Smoking meat sits at the intersection of outdoor cooking, food safety, and a large equipment market. The figures below show how widely grills and smokers are used, why people cook outdoors, how the pellet-grill category has developed, and what USDA guidance says about temperatures and timing.
Contents
- Grill and smoker ownership
- Why people grill and when they cook outdoors
- Outdoor cooking spaces
- Pellet grills and Traeger market figures
- Smoking temperatures and time
- Safe internal temperatures and handling
- Meat composition and USDA research methods
Grill and smoker ownership
The HPBA 2022 State of the Barbecue Industry reported that 70% of U.S. households owned at least a grill or smoker. The same report put ownership at 80% among all U.S. homeowners. For context, household ownership was 64% in 2019. These are different populations, so the household and homeowner percentages should not be treated as interchangeable.
Canada also had broad participation: 70% of Canadian households owned a grill, according to the same HPBA report. Among grill owners, 38% had purchased a new grill during the prior two years. Of those recent buyers, 27% said they bought because they were cooking at home more during the pandemic period.
Equipment preferences changed within the two-year comparison reported by HPBA. Charcoal grill ownership rose from 49% in 2019 to 65% in 2021, while gas grill ownership held at 63% in 2021. Wood pellet grill ownership increased from 3% to 9% over two years. Those figures describe ownership categories, not the share of cooking sessions or the proportion of meat smoked.
Why people grill and when they cook outdoors
Flavor was the leading reason for grilling in the HPBA 2022 survey: 57% of grill owners cited it. Lifestyle followed at 40%, while 33% cited entertainment. Convenience was a reason for 29%, and 23% described grilling as a hobby. The results suggest that outdoor cooking serves both practical and social purposes, alongside the taste associated with smoke and live-fire cooking.
The survey also recorded cooking across a wide calendar. Nearly 30% of grill owners cooked out for the Super Bowl. The latest Fourth of July figure was 54%, down from 68% previously. Labor Day reached 47%, Memorial Day 44%, and Father’s Day 34%.
Grilling was not limited to summer holidays. Twenty percent of grill owners grilled on Thanksgiving, 14% on Valentine’s Day, and 14% on New Year’s Day. Christmas or Hanukkah reached 11%. During the pandemic period, 12% grilled for brunch and 7% grilled for breakfast, according to the HPBA 2022 State of the Barbecue Industry.
Outdoor cooking spaces
The HPBA 2024 Hearth Consumer Market Report, cited through HPBA patio tips, describes outdoor cooking as part of a broader outdoor-living setup. Among surveyed outdoor hearth owners, 83% reported owning a BBQ grill or outdoor kitchen, and the same 83% also had outdoor furniture. Outdoor lighting appeared among 61% of respondents.
Other outdoor-space features were also common. Garden decor was reported by 43%, outdoor storage solutions by 42%, and sunshades or awnings by 28%. Outdoor heating was present for 20% of surveyed owners.
Future plans were widespread: 79% said they planned additional outdoor-space upgrades in the year ahead. The reasons for choosing hearth products included creating a more attractive outdoor area for 64% of respondents and enhancing entertaining space for 58%. Forty-nine percent wanted to extend outdoor time with added warmth. Smaller shares selected expanding the home’s living space, at 16%, or increasing property value, at 8%.
| Outdoor feature or motivation | Share reported |
|---|---|
| BBQ grill or outdoor kitchen | 83% |
| Outdoor furniture | 83% |
| Outdoor lighting | 61% |
| Garden decor | 43% |
| Outdoor storage | 42% |
| Planned upgrades in the year ahead | 79% |
| More attractive outdoor area | 64% |
| Enhanced entertaining space | 58% |
These percentages come from the surveyed outdoor hearth-owner population in the HPBA 2024 Hearth Consumer Market Report; they are not estimates of all households.
Pellet grills and Traeger market figures
Traeger’s 2024 Form 10-K provides company-specific and market estimates that help put pellet grilling in context. Traeger estimated that 76 million U.S. households owned a grill and reported U.S. household penetration of 3.6% for its brand. The company said approximately 2.7 million Traeger grills were sold in the United States from 2020 through 2024. Its app had been installed on more than 3.5 million mobile devices.
Traeger said it invented the original wood pellet grill in 1987. Its D2 Direct Drive system was described as maintaining grill temperature within plus or minus 5 degrees of the set temperature. The company’s integrated platform included six product types, and it offered eight primary grill lines in 2024.
The company’s 2024 revenue figures show how grills, consumables, and accessories contributed to the business:
| Traeger measure | 2024 figure |
|---|---|
| Total revenue | $604.1 million |
| Grill revenue | $324.7 million |
| Consumables revenue | $119.3 million |
| Accessories revenue | $160.1 million |
| Gross profit | $255.5 million |
| Gross margin | 42.3% |
Grills represented 53.8% of Traeger’s revenue in 2024, compared with 49.4% in 2023. Grill revenue increased by $25.4 million, or 8.5%, year over year, and the company said grill unit volume grew by more than 30% in 2024. Total revenue declined by $1.8 million, or 0.3%, versus 2023.
Traeger reported $109.7 million in sales and marketing expense and $113.5 million in general and administrative expense for 2024. At year-end, it had $15.0 million in cash and cash equivalents, $125.0 million of borrowing capacity under its revolving credit facility, and up to $30.0 million under its receivables financing agreement. It reported $403.6 million outstanding under its First Lien Term Loan Facility.
Smoking temperatures and time
USDA FSIS guidance in Smoking Meat and Poultry identifies 40 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit as the danger zone for smoked meat. The guidance says smoker air temperature should remain between 225 and 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Smoking meat or poultry can take 4 to 8 hours, depending on the food and cooking conditions.
Preparation and holding times matter as well. USDA FSIS says meat or poultry should be completely thawed before smoking. After removal from the smoker, smoked meat and poultry should be refrigerated within 2 hours.
For charcoal setups, USDA FSIS says charcoal should be red hot with gray ash after about 10 to 20 minutes. Its guidance describes adding about 15 briquettes every hour when smoking with charcoal. For a covered grill, it says about 50 briquettes should be piled in the center of the heat grate, with about 10 briquettes added every hour. About one-half cup of wood chips or flakes may be added as desired.
Sauce timing is also quantified: USDA FSIS says sauce should be applied during the last 15 to 30 minutes of smoking. Applying it in that window keeps the stated guidance tied to the final stage of the cook rather than treating sauce as an all-day addition.
Safe internal temperatures and handling
USDA FSIS sets different endpoint temperatures for different meat categories. Beef, pork, lamb, and veal steaks, chops, and roasts should reach 145 degrees Fahrenheit and rest for at least 3 minutes before carving or eating. Ground beef, pork, lamb, and veal should reach 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Poultry should reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
| Food category | Internal temperature | Additional USDA FSIS guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Beef, pork, lamb, and veal steaks, chops, and roasts | 145°F | Rest at least 3 minutes |
| Ground beef, pork, lamb, and veal | 160°F | Endpoint for ground meat |
| Poultry | 165°F | Endpoint for poultry |
These temperatures are safety targets from USDA FSIS, not predictions of tenderness or a guarantee that every cut will finish at the same time. For wild game cooking, the relevant category and the cut’s form still matter: a whole cut and ground meat have different listed endpoint temperatures.
Meat composition and USDA research methods
USDA ARS material titled Cooking Yields Meat and Poultry includes several quantified details about meat composition and experimental methods. For cured ham, the cited categories include at least 20.5% protein in the lean area for cured ham, at least 18.5% protein for ham with natural juices, and at least 17% protein plus 10% added solution for ham with water added. USDA also states that a ham-and-water product contains more water than ham with water added. The material classifies cured hams into four categories and samples eight different ham product categories from 12 retail outlets nationwide.
The USDA ARS ground-beef study used three fat categories: under 12%, 12% to 22%, and over 22% fat. In its first phase, samples came from 24 retail outlets nationwide; a second phase updated the data using 12 nationwide retail locations. USDA ARS cooked all ground-beef patties to 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
The first cooking protocol included several measured durations. Broiled ground-beef patties cooked for 8.7 minutes, pan-broiled patties for 11.75 minutes, ground-beef crumbles for 5.3 minutes, and a beef loaf for 41 minutes. For selected beef cuts, USDA ARS preheated the grill to 383 degrees Fahrenheit and removed grilled beef when its internal temperature reached 158 degrees Fahrenheit. It roasted beef to 140 degrees Fahrenheit in a 325-degree oven and braised beef in a 325-degree Dutch oven before simmering it to 185 degrees Fahrenheit.
The broader selected-cuts beef study used 13 raw and cooked retail cuts and sampled 20 carcasses from two packing plants. Some beef samples were refrigerated at 36 to 39 degrees Fahrenheit for 24 plus or minus 1 hour before dissection. These are study procedures and sample descriptions from USDA ARS material, so they should be read as research-method details rather than universal cooking instructions.