Dine & Cook | Alternative food journalism

America's grillers are going gourmet.  According to the latest Weber Tailgating Study, half of today's US tailgate grillers report that they consider themselves to be either "gourmet" food grillers or "between a gourmet and a basics" food griller.

According statistics from Weber, "basics" tailgate grillers spend an average of $441 in groceries per year for their parking lot parties, "gourmet" tailgaters spend an average of $1,001.  This comes out to an average of $106 per tailgate for the basics group versus $165 among the gourmets.

When it comes to favorite foods, gourmet grillers rank their favorite four parking lot foods as chicken (43 percent), ribs (39 percent), brats (37 percent) and steak (33 percent).  Basics grillers rank their favorite foods as hamburgers (70 percent), brats (45 percent), chicken (42 percent), and hot dogs (42 percent).

The Weber study also found that basics grillers are more likely to mention meat as the food they would like to learn how to grill better compared to gourmet grillers.  On the other hand, gourmet grillers tend to cite fish and seafood items as the foods they would like to learn how to grill better.

Additionally, gourmet grillers' tailgates attract more people.  According to gourmet griller, they host an average of 20 people per party versus basics grillers who host an average of 14.

The 2010 Weber Tailgating Study revealed that the favorite grilling accessories overall among parking lot cooks remain the same as the last Study in 2008: a set of tongs, a spatula and a grill brush.

The study also found that new media technology is playing a bigger role in tailgating for more than one-third of U.S. tailgaters compared to their use of it five years ago.  Of these respondents, almost one-half report using smart phones; 48 percent report using grilling/food/recipe apps; and 47 percent report using laptop computers while tailgating.  Those under age 35 are most likely to use more technology than they did five years ago at their tailgates.


Weber found that 12.5 percent of Americans over the age 18 have tailgated in the last 12 months, attending an average of 3.4 tailgates a year.  Those aged 24-34 are more likely to tailgate (19 percent).

Buying grills specifically for tailgating is still on the rise. Overall, two-thirds of all US tailgate grillers bought their barbecue expressly for their parking lot parties.  When it comes to the grill or smoker type used at tailgates, charcoal still rules at 58 percent, followed by gas at 48 percent, smokers 10 percent and electric at seven percent.

When asked how they've changed their tailgate grilling style in the last year, an overall 35 percent of respondents say they're getting "more adventurous" in their parking lot party food choices. The biggest addition to the tailgate menu are vegetables-- 40 percent report they're grilling more vegetables.

The Weber Tailgating Study is the nation's most comprehensive report that reveals why, how, when and where Americans tailgate. Weber commissioned third-party research firms KeyStat Marketing, Inc. and Synovate to electronically survey 1,006 Americans (503 males and 503 females) who tailgate. All respondents were over 18 years old and attended a minimum of two tailgate parties during the last 12 months. The sample is representative of the general population based on household data from the US Census Bureau.