With the summer months on the horizon and temperatures ratcheting up by the day, the prime season for grilling is fast approaching.
In Missouri, the go-to choice for such occasions seems to be a handheld hamburger, with the Show Me State eschewing the most popular meat option (ribs) in its choice.
Overall, ribs were the most popular cookout meat when broken down on a state-by-state basis (19 states), compared to 10 states apiece that chose hamburgers and hot dogs. Six states picked wings and five more selected chicken as their choice of favorite grilling options.
BetMissouri.com, your source for Missouri sports betting coverage, utilized Google Trends to determine the most searched main meal for cookouts in each state.
The following meals were included once the top 5 most popular cookout foods were determined, based on search history in the summer — wings, hamburger, hot dog, ribs and grilled chicken.
After completing the trends over the past five years (from April 1 to Sept. 1 each year), we were able to average out the results to get the top cookout foods for each state.
Favorite Cookout Meal By State
- Ribs (19 states): Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming
- Hamburgers (10 states): Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico and Oklahoma
- Hot Dogs (10 states): Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Virginia and West Virginia
- Wings (6 states): Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Pennsylvania
- Grilled Chicken (5 states): Hawaii, Indiana, Montana, North Dakota and Vermont
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How Missouri’s Cookout Choice Compares
Overall, Missouri residents went with the No. 2 choice in terms of popularity for their go-to cookout meat.
It appears the love of hamburgers bridges the Missouri River divide, with the Show Me State and Kansas both choosing it as their favorite cookout meat.
Other states that chose hamburgers over ribs, hot dogs, wings and grilled chicken were Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
It seems like hamburgers are a must-have item in the heartland, with Iowa and Nebraska also choosing the meat-and-bun as their cookout meal de jour.
Regionally, North Dakota was the only state to choose grilled chicken as their favorite cookout meat, while Illinois residents picked hot dogs and respondents from Colorado, Mississippi, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming were among those that went with ribs as their favorite. Prepare to cook these favorite foods this upcoming NFL season. If you are lucky, you may even be able to place a bet with BetMGM Missouri.
Author
Christopher Boan is a lead writer for BetMissouri.com, specializing in covering state issues. He has covered sports and sports betting in Arizona for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
