Warmer weather means it’s grilling season. Whether it’s a charcoal grill or a gas grill, there’s nothing like firing it up and grilling up your favorite food. Whether it’s just for you, for your family, or a group (social distancing, of course), grilled food is a crowd pleaser.
But just what exactly are the favorite grilled foods of Americans? We decided to find out. We surveyed over 3,900 Americans and asked them questions about their favorite foods and how they like them to be cooked. Read on to see our full results.
Americans’ Favorite Grilled Food
One of the first questions we asked was on respondent’s favorite grilled food. We offered a selection of seven classic options and threw in pineapple as an eighth. Let’s take a look at the overall results.
Turns out, “Beef. It’s what’s for dinner,” rings true. Just over 1 in 3 respondents said their favorite grilled food is steak (34%), the most common response. Hamburgers and chicken came in second and third at 19% a 18%, respectively.
Pork chops came in as the least chosen at 3%. Even grilled pineapple had more favorite picks than pork at 4%.
Next, we asked how Americans liked their steak cooked.
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Looking at the overall results, medium rare was the most common answer at just over 27%. Medium was second (25.6%), medium well was third (23.5%), and well done was fourth (19.4%). Rare was a distant fifth at 4.2%.
Let’s take a look at the results on a state-by-state basis.
When looking at the survey responses by state, the results are fairly varied. Medium rare has a significant portion of the states but doesn’t dominate. It’s not surprising that rare wasn’t the most popular in any state. However, well done was the most common response in four states: Georgia, Alaska, West Virginia, and Oklahoma.
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The above chart analyzed the data by cooking preference by count of states. Medium rare was the most common response in 20 states, followed by medium (15), medium well (11), and well done (4).
Below is a table of the percent of responses for each preference by state. The table is both sortable and searchable.
Hamburgers or Hot Dogs?
Hamburgers and hot dogs are staples of any cookout. One of common questions asked is, “Do you want a hamburger or a hot dog?” We asked respondents to choose which they prefer.
What we found is that Americans overwhelmingly prefer hamburgers. 81% of respondents said they preferred hamburgers over hot dogs. While we weren’t surprised that hamburgers were the favorites, we didn’t expect it to be a landslide victory.
Final Thoughts
Grilled food is not only delicious, it’s an easy way to cook for yourself, your family, or whoever you need to feed. Our survey shows that Americans clearly have their favorites, but we all like something a little different. Perhaps this grilling season we can all try something new as well as our tired-and-trues.
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Methodology
Grill Cook Bake surveyed 3,950 Americans in May 2020. The respondents were a mix of ages and genders. We estimate the margin of error is less than 3% with a confidence level of 90%.
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