Barbecues – Where Did It All Begin?
Barbecuing is a global phenomenon but where did it all begin..?
Woah Cowboy
Some say barbecues really began in the late 1800s when the Wild West's cowboys chowed down on rough cuts of meat while on cattle drives. Cuts so tough that only a considerable amount of tenderizing would allow for the meat to be chewed and swallowed successfully. Chewy, tough briskets would take more than five hours to tenderize - a pretty long time for any dusty cowboy to wait for his well-earned supper.
But, while the cowboys certainly enjoyed their slow-cooked meats, barbecues go way back before the time of swinging saloon doors and the OK Coral. so far back in fact, that it can't have been long after rubbing a couple of sticks together and being faced with their first flames, that our ancestors discovered the joy of cooking meat on an open fire.
Back to Barabicu
The origin of the word barbecue - or barbeque, BBQ, Barbie, or braiia as it's known in South Africa - is not set in stone. But, the common consensus is that the word originates from 'barabicu', meaning 'sacred fire pit'. This word was used by the Taino people of the Caribbean and the Native American Timucua of Florida.
This sacred fire pit was a hole in the ground covered with leaves, in which the people would put their meat, set it alight and slow cook it.
Another suggestion for the origin of the word 'barbecue' was that it derived from the French barbe queue, meaning beard to tail, after French visitors to the Caribbean saw a whole pig being roasted. This is now considered highly unlikely and simply a case of words sounding alike.
Pig Roasts and the Southern States
Whatever the exact origins of the word, one thing is for sure, barbecues became big business, or should that be pig business? This was due in part to the pigs in the southern states of North America. These pigs were a readily available food and were low maintenance, but were semi-wild and their meat was much tougher than our modern day, reared hogs. Barbecuing was a way of cooking the pigs and getting the most from the meat.
With stringy pigs to be eaten, barbecues soon became the preferred way of feeding a large group of people and locals would gather together to eat the pigs. In the mid 1800s plantation owners would hold large barbecues and in the nineteenth century, barbecues became popular at political rallies and church picnics, as well as at private parties.
There was no denying it - the Southern States loved their BBQs. and still do. As does the rest of the USA.
The World Wide BBQ
Despite being the epicentre of the barbecue, the USA doesn't hold the monopoly. Citizens around the world enjoy feasting on food cooked over the heat of a fire. And many of these citizens will lay claim that it was their ancestors who invented the barbecue. Though in truth, anyone with access to fire can claim it for themselves.
Barbecues are a long and proud tradition. In Argentina the 'gauchos' who work the cattle on the Pampa plains eat asados - grilled meats - in the open air. In Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, barbecues are known as asados after these meat staples.
In Greece, barbecues play an important role during the annual Easter celebrations with spit roast lamb taking centre stage. some are put on modern motorized rotisseries but others are turned by hand for hours. Family and friends are called on to take turns winding the arm and the barbecue is the centerpiece for a wonderful party.
The Australians love their barbies so much that free or coin operated barbecues are available in many of their city parks - which means they can, and they do, throw another prawn on the barbie.
All the President's Burgers
But, while we can all lay claim to the barbecue to a certain extent, there are few people who can say they've seen their president or prime minister getting to grips with a chicken wing or pork sausage. unlike the Americans.
Barbecues have been a White House tradition for years. it was Lyndon B Johnson who first threw a BBQ there, dishing up barbecues ribs.
In the 1970s Jimmy Carter and his wife gave a 'pig pickin' for 500 guests including many foreign dignitaries, many of whom probably didn't know their ribs from their sausages. And ex cowboy actor and later president Ronald Reagan often invited guests to his ranch for a barbecue feast.
George H Bush loved to hold an annual barbecue for the Members of Congress and his son, George W Bush, continued the tradition when he later became president.
This traditional BBQ was halted on September 12 2001, the day after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. The barbecue was cancelled and the White House gave the 700 pounds of beef tenderloin that had been bought for the event to the hundreds of rescue workers who had come to Washington to help.
What Exactly is Barbecue?
Gert Van as asked:
Barbecue is one of those crazy words that means different things to different folk. On one hand, fast food restaurants claim anything with BBQ sauce smeared on it is barbecue. On the other hand, hard-core backyard barbecuers (who tend to be a real particular bunch) think only a particular cut of meat with a particular sauce cooked in a particular way over a particular wood counts as barbecue. Smoking and grilling just confuse things more, are they different from barbecuing, or different types of barbeque?
Well, this article will try to clear all this up for you, describing just what exactly barbeque means. There's a bit of an argument over whether "barbecue" is a noun (a type of food) or a verb (a method of cooking). Personally, I'd argue that it is both, a cooking style AND a type of food (that, contrary to popular belief, does not necessarily include BBQ sauce). True barbeque cooking requires four things. First a barbecue almost always cooks meat (with some exception, like corn on the cob or potatoes). Second, it is generally cooked outdoors (but we'll make an exception for restaurants that build special indoor cookers). Third, meat cooked over a live fire, not in an oven or on a stove. Fourth, real, true barbecue is cooked slowly with indirect heat at a low temperature.
It's for this reason that grilling is not barbeque (and all you suburbanite grillers are free to slap me with your spatulas for saying that). In grilling, meat is cooked quickly (in minutes) over direct heat at a high temperature (5000F or over). In barbecue, meat is cooked slowly (in hours) in indirect heat at a low temperature (between 2000F and 2500F). Smoking counts as BBQ, it meets all the requirements listed above but is a specialized type that includes aromatic smoke to flavor the meat. Now, you may ask (and rightly so) how the end result of barbecue meat is different from, say, oven-roasted or pan-seared meat. The answer is that barbeque meat is extremely tender and juicy.
The low-temperature, indirect heat helps prevent the meat from drying out, keeping it juicy. The long, slow cooking time breaks down the collagen in the meat, making even the tougher cuts of meat nice and tender for easy eating. What most folks don't realize (including some hard-core barbecuers themselves) is that the marinade, ribs, bastes, and sauces of barbecue cooking are all designed toward this ultimate goal of tender and juicy meat. Marinades almost always include an acidic base ingredient, such as vinegar, lemon juice (or some other citric acid), wine, or even beer. During the long, multi-hour soak, these acids tenderize the meat by breaking down the tissue, making it more tender and allowing the meat to absorb more moisture for a juicer end product when barbecue. The rib almost always contains a healthy dose of salt, which draws the meat juices to the surface and prevents it from drying out. The basting BBQ sauces, usually applied in the later stages of cooking, frequently contain some form of sugar (brown sugar, molasses, or honey), which caramelizes around the meat from the heat and seals in the juices (olive and other oils produces the same effect).
Even the barbecue sauces (which in the United States are either tomato or vinegar based) both contain acids that continue to break down the meat, keeping it tender and moist even while being eaten. A final distinctive element of barbecue meat is a smoky flavor. Cooking over a live fire allows the meat to absorb the smoke from burning wood. Even when cooking over charcoal briquettes or gas instead of wood, the meat still gains at least a hint of that indefinable charbroil taste. Smoking, of course, is a specialized form of barbecue that purposefully tries to emphasize the smoky flavor. So that's what barbeque is, meat cooked low and slow until it's tender and juicy. Different cultures in different countries have their own homegrown barbeque tastes and traditions, but we'll describe those in the next article.
Barbecue is one of those crazy words that means different things to different folk. On one hand, fast food restaurants claim anything with BBQ sauce smeared on it is barbecue. On the other hand, hard-core backyard barbecuers (who tend to be a real particular bunch) think only a particular cut of meat with a particular sauce cooked in a particular way over a particular wood counts as barbecue. Smoking and grilling just confuse things more, are they different from barbecuing, or different types of barbeque?
Well, this article will try to clear all this up for you, describing just what exactly barbeque means. There's a bit of an argument over whether "barbecue" is a noun (a type of food) or a verb (a method of cooking). Personally, I'd argue that it is both, a cooking style AND a type of food (that, contrary to popular belief, does not necessarily include BBQ sauce). True barbeque cooking requires four things. First a barbecue almost always cooks meat (with some exception, like corn on the cob or potatoes). Second, it is generally cooked outdoors (but we'll make an exception for restaurants that build special indoor cookers). Third, meat cooked over a live fire, not in an oven or on a stove. Fourth, real, true barbecue is cooked slowly with indirect heat at a low temperature.
It's for this reason that grilling is not barbeque (and all you suburbanite grillers are free to slap me with your spatulas for saying that). In grilling, meat is cooked quickly (in minutes) over direct heat at a high temperature (5000F or over). In barbecue, meat is cooked slowly (in hours) in indirect heat at a low temperature (between 2000F and 2500F). Smoking counts as BBQ, it meets all the requirements listed above but is a specialized type that includes aromatic smoke to flavor the meat. Now, you may ask (and rightly so) how the end result of barbecue meat is different from, say, oven-roasted or pan-seared meat. The answer is that barbeque meat is extremely tender and juicy.
The low-temperature, indirect heat helps prevent the meat from drying out, keeping it juicy. The long, slow cooking time breaks down the collagen in the meat, making even the tougher cuts of meat nice and tender for easy eating. What most folks don't realize (including some hard-core barbecuers themselves) is that the marinade, ribs, bastes, and sauces of barbecue cooking are all designed toward this ultimate goal of tender and juicy meat. Marinades almost always include an acidic base ingredient, such as vinegar, lemon juice (or some other citric acid), wine, or even beer. During the long, multi-hour soak, these acids tenderize the meat by breaking down the tissue, making it more tender and allowing the meat to absorb more moisture for a juicer end product when barbecue. The rib almost always contains a healthy dose of salt, which draws the meat juices to the surface and prevents it from drying out. The basting BBQ sauces, usually applied in the later stages of cooking, frequently contain some form of sugar (brown sugar, molasses, or honey), which caramelizes around the meat from the heat and seals in the juices (olive and other oils produces the same effect).
Even the barbecue sauces (which in the United States are either tomato or vinegar based) both contain acids that continue to break down the meat, keeping it tender and moist even while being eaten. A final distinctive element of barbecue meat is a smoky flavor. Cooking over a live fire allows the meat to absorb the smoke from burning wood. Even when cooking over charcoal briquettes or gas instead of wood, the meat still gains at least a hint of that indefinable charbroil taste. Smoking, of course, is a specialized form of barbecue that purposefully tries to emphasize the smoky flavor. So that's what barbeque is, meat cooked low and slow until it's tender and juicy. Different cultures in different countries have their own homegrown barbeque tastes and traditions, but we'll describe those in the next article.
