Barbecue

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Barbecues :: Barbecue_Sauce :: Barbecue_and_Grilling :: Barbecues_and_Grills :: Barbecue

Barbecue (also barbeque, abbreviated BBQ or diminuted chiefly in Australia to barbie) is a method and apparatus for cooking food, often meat, with the heat and hot gases of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of charcoal and may include application of a vinegar or tomato-based sauce to the meat. The term as a noun can refer to foods cooked by this method, to the cooker itself, or to a party that includes such food. The term is also used as a verb for the act of cooking food in this manner. Barbecue is usually cooked in an outdoor environment heated by the smoke of wood or charcoal, or with propane and similar gases. Restaurant barbecue may be cooked in large brick or metal ovens specially designed for that purpose.

Barbecue has numerous regional variations in many parts of the world. Notably, in the South and Midwest of the U.S., practitioners consider barbecue to include only relatively indirect methods of cooking, with the more direct high-heat methods to be called grilling.

For those that distinguish between the terms, grilling is almost always a fast process over high heat and barbecue is almost always a slow process using indirect heat and/or hot smoke. For example, in a typical home grill, grilled foods are cooked on a grate directly over hot charcoal; while in barbecuing, the coals are dispersed to the sides or at significant distance from the grate. Alternately, an apparatus called a smoker with a separate fire box may be used. Hot smoke is drawn past the meat by convection for very slow cooking. This is essentially how barbecue is cooked in most genuine "barbecue" restaurants, but nevertheless many consider this to be a distinct cooking process called smoking.

The slower methods of cooking break down the collagen in meat and tenderize tougher cuts for easier eating.

Etymology

The origin of both the barbecue cooking activity and term are somewhat obscure. The word itself varies in spelling; variations include barbeque, BBQ, and Bar-B-Q. In Australia, the word is often shortened to barbie.

A plausible origin for the word, originally provided in a 1970s French television series by Alain Bombard (French navigator who crossed the Atlantic Ocean single-handed in a rubber inflatable raft, subsequently Socialist politician and Mayor in France), ascribes provenance to the French West-Indies: French Pirates (also called: "Boucaniers" or Buccaneers - from the French "Bouc", or Male-Goat) would habitually impale their goats on spits and roast them on an open-fire. The goats were impaled "de la barbe au cul" (from beard to butt) and thus barbe-cul = barbecu = Barbecue (the "L" in cul is silent in French).

Smoky Hale, author of The Great American Barbecue and Grilling Manual, claims that the Taíno of the Caribbean used a term "Taíno barabicoa" which means "The sticks with four legs and many sticks of wood on top to place the cooking meat." There is also the Taíno word "barabicu", which translates as "sacred fire pit".The Great American Barbecue and Grilling Manual by Smoky Hale. Abacus Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0936171030. In one form, barabicoa or barbicoa indicates a wooden grill or a mesh of sticks; in another, barabicu, it is a sacred fire pit.

Traditional barbicoa implies digging a hole in the ground putting some meat (goat is the best, usually the whole animal) on it with a pot underneath (to catch the concentrated juices, it makes a hearty broth), cover all with maguey leaves then cover with coal and set on fire. A few hours later it is ready.

While not everyone agrees that barbecue originated with the Taíno, researchers do generally agree that barbecue originated in the Caribbean. There is ample evidence that the word and technique migrated out of the Caribbean and into and through other cultures and languages (with the word itself moving from Caribean dialects into Spanish, then French, then English in the Americas). This would mean that the word "slowly evolved from barbacoa to barbecue and barbeque and bar-b-que and bar-b-q and bbq."The Marrow of the Bone of Contention: A Barbecue Journal by Jake Adam York. storySouth, winter 2003. Accessed 1-26-06.

In the Southern United States, the word "barbecue" is used predominantly as a noun which specifically refers to roast pork (which is then chopped, pulled, or sliced, depending on region, and served with a tomato, vinegar or mustard-based sauce). Many in this region believe the term BBQ resulted from when roadhouses and beer joints with pool tables advertised "Bar, Beer, and Cues." This phrase was shortened over time to BBCue, then BBQ.Barebecue, BBQ by Cliff Lowe, from inmamaskitchen.com. Accessed 1-26-06. Other barbecue supporters believe the word "barbeque" is a result of a gradual misunderstanding of the "BBQ" abbreviation. Due to this abbreviation, with the third syllable "-cue" being represented by the identically-sounding letter "Q," people came to believe that the word was spelled "barbeque."

History

The American South

In the Southern United States, barbecue initially revolved around the cooking of pork. During the 19th century, pigs were a low-maintenance food source that could be released to forage for themselves in forests and woodlands. When food or meat supplies were low, these semi-wild pigs could then be caught and eaten.The History of Barbecue in the South from the American Studies website of the University of Virginia. Accessed 1-26-06.

According to estimates, prior to the American Civil War Southerners ate around five pounds of pork for every one pound of beef they consumed.Eating, Drinking and Visiting in the Old South by Joe Gray Taylor. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1982. Page 27. Because of the poverty of the southern United States at this time, every part of the pig was eaten immediately or saved for later (including the ears, feet and other organs). Because of the effort to capture and cook these wild hogs, "pig slaughtering became a time for celebration, and the neighborhood would be invited to share in the largesse. These feasts are sometimes called "pig-pickin's." The traditional Southern barbecue grew out of these gatherings."The History of Barbecue in the South from the American Studies website of the University of Virginia. Accessed 1-26-06.

In the rural south, slaves were given the less desirable parts of the pig, (such as the ribs and shoulders) which they would cook by either smoking or pit barbecue.

Events and gatherings

The word barbecue is also used to refer to a casual event, usually outdoors or with an outdoor theme, serving food which has been barbecued on the premises. Grilled foods and side dishes may also be served. For this reason many people mistake any outdoor cooking, including grilling, as barbecue, which is frowned upon by devotees. The device used for cooking barbecue can usually be used for both barbecuing and grilling and is often called a barbecue grill by those unaccustomed to slow barbecue, thereby adding to the confusion.

In parts of the United States, outdoor social and family gatherings where food is grilled and served are often referred to as "cook-outs" or "grill-outs" instead of as "barbecues."
In Australia, the barbeque (note Australian spelling) - or as it is sometimes referred to in Australian slang as a barbie - is an important cultural expression of the outdoor lifestyle and social interaction. Australian celebrity Paul Hogan is famous for his phrase "I'll slip an extra shrimp on the barbie for you" in tourism advertising. Among other things, Australians will usually cook basic meats such as snags (sausages), chops and steaks, and it is often accompanied by beer, conversation and other activities, such as a social kick of the footy or a game of social cricket.

Techniques

Wood

The choice and combination of woods burned result in different flavors imparted to the meat. Different types of wood burn at different rates. The heat also varies by the amount of wood and controlling the rate of burn through careful venting. Wood and charcoal are sometimes combined to optimize smoke flavor and consistent burning.

Charcoal

This generally begins with purchasing a commercial bag of processed charcoal briquettes. An alternative to charcoal briquettes is lump charcoal. Lump charcoal is wood that has been turned into charcoal but unlike briquets it has not been ground and shaped. Lump charcoal is a pure form of charcoal and is preferred by many purists who dislike artificial binders used to hold briquets in their shape.

A charcoal chimney starter is a traditional method for getting a consistent heat from your coals. Another method is to use an electric iron to heat the coals. Another common method is to soak the charcoal with petroleum-based lighter fluid (or use pretreated briquettes) and light them in a pyramid formation. Although this last method is one of the quickest and most portable, it can impart undesirable chemical flavors to the meat. Using denatured alcohol ("methyl hydrate", "methylated spirit") instead of commercial petroleum-based lighter fluids avoids this problem.

Once all coals are ashed-over (generally 15-25 minutes, depending on starting technique), they can be spread around the perimeter of the grill with the meat placed in the center for indirect cooking, or piled together for direct cooking. Water-soaked wood chips (such as mesquite, hickory, or fruit trees) can be added to the coals for flavor. As with wood barbecuing, the temperature of the grill is controlled by the amount and distribution of coal within the grill and through careful venting.

For long cooks (up to 18 hours), many cooks find success with the "Minion Method", usually performed in a smoker. The idea involves putting a small number of hot coals on top of a full chamber of unlit briquettes. The burning coals will gradually light the unlit coals. By leaving the top air vent all the way open and adjusting the lower vents, a constant temperature of 225 can easily be achieved for up to 18 hours.

Natural gas and propane

Gas grills are easy to light. The heat is easy to control (via knob-controlled gas valves on the burners), so the outcome is very predictable. They result in a very consistent result, although some charcoal and wood purists argue it lacks the flavors available only from cooking with charcoal. Advocates of gas grills claim that gas cooking lets you "taste the meat, not the heat" because it is claimed that charcoal grills may deposit traces of coal tar on the food. Many grills are equipped with thermometers, further simplifying the barbecuing experience. However propane and natural gas produce a "wet" heat that can change the texture of foods cooked over such fuels.

Gas grills are significantly more expensive due to their added complexity, and higher heat. They are also considered much cleaner as they do not result in ashes (which must be disposed of) and also in terms of air pollution. Proper maintenance may further help reduce pollution.

Other uses

The term barbecue is also used to designate the flavor added to foodstuffs, the most prominent of which are potato chips.

References

External links

Barbecue | American cuisine | Australian culture | Meals

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