Las Vegans love their grills

With spring nearly here, it’s time to start thinking about grilling and backyard barbecues. For many Southern Nevadans, these are year-round activities unlike the upper Midwest and Northeast where this outdoor ritual is limited to spring and summer months.

According to Retail Tracking Service data from The NPD Group, grilling revenue grew 14 percent last year. The most recent NPD Kitchen Audit Study found that 69 percent of U.S. households owned an outdoor grill in the early months of the pandemic, and since July 2020, more than 21 million grills and smokers have been purchased by consumers. Summer continues to be the time when most outdoor grilling takes place.

“Grilling is a pastime for some and a passion for others,” said Joe Derochowski, home industry adviser at NPD. “It has grown in response to the limitations brought about by the pandemic. Combine this with prior consumer adoption of innovative grilling options and exploration of new outdoor cooking skills, and you have a grill market that has risen to new heights.”

Pete Martin, sales representative at Barbeques Galore in Henderson, said customers are coming in and ordering grills in advance.

“When the pandemic hit, we found that many people were stuck at home and decided to buy an outdoor grill for the first time or upgrade what they already had,” he said. “Some even decided to build small outdoor kitchens. They weren’t traveling and made the decision to turn their backyards into a little resort that included new outdoor furniture.”

Those outdoor kitchens can be a small 4-foot island or an expansive 26-foot island that features a pizza oven, sink, refrigerator and 52-inch barbecue grill.

According to Martin, all types of grills are popular including charcoal, propane, natural gas and pellet grills. The ceramic kamado-style charcoal barbecue cooker, such as The Big Green Egg, has gained a following and is popular because it retains more flavors.

Once the steak or chicken is placed on the grill, the top comes down and a large gasket around the middle seals the grill shut. So instead of meat juices dripping down, they stay within the meat.

The kamado egg’s heavy, airtight seal holds in moisture with small vents at the top and bottom to control airflow. The natural lump charcoal burns hotter and more efficiently than briquettes and produces little ash.

Nearly every type of grill enjoyed sales growth in 2021, but pellet grills stood out. A pellet grill is a combination electric and wood-fired grill that can smoke foods at constant temperatures using a fire fed by wood pellets. Its temperature is controlled by the volume of pellets burned.

According to Martin, pellet grills take the guesswork out of smoking meats as they combine elements of charcoal smokers, gas grills and kitchen ovens.

“I call these grills a lazy man’s smoker,” he said smiling. “Just feed pellets into the smoker, set the temperature and cook away. The wood pellets smoke as well as grill, braise, sear and bake using an electric control panel that automatically regulates the grill’s airflow while maintaining a consistent cooking temperature. It’s low and slow and the indirect heat prevents flare-ups and uneven cooking.

“Some of these units come with telephone apps that you control so your large or small brisket is cooked properly every time.”

All pellets grills use wood pellets of the same size and heat the entire grill immediately. They are made of different woods that release a variety of flavors. Similar flavors can be obtained for other types of grills through apple, cherry, mesquite, pecan and hickory wood chips.

“The thing to consider is what flavor and aroma profile you want for the meats you’re smoking or grilling,” Martin said. “For ribs, chops, and pork in general, I suggest a savory smoke such as hickory or mesquite. For grilling beef, a pecan or maple is a little on the sweet side. With chicken or other poultry, you can play around and select the flavor that you like best. Cherry pellets add sweetness, there is a smoky flavor from alder wood, and pecan or other nut trees make it more savory.”

Although pellet grills have become popular, the benefit of a propane gas grill is that you turn it on and it’s ready to go. No waiting around. Others prefer the more traditional charcoal grill.

The one item recommended for anyone grilling is to use a thermometer to ensure that steaks and other foods are cooked just right.

Martin is serious about his own personal barbecuing.

“I barbecue all time,” he said. “I especially enjoy cooking pork shoulder. I start around 10 at night and check it in the middle of the night, then go back to sleep and by noon it’s perfect. When I take it out, it just falls apart.”