BBQ season trends for summer 2023
BBQ trend factors
Whether you’re looking for new ideas for your next BBQ or you want to go against the grain, BBQ season trends can provide useful information. Trends can include BBQ cooking techniques, meats, accompaniments, specific tools, and more. In the UK, our love of BBQ continues to grow year-on-year, leading to defining trends.
In this blog, we’ll be looking at the BBQ season trends to watch in 2023, where they come from, and if we think you should follow them.
BBQ trend factors
Trends come and go all the time in areas of cultural significance – movies, art, sport, architecture, and of course, food. A BBQ season can be affected by many factors internal and external to the culinary world. These trends often manifest around summer as, at least in the UK, that’s when the weather is best for outdoor cooking.
Trends in food are changing constantly due to consumer preferences and needs. However, there are factors that are consistently responsible for spawning these trends. For the past few years, the following have been the responsible for driving change in BBQ seasons, including in 2023.
Social media
Video sharing is one of the biggest sources of engagement for social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok. In some cases, individuals have created entire online communities by posting cooking videos. You just have to look at examples like Salt Bae, Joshua Weissman, Nick DiGiovanni, and many more.
This format works brilliantly for food and drink recipes, as users get a visual walkthrough of the process. In many cases, social media is a source of inspiration for home cooks and novices alike. Social media also serves as a more digestible way to view recipes, with viewers able to interact with their favourite celebrities and online personalities.
Of course, many trends start on social media because users have many straightforward options to share content. If someone sees a BBQ recipe they like, they can post a story of them making it, share a link, or post about it and tag the author.
Restaurants
As BBQ becomes more and more popular among a mainstream audience, restaurants have a bigger influence on season trends. Chefs are innovators who will create new dishes and techniques regularly. Oftentimes one of these will become a staple among restaurants across the board. Once it starts being imitated by customers, the dish/cooking method/ingredient becomes a trend. This can itself start due to other trends like those that relate to health and fitness.
Economic climate
The Covid-19 pandemic saw many people get accustomed to cooking at home and seeking ways to make regular meals more interesting. We can’t think of a better way to create a special experience at home than by having a BBQ. Money is another economic factor that affects people’s spending habits, including on food. People tend to eat out less when money is tighter, leading to a greater focus on home BBQ.
2023 BBQ season trends
Aside from the general growth in popularity of BBQ in the UK, we’ve noticed some other trends that are bound to appear in the 2023 season.
More grilling options
In 2023, there are more ways to go about BBQ cooking than the classic charcoal grill. Many people value the convenience that comes with gas powered grills. We also expect to see people branch out further by using air fryers, the sous-vide method and pizza ovens. This is in the name of increasing the variety of dishes that can be served at a BBQ.
Global flavours
The UK has always been a diverse place that supports many cultures. One of the main ways we do this is through embracing a wide variety of herbs and spices. For example, Korean BBQ restaurants have seen increased success lately, so it seems reasonable to expect people to try and recreate its flavours.
BBQ is a globally loved practice. As such, many countries will popularise certain cuts of meat that are then accepted globally. One of the examples we stock is our whole Picanha. This is helped by local and online butchers, most of which offer unique BBQ rubs and sauces too.
Unique cuts
This is an interesting double trend of people moving away from basic burgers and sausages, but also from classic beef cuts. We therefore predict people will choose cheaper cuts for BBQ beef and focus more on cooking methods to achieve great results.
Also included in this trend is more people opting to make their own burger patties. Grinding your own beef mince alone allows for a great deal of customisation. People are then free to add whatever herbs and seasonings they prefer.
Fruit and veg
Meat-free options continue to develop and be commonplace in more cooking methods, and this extends to BBQ. As a result, more and more people are discovering how charring with direct heat can enhance vegetables. Stuffed peppers and mushrooms are just a couple examples of wonderful meat-free BBQ inclusions. Eating more fruit and vegetables is a widely accepted way to reduce weight, which can be a priority for some people during the summer.
Experienced online butchers
You best believe we’re following the current BBQ season trends to help you create the ultimate BBQ experience. The Village Butcher works with local farmers across the UK to provide you with the highest quality BBQ meats. This means we have our finger on the pulse of BBQ season trends.