Here’s What Illinoisans Prefer On Their Barbecue Grill
The team at Grill Cook Bake surveyed over 3,900 Americans, asking them about their favorite grilled food, how they like their steak cooked, and if they prefer hamburgers or hot dogs.
Before getting to the results, I must, in the interests of full disclosure, admit that my family fired me from being the household's grillmaster about 15 years ago. My successor (who we'll randomly call...oh, let's see...my wife Amy) has had much better overall results than I ever did. Whatever.
As far as America's (and Illinois') favorite grilled food, Grill Cook Bake offered a selection of seven classic options and threw in pineapple as an eighth. Here's what people said:
I've got to say that pineapple before pork chops seriously offends my Midwestern sensibilities. Here in Illinois, pork chops are slightly preferred over pineapples, according to the numbers.
Next comes the question of how you like your steak cooked. I know all the famous chefs over at Food Network seem to insist that you only eat your steak "rare." However, that doesn't match up with the tastes of the people surveyed here. Personally, I have no interest whatsoever in eating rare beef. It's just not for me. I remember my grandfather complaining at a family cookout that he'd seen cattle "get up and walk away after being burnt worse than that!"
The preference for "medium" is the biggest vote-getter in Illinois.
"Medium rare" is the most chosen level of 20 states, followed by "medium" with 15 states. "Medium well" grabs 11 states, "well-done" is the favorite of 4 states, and surprisingly (to some, maybe), "rare" is not favored by a single state.
Finally, since most of us are going to be grilling hamburgers and hot dogs far more often than we grill fine cuts of steak, here's the breakdown on burgers and dogs:
So, let's say you have a great cut of steak but no grill to cook it on. Joe Dredge and others that have some kitchen proficiency swear by this method of cooking a steak from Gordon Ramsey: