One of the weirdest things growing up in Brazil and watching american movies was seeing people cooking only hamburgers and some vegetables on the grill, because our barbecues usually look like [this](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Churrasco_carioca.jpg)
, if you had the trouble to set up the grill why not throw a stake in there? I’m aware that some parts of the country so this differently.
Already feeling like gonna get downvoted because I coudnt elaborate very well so please ask questions away.
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Pretty common but hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages, steaks, chicken, roasts, all kinds of stuff gets grilled here in the US. Maybe it’s just the movies you’re watching.
Well technically that’s grilling, not bbq, as that involves smoking meats, low n slow, stuff like that.
But we grill more things, chicken, veggies, fish, but for movies it’s probably just easier to show one fake meat prop.
Isn’t hamburger usually less expensive than steak? I don’t eat either, but my family usually just does burgers and vegetables (and vegetarian burgers or chicken for those of us who don’t like beef).
Barbecue is a long process where the meat is cooked over low heat for hours. That’s not shown on tv a lot because that would be boring. What I think you are referring to is what most of us call grilling, or a cook-out. Hamburgers, hot dogs, veggies and steaks are usually grilled.
Movies are going to do two things; make a scene that is straight and to the point and cut out what’s unnecessary as it’s implied to the demographic of viewers that something is done out of convenience.
Movies will not show a full BBQ (often) because it’s a waste of food to show what we know would normally be cooked when just showing hamburgers conveys that they are BBQing.
Your average BBQs here have all the same foods in that picture.
Edit: I used BBQ for convenience of the term you know but “The big difference between grilling and barbecue is the location of the fire. With grilling, your meat sits over the coals for very hot, quick direct cooking. Barbecuing uses an offset or 2-zone fire for indirect heat, that means the food cooks slowly by convection or indirect heat, like an oven.”
https://www.foodfirefriends.com/grilling-vs-bbq/
I think it depends who you talk to. Some people are really good at grilling, others not so great. If you’re so-so, you tend to stick to hamburgers and sausages/hot dogs, because they’re hard to screw up. Most people do also grill chicken and steaks.
When it comes to TV and movies, I wouldn’t be surprised if the props department has actors stick to hamburgers, because that’s a cheap, convenient, and low-mess way show grilling when you’re shooting the same scene all day long.
Barbecues are common and all kinds of meats/veggies are grilled. Seafood boils are where it’s at, though. Crawfish, shrimp or crab you can’t go wrong.
People grill steaks sometimes. We usually don’t have 5 or 6 different meats per meal.
We have a choice of a couple meats, then have a few different salads, corn on the cob, etc.
Hamburgers are just popular, cheap, and can be customized with whatever toppings you want so when cooking for a bunch of people it’s a crowd pleaser.
If I’m having a cookout with more than my wife and son, it’s usually burgers and hot dogs or brats, maybe some dark meat bone-in chicken and/or shrimp. Tonight I grilled pork chops, but I don’t cook them during cookouts.
BBQ is something completely different, and is not grilling. No matter what anyone says. BBQ is slow cooking with smoker at a low temperature. Pork, beef, chicken, and fish are all very popular. In fact some people even smoke burgers!
Very common. Other meats are always included IRL, but burgers are probably the thing most film-worthy.
My fam makes the best grilled fish and veg, and my gran made the best kabobs on the grill. It’s all messy though, not fit for film and probably not fit for the Southern Hemisphere at the time of year you’re used to?
Ps it’s “steak” for a cut of beef, not “stake.”
You’re getting a lot of “no, that’s just movies” but I can vouch for the fact that in some areas grilling is often just hamburgers and hotdogs. People who are really enthusiastic about grilling will throw more things on the grill like in your picture. However, many among us stick to grilling hamburgers and hotdogs because it’s cheap, it’s easy, and it takes zero planning. ETA: and it travels well if you’re taking meat to a park to grill.
I think this especially true of cookouts where lots of people are expected to attend, which you may see in movies. Like, any time a cookout was attached to a school or town event growing up, it was just hamburgers and hotdogs. It’s just more economical and steaks (and even chicken these days) gets pricey.
Because nobody would eat a hamburger if steaks were also offered. That, and I’m usually only grilling for three people.
For lunch, hamburger and hot dogs, corn on the cob because they are quick. Evening , just family, almost anything, kabobs a favorite, all varieties, steak,, veges, chicken,,shrimp, salmon, etc. I do not cook a bunch of meats, ever. 3 and done for me
Yes, this is how I barbeque all the time. No vegetables or side dish either. Oh, you’re hungry for a side dish? Have another burger.
At the “White American” barbecues I’ve been to, it seems pretty common to only grill two things at a time. Usually hamburgers and hot dogs, sometimes hamburgers and chicken legs. At barbecues hosted by Mexican Americans, there’s usually thin cuts of steak and pork, some goat or lamb, sometimes chicken, and some vegetables; corn and potatoes are common.
I feel like you’re over estimating how much of a hassle it is to get the grill set up.
Hamburgers are pretty popular and cheap, but often youll have other things there and its very common to grill steak here.
Where I come from, barbecue is a food, not an event.
Very common.
>if you had the trouble to set up the grill why not throw a stake in there?
How much trouble is it to throw some charcoal in and light it? And I’d rather have a burger than a steak any day of the week.
I probably grill 3 times a week. It’s not always going to be a huge meal sometimes just doing a few burgers is fine.
I almost always do some chicken for later meals too.
Our grills have a lot more grates than that. Like [this](https://www.foodfirefriends.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/best-portable-gas-grill-441×245.jpeg) is the grill I have at my home.
Burgers and hotdogs are a pretty common thing to grill for get-togethers, they’re fast and easy and general crowd-pleasers. But the grill can be used for a variety of things… I personally like to do yakitori (Japanese chicken skewers) pretty frequently.
Steak is expensive and I’m not always in the mood for steak. Hamburgers and dogs are good for cooking out because American children tend to like them. So they are fast and easy. Especially when you are cooking for a large crowd. Burgers are convenient and usually most of the people will eat them.
We pretty much always grill hamburgers and impossible burgers since a lot of our friends are vegetarian. I like a good burger just as much as steak and my husband is always trying new burger recipes. Sometimes we will do steak kebabs, grilled chicken, grilled fruit or vegetables, and/or hot dogs/brats. We usually cook out once or twice a week, once for ourselves and once if we have friends over to swim. It is something quick and easy that we do in the backyard. It’s not an event like in other cultures- just a way to not have to heat the kitchen up or worry about cooking while you are enjoying being outside
I had the issue you described, which was that setting up the grill isn’t worth it if I just want to cook a few burgers. To solve this I got a Weber Q grill, which makes it quick and easy for burgers and dogs. Now I just do them all the time. I also use it for steak, chicken and such but not as often.
Its pretty common. Typically large get together are for things like birthdays which is what you see a lot of in those grilling scenes in movies. Everyone likes hamburgers. They’re as American as Apple Pie. I have a large smoker/charcoal grilled and it’s perfect for either or. Large birthday party? Can cook enough burgers and hot dogs and bratz for everyone in one to two goes. Friends over and I’m trying to flex a bit? Ribeyes on there at 350 and five minutes on each side. Wanna really get down? 3 racks of spare ribs and 2 birds can fit in there. Got my own recipe of herbs and spices and love that Kingsford Applewood charcoal slow burning Applewood chunks. None of that pellet shit for me.
Ribs that stick on just enough to hold the bone just long enough for you to strip it off and the birds are so tender you can grab a drumstick and shake it once to get the bone out. Now that’s my preferred way. I like the meat to have just enough consistency that I feel like I’m sinking my teeth into something. That stuff that disintegrates in your mouth is pretty damn tasty but I like my food to have a little feeling to it. Bite into a big ole peice of meet and your teeth slide through like nothing is kind of dissapointing in my personal opinion.
Never been to one that didn’t have burgers and hot dogs
Very common. “Hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill.”
Most of the grills you’re seeing in these movies are gas, not charcoal, so there’s no trouble setting them up. For example my parents have a big Weber grill on their back deck, plumbed into the natural gas line of the house. I’ll sometimes pick up some hamburger patties and buns at the grocery store on the way over, and they’re on the grill and cooking 5 minutes after I get there. It’s cheap and easy. Also, if we grilled steaks we’d probably feel obligated to eat them with knives and forks at the dinner table. Hamburgers just seem more appropriate for sitting out on the deck. Also, the kids can be left alone to eat them and/or run around the yard. It’s a less formal occasion.
If we’re making something other than hamburgers it would be hot dogs or maybe sausages (“brats”). It would never occur to us to grill vegetables. Typically we have lettuce, onions and tomatoes available to put on the hamburgers. Picture that on a paper plate with potato chips on the side.
If people where I live in the US are “grilling out,” expect hamburgers, hot dogs, maybe bratwursts, and charred, tasteless chicken breast if they know they have someone on a diet or who doesn’t eat red meat attending. This is usually a social event with a lot of friends, family, and/or neighbors included, with the people doing the grilling both buying and preparing everyone’s food, so people stick to cheaper options.
If they’re “barbecuing,” there’s going to be pulled pork shoulder at the minimum and likely also brisket, ribs, and chicken. A “barbecue” is more of an affair in the Southern US, while a “cook out” is basically shorthand for “I’m grilling burgers.”
I think there is some confusion regarding what American BBQ is.
On one hand, you have the backyard BBQ, where you fire up some coals or propane. This is a very casual event, probably centered around football games or a holiday like the 4th of July. For these BBQs, it’ll mostly be hamburgers or hotdogs, and maybe some skewers or fish wrapped in foil.
Then there is southern BBQ, which takes hours of slow cooking, utilizing the smoke, and is a different thing entirely, with different regions using different methods.
As for steak, a lot of people do cook steak on a BBQ grill (the one with coals or propane), but for me, that’s not the proper way to cook a steak. For me, steak is best cooked in a pan, on a stove or a stove/oven combination, because this method allows for the steak to cook with butter and herbs.
I prefer carne asada y pollo asado 🇺🇲
I’d say it’s pretty common. At least 50% of the time when I’m grilling it’s just burgers and usually hotdogs. If it’s just my immediate family we usually would either have burgers and dogs, steak, or maybe chicken.
If I’m having a bunch of people over then I’m just grilling burgers and dogs. It’s just easier.
I might mix in some sausages or brats if I want something a little a different in there.
When I want to get fancy I might toss in skewers of shrimp or something as well.
I’ve never been to a BBQ that was only hamburgers, but I’ve also never been to one without.
If you have a gas grill, it’s fast and easy to cook. And if it is just for the immediate family, we would only cook 1 kind of meat – just hamburgers OR steaks OR chicken, and usually grill some veggies. When the weather is nice, we grill out more often than not.
Don’t take for granted how cheap meat is in Brasil. I have spent some time there and I was amazed at how cheap it was and how many options you have at a churrasco.
Up here in the US, burgers and hot dogs are the affordable option for most people when you are trying to feed a big group. Steak and pork on the grill is usually saved for special occasions, trips to a restaurant, or when you are only feeding a small group. Also its more normal to cook all the food at once, then have everyone come up and make themselves a plate, instead of churrasco style where you keep cooking and bringing new food to your guests.
Pretty common.
In the South, we call that grilling. Barbecuing is cooking meat low and slow, while grilling is cooking things at higher temperatures (hot dogs, hamburgers, etc…)
My family changes it up every so often. Sometimes it’s chicken or salmon, sometimes portabello caps and spiced pineapple. Never hot dogs because my kids don’t like grilled hot dogs. We do hamburgers sometimes, too.
It’s not uncommon actually. Hot dogs too. It’s an easy crowd pleaser. “Real” barbecue might be different to different people though.
But all that said – for a movie it’s easy and cheap to use hot dogs and hamburgers as props unless steak or something is needed. The food may be sitting around for a while (if they’re using real
Food) so they’re not trying to use a nice tri tip that’s just getting thrown away at the end of the day.
It’s not uncommon actually. Hot dogs too. It’s an easy crowd pleaser. “Real” barbecue might be different to different people though, some people differentiate between bbq and grilling.
But all that said – for a movie it’s easy and cheap to use hot dogs and hamburgers as props unless steak or something is needed. The food may be sitting around for a while (if they’re using real
Food) so they’re not trying to use a nice tri tip that’s just getting thrown away at the end of the day.
To my husband, it’s not a barbecue “holiday” unless it’s burgers and dogs. I try to elevate it with other choices and then he pouts. I don’t eat that anyway
All the barbecues I’ve been to have had hamburgers. Other common barbecue foods include hotdogs, corn on the cob, potatoes, and chicken. Ribs and steaks for special occasions.
IME that’s not a Barbecue. That’s just grilling hotdogs and hamburgers.
Any BBQ I’ve been to has burgers, dogs, and then stuff like ribs, chicken, shish kabobs, vegetables, maybe a brisket etc etc. That’s a Barbecue.
Have I been to friends houses where a bunch of people were over grilling burgers? Yes but no one considered it a Barbecue. Just grilling.
“Barbecue” is not an especially accurate translation of “churrasco.” The best translation would be “cookout.”
Hamburgers are probably the most common things to grill at a cookout, but bratwurst and other sausage links, wings, and steak are also common.
In the south (where barbecue originated), barbecue refers to smoked meat, slow cooked over indirect heat, seasoned with spices and/or sauce. Whenever you hear terms like barbecue restaurant or barbecue sauce, it’s referring to this type of food – nothing at all like a churrasco. In the north, barbecue is sometimes used to refer to the event of a cookout, but you wouldn’t use it to refer to the food cooked there.
Around here, we call hamburgers and hotdogs a cookout. A barbeque has to have barbeque.