National BBQ Week
30/05/2017
15 Fun Facts About BBQ
National BBQ Week runs from May 29th until June 4th and to mark the occasion, we have provided you with a list of interesting facts about the hugely popular summertime tradition…
1 – The first recorded use of the word barbeque was by British buccaneer, William Dapier, in 1697.
2 – However, the precise origin of the word barbecue is unknown. Many believe it comes from the Spanish word ‘barbacoa’ which translates as a wooden frame used to cook meat.
3 – The average household in the UK participates in nine or more barbeques per year.
4 – While us Brits refer to grilling food outside as a barbeque, our American cousins are a little different. In the States, they refer to that method as grilling, while to them, a barbeque is when meat is slow-cooked at very low temperatures in dry, indirect heat using a wood based fire.
5 – In America, Independence Day (July 4) is the most popular day of the year for barbecuing – or grilling!
6 – Food poisoning figures double over the summer – the most popular season for barbequing. Coincidence? We think not.
7 – Barbeques can reach a temperature of 343°C.
8 – The four most popular foods for barbequing are burgers, steak, sausages and chicken – in that order.
9 – The UK gets through 40,000 tonnes of barbecue charcoal every year.
10 – Two out of three households in the UK own a barbeque, with 14% of all households in the country owning two.
11 – Of every American who owns some form of barbeque grill, 33% it when the temperature is below freezing.
12 – A staggering 7.5 million barbeques took place on 29th April 2011 – the wedding day of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
13 – In the UK, around 1800 people visit A&E every year because of a barbeque related injuries or illnesses.
14 – In America, outdoor grilling incidents cause 16,600 injuries and £75m worth of damage every year.
15 – Back in 1769, the first President of the United States and notoriously bad speller, George Washington wrote that he attended a ‘barbique’ in Virginia.
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