GEL, IGNITE!:

Neither snow nor ice will keep griller from his task (Rob Kasper, 3/08/07, LA Times)

As a hard-core griller, I try not to let bad weather stop me from starting backyard fires. For a time, I thought my winter grilling habit marked me as a smoky-smelling fanatic. Then I read the results of a national survey that reported 54 percent of grill owners say they fire up all year long.

Of course, grilling on a sunny Florida patio in February is a much different experience than cooking in a frigid Maryland backyard. The pollsters did not ask these year-round grillers if, like me, they sometimes have to dress like they are climbing Mount Everest.

Nonetheless, I embraced the results of this survey -- conducted in 2004 by Harris Interactive for the makers of Weber Grills -- as proof that I am part of the American mainstream.

Scott Smith is another admitted cold-weather griller. Smith owns Big Bad Wolf's House of Barbeque on the 5700 block of Harford Road.

He said that while his restaurant fare is cooked indoors, his home cooking often involves sprinting to a spot in the backyard where he keeps a barbecue cooker. "It is the first spot of the sidewalk that gets cleared of snow," Smith said. "Cooking over an open fire produces the best flavor, so what else are you going to do?"

In a bow to the power of Mother Nature, Smith does alter his backyard cooking style during the cold months. "I don't do smoking; that is too lengthy, and I don't want to be outside that long," he said.

It's not Winter grilling until the propane freezes.

Posted by Orrin Judd at March 9, 2007 7:06 AM