Grills Spark Many Debates
May 13th, 2010 by Kathy
While you’re getting your patio furniture, picnic tables, and grills ready for all of the cookouts that are in store this summer, remember that you’ll also have to be prepared for the arguments that will inevitably take place at many of these gatherings.
Now, I’m not talking about nasty squabbles, or drunken brawls. No-o! I’m referring to the disagreements over the cooking of the food, which always seem to arise, especially when there are a lot of “armchair quarterbacks” (or, in these cases, “Adirondack chair chefs”) present. These are normally friendly debates, which can be about anything, from the best cooking techniques, to whether gas grills or charcoal grills are better, to whose barbecue apron has the funniest saying.
Among the most common disputes, however, is the difference between barbecuing and grilling. While many people use these words interchangeably, they really do have separate meanings. One of the best ways to describe the two methods is to say that grilling is high and fast, while barbecuing is low and slow. Naturally, to some, these distinctions are unimportant; but, to those who consider themselves barbecue aficionados, they are crucial.
With all of the varying opinions about the real meaning of the word, barbecue, it seems only appropriate that its etymology is also a source of heated discussion. Of course, it’s no surprise, as this is the case with countless other words in this language.
Although several theories have been offered, most authorities agree that the word, barbecue, is derived from the West Indian word, barbacoa, which is a raised platform or framework for supporting meat that is being slow-cooked over hot coals that have been placed beneath it. It is believed that the colonists adopted this way of slow-roasting meat, and that barbacoa became barbecue in the vernacular of the early settlers.
While the natives, who were first observed using the barbacoa, often cooked venison and whole turkeys, in the South, where many claim that the barbecue, as we know it, originated, pork became the staple of the spit. This is understandable, because, in the “barbecue belt” states, which include Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, pigs were an omnipresent source of food.
They were also low-maintenance, as there was little or no cost involved in feeding them. They carelessly roamed free, uh, pigging out, on whatever they found on their own. Oh, yeah, that was the life! Unfortunately, they didn’t realize that they were effectively fattening themselves up for their own slaughters, which were festive occasions, wherein entire communities were invited to share in the food and celebrations. This is thought to be the way that the traditional Southern barbecue originated.
In the ensuing years, all of the ingredients of the barbecue, including rubs, sauces, woods used for smoking the meat, the types of meat, and everything else involved in its preparation, have varied, not only from state to state, but from region to region.
So, it’s no wonder that the definition of a true barbecue is such a bone of contention!
Yours Outdoors,
Kathy
