Millennials Think They Grill Better Than Their Boomer Parents — Here's How They Differ

Every generation thinks they're the best, but when it comes to grilling expertise, millennials seem to believe they rule the 'cue. According to a OnePoll survey reported by StudyFinds, 78% of millennials think they've got more aptitude on the grill than their boomer forebears. "In fact, a whopping 75 percent of millennials have taught older generations to grill certain foods," StudyFinds reports.

Kathy Risch, SVP of Shopper Insights & Thought Leadership at Acosta Group, elaborated on generational differences via Food Institute, explaining, "millennials...are grilling all kinds of different meats and proteins." This includes more fish than older generations as well as meat alternatives (perhaps these are the "certain foods" that StudyFinds referenced).

Civic Science reports that 54% of millennials either use or intend to use meat alternatives, while only 34% of those 55 years or older are interested in those products. It could be possible that millennials have an inflated sense of ability when they may be grilling less meat in the first place.

When pressed on meat-grilling specifics, millennial confidence doesn't hold up. In a poll carried out by Porch across an intergenerational group of 750 people, only 50.5% of millennials claimed they could cook a ribeye steak to medium (boomers were at 72.7%), and only a meager 38% said they could cook barbecued ribs, with boomers ringing in at 61.2%. When it comes to sauces, Risch also claims that younger generations are more versatile with their choices, with millennials more likely to reach for the hot sauce.

Some speculation online wonders if pellet-fueled grills and smokers for barbecues being the grill of choice is to blame for boosting millennial confidence in their grilling skills, offering a wider margin for error and less requirement for effort. Although solely based on opinion, it's possible that removing the painstaking elbow grease and patience required to grill on coals is what makes millennials think, "Hey, this grilling stuff is easy!"

Other comments online point out the generational difference between meat preparation preferences, with a commonly believed boomer tendency to overcook meat. Is that one point to the millennials' score chart? One millennial Reddit user asked why older generations apparently have a habit of going a shade too dark on the grill: "Seems like everybody around my age had a dad who just burned the ever-loving cr*p out of their steaks and burgers." Comments on this thread are quick to point out that older generations might overcook meat because of a hangover of generational food safety concerns, or learning from previous generations who tended to take the safer route by cooking meat that much longer.

So it seems that the confidence millennials have might not be fully justified, so where do they get the idea that they're the new masters of the grill? Turns out, one of the key differences between millennial and boomer grilling is more to do with where they get their recipes and learn new grilling tips and tricks.

According to Porch's survey, of those who get their recipes from internet videos, millennials accounted for 67.1%, whereas boomers made up only 47.1%. Of those who got their recipes from cookbooks, only 50.8% were millennials, but 77.3% were boomers. Perhaps this gives millennials more opportunities to learn new approaches, troubleshoot problems, cross-reference recipes, and engage with online forums to hone the skills of the grill. By tapping into the internet more for inspiration, education, and support, millennials effectively gain access to countless grill masters to learn from, rather than the piecemeal learning curve of prior generations.

So are millennials actually the superior grill masters? There's no way to conclusively tell. With opportunities to learn, improve, and practice, however, they may yet become as good as they say they are.