker. It’s all about the flavor. While many men are watching cooking shows on TV and discovering the joys of whipping up a cheesecake or spinning sugar or baking bread, women are leaving the indoor kitchen for the outdoor one. Viva la difference! ”
INSIGHT:There’s more than one way to get food on the table. Savvy food manufacturers look for opportunity by aligning food product development to appliances and equipment, such as the gas grill, that make cooking easier and faster, while adding sophistication and flavor.
