'
Barbecue' has many
regional variations, based on several factors:
★ the type of
meat used
★ the
sauce or other
flavoring added to the meat
★ when the flavoring is added during preparation
★ the role that
smoke plays in preparation
★ the equipment and
fuel used to cook the meat
★ how much
time is spent cooking the meat
At its most generic, any source of
protein may be used, including
beef,
pork,
poultry, and
fish. The meat could be ground, as with
hamburger, processed into
sausage or
kebabs, and/or accompanied by
vegetables. Sometimes the cut of meat (e.g.
brisket or
ribs) matters; sometimes the cut is irrelevant. The meat may be
marinated or rubbed with
spices before cooking, basted with a sauce or oil before and/or during cooking, and/or flavored in numerous ways after being removed from the heat. Occasionally, vegetarian alternatives to meat, such as
soyburgers and
mushroom caps, are prepared similarly.
Typically meat is covered with
barbecue sauce. Vinegar-base sauce is typical of
Southern United States barbecue, while tomato-based sauce is
Western United States style.
Many forms of barbecuing involve tough cuts of meat that require hours of cooking over low heat that barely exceeds the boiling point of water. Some forms of barbecue use rapid cooking over high heat, being barely distinguishable from grilled meats to those who would make such a distinction. With high heat barbecuing (often called grilling), the food is placed directly above the flame or other source of heat. With low heat barbecuing, the food is off to the side and almost always under a cover, frequently with added smoke for additional flavor. It is generally agreed among the many regions of North America that indirect heat constitutes "barbecuing," while direct heat is the mark of "grilling." Outside of the US this distinction is rarely observed.
Sometimes an open flame is required, with the fuel source irrelevant. In other cases, the fuel source is critical to the end result, as when
wood chips from particular kinds of
trees are used as fuel.
Australasia
In
Australia and
New Zealand, barbecues are a popular summer pastime. Coin-operated, and increasingly free, public electric barbecues are common in city
parks.
Australasian barbecues do not usually involve the smoking or sugary sauces of an American barbecue; instead, plain or marinated meat, sausages or
Lamb chops are cooked on a grill or hot plate. Barbecuing chicken has become very popular in recent years. The barbecuing of
prawns ('
shrimp' in the USA) has become increasingly popular in Australia but was not popular at the time of the
American TV commercial featuring Australian actor
Paul Hogan.
Caribbean
Jamaican
jerk chicken is an example of barbecue. So is the
TaÃno method of slowly cooking meat over a wooden mesh of sticks.
China
In southern
China, pork barbecue is made with a marinade of honey and soy sauce, and cooked in long, narrow strips. This form of barbecue is known as
char siu. Outdoor barbecues (usually known simply as BBQ) are popular among
Hong Kong residents on short trips to the
countryside. These are invariably coal-fired, with meat (usually beef, pork, sausage, or chicken wing) simply marinated with
honey, then cooked using long, hand-held
forks. In these sense, the style and atmosphere is closer to
fondue and
hot pot.
Korea
Bulgogi (ë¶ˆê³ ê¸°) is thinly sliced
beef (and sometimes
pork or
chicken) marinated in
soy sauce, sesame oil,
garlic and chili pepper, cooked on a grill at the table. It is a main course, and is therefore served with
rice and side dishes such as
Kimchi. Bulgogi literally means "fire meat." The more common "Korean BBQ" is called kalbi, which is marinated ribs.
Middle East
Al tazaj
Israeli mangal
sorts of beef steaks, chicken parts, middle eastern kebab made from beef and lamb, hot dogs and beef burger and the known 'Shish Lik'
the mangal is the act of grilling meat on coal's outdoors and also known as "On the fire" - על ×”×ש
the meat is eaten with
pita bread,
Tehini paste,
Hummus,
israeli salad and all kinds of salads
South Asia
The
tandoor is a form of barbecue common in
Afghanistan,
Pakistan and north
India.
Southeast Asia
Satay is popular in several Southeast Asian countries: Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines. It consists of pieces of meat skewered on a bamboo stick. The meat is marinated in a mixture of spices similar to a curry mix and pulverised peanut. Most common meats are chicken, lamb and beef. In non-muslim enclaves, you will also find pork and various other satay made from animal offal.
After the meat has been cooked over a charcoal flame, it is served with a thick gooey dipping sauce made from the same mixture as the marinate for the meat(a peanuty tasting curry like mixture).
Borneo. In the mountainous regions of
North Borneo, the local Kadazan people's specialities are chicken butt satay and snake meat satay (as of 2007 this is only available under exceptional circumstances). Before 1990 it was possible to get satay of animals like
tapir,
elephants,
flying fox,
goannas and
wild boar. Unfortunately, these animals are now rare and/or endangered.
Mongolian
Nomadic Mongolians have several barbecue methods, one of them called 'Khorkhog'. They first heat palm-sized stones to a high temperature over the fire and sandwich several layers of lamb and stone in a pot. The cooking time depends on the amount of lamb used. It is believed that it's good for your health if you hold the stone used for cooking.
Another way of cooking is a "boodog" ("boo" means wrap in Mongolian). Usually
marmot (black tail prairie dog) or goats are cooked in this way. There is no pot needed for cooking "boodog", after slaughter and dressing, the innards are put back inside through a small hole and the whole carcass is cooked over the fire.
The
Mongolian barbecue often found in restaurants is a style of cooking falsely attributed to the mobile lifestyle of nomadic Mongolians. Having its origins in Taiwan in the mid to late 20th century, "Mongolian" barbecue consists of thinly sliced lamb, beef, chicken, pork, or other meat, seasonings, vegetables, and noodles, or a combination thereof, that are quickly cooked over a flat circular metal surface that has been heated.
''See also:
Mongolian cuisine''
South Africa
The
braai (abbreviation of ''braaivleis'',
Afrikaans "meat grill") started out as a major social tradition amongst the
Afrikaner people of Southern Africa, though the tradition has since been adopted by South Africans of all ethnic backgrounds. The word ''braai'' is very popular in South Africa; it replaces the standard English word ''barbecue,'' which is almost never used in South Africa, except on chips packages. One won't find ''barbecue wood'' or ''wood for the barbecue'' in the supermarket; instead one will find ''braaiwood''.
South Pacific
Every country has its own version of cuisine a la pit but some of the most legendary and continuously-practiced examples can be found in the South Pacific. In Hawaii, it’s the
luau. New Zealand’s Maori have the
hangi. Tahitians call it
hima’a. And a thousand miles away in the Marquesas Islands, there’s the
umu.
United Kingdom
Barbecuing started in the UK in the 1980s, influenced by American and Australian television and visits by Britons to
Florida and
California. Nowadays, many British people have a
barbecue if they have a garden, mostly a "kettle"-style barbecue which has a lid and wheels to move it out of a shed, although permanent brick barbecues are becoming more common.
The main foods to go on a barbecue are
chicken,
burgers,
sausages,
corn-on-the-cob, beef
steaks, fish,
kebabs and vegetarian
soya or
quorn based products. Other things to go are
salads and
relishes.
Soft drinks and
lager beer are the most common drinks for barbecues. However Modern Britain is multicultural and eclectic in culinary tastes and middle eastern, Asian and Chinese cuisine now influence the food cooked at the British barbecue. eg Highly spiced chicken served with chappatis (rotis) would now not be unusual.
United States
Although regional differences in barbecue are blurring, as are many other aspects of U.S. regional culture, variations still exist, and it is still possible to get into heated discussions of the superiority or inferiority of particular regional barbecue variants.
Alabama
In Alabama, there are currently more barbecue restaurants, per capita, than in any other US state. Alabama barbecue most often consists of pork ribs or pork shoulder, slowly cooked over hickory smoke. Pork shoulder may be served either chopped or sliced; some diners also specify a preference for either "inside" or "outside" meat. Alabama barbecue is typically served with a spicy, tomato-based sauce. Two documentary films have been made concerning the Alabama barbecue phenomenon,
"Holy Smoke over Birmingham" and
"A Taste of Hog Heaven,"
Famous Alabama barbecue restaurants include:
Dreamland Bar-B-Que
Founded in 1958 in
Tuscaloosa, there are now nine locations statewide. In the original restaurant in
Tuscaloosa, there are no side dishes, only ribs, bread, and sauce served on paper plates.
Big Bob Gibson's BBQ
Founded in 1925 in
Decatur, the people from Big Bob's have won many world championships in pork and chicken; they have also won awards for their sauces. They are particularly famous for their unique "white" sauce with a mayonnaise and vinegar base. This style of barbecue was well-documented in
Fannie Flagg's bestselling book ''
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe''.
Arkansas
Arkansas is in some ways the crossroads of American barbecue. This is largely due to its location -- firmly rooted in the
Deep South but close enough to the Midwest and Texas to incorporate Kansas City and Texas-style barbecue traits.
Like all true southern barbecue, meat is never exposed to high or direct heat. Instead it is smoked at low temperatures for long periods of time (over 24 hours for many cuts of pork).
Pork and beef appear on almost all menus, although pork is more popular in the
Delta than in the Ozarks. Arkansas-style ribs are a key attraction and similar to those had in Memphis, which lies across the Mississippi River from Arkansas.
A unique feature of barbecue in Arkansas is prevalence of chicken. Barbecue chicken, Arkansas-style, is always marinated with a "dry rub", smoked, and divided into edible portions only after it is completely cooked. Barbecue sauce is only applied by the eater.
Another characteristic of Arkansas barbecue is that a barbecued pork or beef sandwich is always served with a thin layer of
cole slaw atop and/or underneath the meat. Arkansas cole slaw, which is not as sweet or creamy as found in other states, provides a toothsome crunch and prevents the sauce from soaking into the bread. Barbecue sandwiches are traditionally served on slices of white bread. Additional cole slaw and potato salad are traditional side dishes. Unlike in other states, onion rings appear frequently as an accompaniment to an Arkansas barbecue sandwich.
The best illustration of the confluence of culinary influences that come together to make Arkansas barbecue is the sauce. Most restaurant have a thin tomato base sauce that is vinegary and peppery, much like its Deep South ancestors, but incorporates some of the sweetness found in Kansas City-style sauces. To varying degree, Arkansas sauces contain a sweetener (usually
sorghum molasses), but they are never thick and never taste syrupy. They are, however, noticeably smoother (i.e., less acidic) than eastern sauces, particularly those from eastern Carolina.
Arkansas sauces tend to be spicier than those found in other states. Most restaurants serve at least two different sorts of sauce -- “regular†and “hotâ€. The “hot†variety incorporates more pepper into the already spicy “regular†sauce.
Notable barbecue establishments include
McClards in Hot Springs, which developed a national reputation decades before one of its most loyal patrons,
Bill Clinton, was elected president.
Whole Hog Cafe in Little Rock also has developed a national following in recent years, winning dozens of national competitions.
California
Barbecued oysters are served at the
Arcata Bay Oyster Festival, near
Eureka, California, at the beginning of every summer.
In northern California many BBQ restaurants serve
tofu,
tempeh and
Portobello mushrooms for vegetarians, in addition to barbecue.
Oakland is a center for traditional BBQ and other soul food side dishes.
The most famous California barbecue is
Santa Maria style, in the central part of the state, with its unique 2-3 inch cut of
top sirloin or
Tri-tip steak, pinquito
pink beans and
salsa. The tri-tip is rolled in garlic salt and pepper just prior to cooking over red oak wood or coals. Some old timers soak their tri-tip in flat beer the night before cooking it, others use a red wine vinegar and oil basting sauce during the cooking process.
An example recipe can be found at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_28099,00.html
Tri-tip is the triangular shaped tips of a sirloin portion that many butchers consider waste and cut up into stew meat or grind into burger. It can be a tough piece of meat if you make the mistake of taking all the fat off or of cutting it into individual steaks for cooking. Cook it whole! If you put the fat side of the tri-tip on the fire first, the moisture will come up through the meat and make it tender.
The tried and true cooking procedure is to sear the lean part of the meat over the fire for 5-10 minutes to seal in the juices, then flip over to the fat side for 20-25 minutes, depending on degree of doneness expected. When juice appears at the top of the meat, it is time to flip for another 25 minutes.The fat can easily be trimmed after cooking.
Florida
Both pork and seafood are barbecued in Florida, with butter and lemon or lime juice as the base for the sauce. Some restaurants are even known to barbecue alligator with a smoker.
Georgia
A state with a long and storied barbecue tradition, Georgia barbecue has become famous in many
fictional and
anecdotal representations of life within the state, ranging from
Margaret Mitchell's epic ''
Gone with the Wind'' to the more biographical (and humorous) reminiscences of
Lewis Grizzard. The state's "barbecue reputation" has also been solidified by the fact that many Georgia-based food manufacturers (such as
Castleberry's Foods, based in
Augusta) introduced mass-market "BBQ pork" to grocery stores throughout the United States in the mid-1980s.
In general, it can be said that Georgia barbecue is based on
pork, which is slow-cooked over an open pit stoked with
oak and/or
hickory and served with a sauce based on
ketchup,
molasses,
bourbon,
garlic,
cayenne pepper, and other ingredients. However, the reality is that barbecue culture in Georgia represents an enormous range of styles, traditions, and influences. As such, Georgia can be accurately assessed as a melting pot of regional variations where almost any sauce or cooking style can be found.
Barbecue in the Eastern part of the state (from Savannah to Augusta) is somewhat unique in that it consists almost universally of finely chopped pork - usually from a shoulder or
ham cut - served with a side of
hash (a thick,
tomato-based
stew often flavored with meat drippings and other vegetables) over long grain white
rice. Occasionally, ribs,
chicken, and/or
beef brisket accompanies pork on the menu, but all meats are slow cooked "bare" (i.e. without the addition of spice rubs or sauces) over wood coals and served accompanied by "hash and rice" and sweet
pickles.
Mustard-based
potato salad or traditional
mayonaise-dressing
coleslaw often completes the meal as a side dish, and many of the most famous purveyors of this style of barbecue offer almost nothing else on the menu. Sauces typical of East Georgia barbecue consist of a
ketchup and/or
vinegar base with exotic flavors like
worcestershire sauce,
bay leaves,
honey, and even
clove sometimes added.
Middle Georgia barbecue restaurants (from Macon to Atlanta) most often serve
Brunswick stew instead of hash, and are more apt to offer additional side items, including (but not limited to)
french fries,
onion rings,
baked beans, and
potato chips. The meat in "middle Georgia barbecue" shows similar diversity, as restaurants in this area regularly offer beef brisket, ribs, chicken, and sometimes smoked
sausage in addition to the traditional shoulder-cut chipped pork. Accompanying sauces are often in the vein of the "bourbon and ketchup"-based styles described above.
Northeast Georgia barbecue - centered around the city of
Athens and its neighboring counties, but extending upward along
Interstate 85 into
South Carolina - has much in common with the style of barbecue typically found in eastern
South Carolina (see below.) Most restaurants in the region serve a more finely-chopped pork most often taken from a slow roasted whole
hog, rather than just a pork shoulder. Meat is served with a thinner, vinegar-based sauce, and
pulled pork sandwiches are especially popular.
West Georgia barbecue, centered in the city of
Columbus, holds a great deal in common with Alabama-style barbecue. Restaurants in this area of the state typically serve a
mustard and
vinegar based barbecue sauce which often features the addition of
jalapenos or other hot peppers. Meats in West Georgia barbecue are more typically cooked over
oak (particularly White Oak) coals, and are often served along with dill (rather than sweet) pickles and/or grilled slices of
Vidalia onion. The West Georgia style also typically features the greatest variety of side dish offerings, often including "country vegetables" such as
sweet potatoes,
collard greens,
lima beans, and
corn. West Georgia barbecue is sometimes served with
cornbread, although the more traditional offering of
white bread as an accompanying starch is still most common.
Barbecue of North Georgia, particularly those counties around
Chattanooga shares many traits with the typical "smokey" Tennessee style, while South Georgia Barbecue, centered in and around
Albany,
Thomasville &
Valdosta, shares qualities with its North Florida neighbors, including the use of dry spice rubs and a
hickory-based smoke for cooking.
Vienna, Georgia is notable as the home of
Big Pig Jig, one of the Southeast's largest
pork barbecue cook-offs, which has been featured on the
Food Network.
Atlanta truly epitomizes the reputation of Georgia as a "melting pot" of barbecue styles, as virtually every style found within the state - as well as those typical of Kansas City, St. Louis, Texas, Chicago and the Caribbean - are not only present but commonplace. Yet despite the tremendous diversity of barbecue styles present in Georgia, one factor remains constant throughout the entire state, the presence of "
sweet tea" as the perpetual accompanying
beverage to a barbecue meal.
Arguably, Georgia's most famous ''original'' contribution to the barbecue world is
Brunswick stew, named after
Brunswick, Georgia where tradition holds that it originated. Famous (but not necessarily the best) Georgia barbecue restaurants include Twin Oaks in Brunswick,
Sconyer's in Augusta, Smokey Pig and Fat Freddie's in Columbus, Wall's Barbecue in Savannah, Fincher's Barbecue in Macon, Carithers (now Carithers 'N Scott Barbecue) in Athens, Melear's in
Fayetteville,
Sprayberry's Barbecue in
Newnan, Leroy's Barbecue in Valdosta, Williamson Brothers Barbecue in Marietta,
Rib City BBQ in Marietta, Vandys Barbecue in Statesboro,
Daddy D'z BBQ Joynt in Atlanta, Jack's Old South in Vienna and Cordele, and Fat Matt's Rib Shack
Fat Matt's Rib Shack in Atlanta.
Kentucky
In Kentucky, barbecue also has a long and rich tradition. Mutton is the most notable specialty in Western Kentucky, where there were once large populations of sheep. However, mutton is virtually unknown in
The Purchase of the extreme west, where "barbecue" without any other qualifier refers specifically to smoked pork shoulder. A vinegar- and tomato-based sauce with a mixture of spice and sweet is traditionally served with the meat, though not always used in cooking. The
Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn in
Owensboro is the most famous of all Kentucky BBQ places, and Owensboro hosts an
International Bar-B-Q Festival every year during the second weekend in May. Western Kentucky BBQ (more specifically, Purchase BBQ) has also been transplanted to
Lexington by way of Billy's BBQ near downtown, a favorite among
University of Kentucky basketball and football fans. A great deal of "Kentucky barbecue" has found its way into southern
Indiana, where it has earned widespread favor.
Mississippi
Like its neighbor Alabama, Mississippians prefer pork to other meats, usually pork shoulder, or whole hog. Most restaurants serve only pulled pork, though some also serve chicken halves. Unlike the surrounding states, a purely vinegar-based sauce is preferred; in fact, many sauciers take a great deal of pride in using absolutely no tomato in their creations.
Though most barbecue in Mississippi is pork shoulder slow-cooked in a smoker (either a drum, or a converted shed), special events call for open-pit barbecue, which is still common practice in some parts of Mississippi. A whole, freshly slaughtered hog is brought to the site very early in the morning while a pit, generally half a foot deep by several feet wide and broad, is filled with hickory wood. The wood is allowed to burn to coals before a grill is laid down, and the hog is smoked whole over the embers. The process usually takes an entire day, and if begun early enough, is ready for dinner. There are numerous pig-cooking competitions throughout Mississippi each year, one of which is the "Pig Cookoff" at April's Super Bulldog Weekend at
Mississippi State University.
Famous barbecue joints include
Leatha's Bar-B-Que Inn
in
Hattiesburg,
The Little Dooey in
Columbus and
Starkville, Sonny's in
Starkville (both favorites of
Mississippi State University students), and Sonny's Real Pit BBQ (no relation) in
Jackson.
Missouri
In Missouri, beef is the dominant meat for barbecue, especially in St. Louis and the Ozarks. Often the beef is sliced and a tomato-based sauce is added after cooking. About half of the supply of charcoal briquets in the USA is produced from Ozark forests (e.g., Kingsford brand), with hickory "flavor" being very popular.
St. Louis-style barbecue features a sauce that is typically tangier and thinner than its
Kansas City cousin, with less vinegar taste. It somewhat resembles the Memphis style sauce.
Maull's barbecue sauce is representative of the St. Louis style. The most famous barbecue competition in St. Louis is held annually during the July 4th holiday at
Fair St. Louis.
A quick and easy Missouri-style barbecue sauce can be made from mostly ketchup, some brown sugar, a little mustard, and a dash of Worcestershire sauce.
Kansas City
Arthur Bryant's Barbeque at 18th and Brooklyn in Kansas City
Kansas City calls itself the "world capital of barbecue." There are more than 100 barbecue restaurants in the city and the
American Royal each fall claims to host the world's biggest barbecue contest.
Kansas City barbecue typically consists of brisket and
burnt ends, ribs, pork, chicken, and turkey. Meat is more often sliced than shredded. Kansas City barbecue is served with the sauce on the side, rather than mixed onto the meat before serving. Kansas City style uses a sweet, spicy sauce with a tomato base.
The classic Kansas City-style barbecue was an
inner city phenomenon that evolved from the pit of
Henry Perry from the
Memphis, Tennessee area in the early 1900s and blossomed in the
18th and Vine neighborhood.
Arthur Bryant's was to take over the Perry restaurant and added
molasses to sweeten the recipe. In 1946
Gates and Sons Bar-B-Q was opened by one of Perry's cooks. The Gates recipe added even more molasses. Although Bryant's and Gates are the two definitive Kansas City barbecue restaurants they have had little or no luck exporting the barbecue beyond the Kansas City metropolitan area.
In 1977
Rich Davis, a child psychologist, test marketed his own concoction called ''K.C. Soul Style Barbecue'' Sauce. He renamed it
KC Masterpiece and in 1986 he sold the sauce to the Kingsford division of
Clorox. Davis retained rights to operate restaurants using the name and sauce. Only one of the restaurants remains in the suburb of
Overland Park, Kansas.
Nevada
The city of
Sparks plays host each Labor Day weekend to the Best of the West Rib Cook-off in Victorian Square. To denizens of the
Reno/Sparks area, this is an event of quasi-religious significance and proves that when it comes to BBQ in Nevada, ribs are king.
North Carolina
Within North Carolina, there are two regional barbecue traditions, both based on the slow-cooking of pork, served
pulled, chopped, or sliced. In eastern North Carolina, typically the whole hog is used, and the dominant ingredients in the sauce are vinegar and hot peppers. From the
Piedmont westward,
Lexington-style barbecue is the norm. It is prepared from primarily pork shoulder and served with either a vinegar-based or tomato-based sauce. The tomato-based sauce, called "dip" by some, can be made with ketchup and is thinner and less sweet than most bottled barbecue sauces available nationwide. Except for the "whole hog" preparation, hams are not generally barbecued.
Throughout the State, the term "barbecue" usually refers to slow cooked pork, but it can also refer to a backyard cookout. Any meat basted in a barbecue sauce and cooked over heat can be called "barbecued," for example, "barbecued chicken" or "barbecued ribs." A common home preparation called "chicken barbecue" is oven-braised chicken pieces with a sauce, usually thin and slightly spicy.
Barbecue is prepared by placing a pork shoulder or half a hog (that is, a side) in a "hog cooker" over prepared wood coals and cooking very slowly, usually overnight. Which wood to use is subject to debate -- often
oak or
hickory, but never pine. For convenience, gas, electric, or charcoal heat may be used, alone, or in combination with a wood, although most will agree that regardless of primary heat source, long exposure to hardwood smoke produces the most flavorful barbecue. Other variations involve cooking times, turning frequency, and basting methods.
When the meat is finished, it may be cut up or chopped by the cook, or diners at a pig pickin' may pull the desired quantity directly off the bone. A "
Pig pickin'" is a popular type of gathering centered on the consuming, and possibly cooking, of barbecue. Pig pickin's are popular for church gatherings, family celebrations, reunions, weddings, funerals, and pre-game parties.
Common side dishes include
hushpuppies,
barbecue slaw, french fries, boiled potatoes, corn sticks, Brunswick stew, and
collard greens. In the popular NC State Legislative Building cafeteria, accompaniments include deep-fried dill pickle slices. Also popular is the "barbecue sandwich," consisting of barbecue, vinegar/pepper sauce, sweet cole slaw, and perhaps a little yellow mustard, served on a hamburger bun. A "barbecue tray" is a thick paper rectangular bowl with barbecue and french fries or hushpuppies served side-by-side. The meat may already have sauce mixed in, or the diner may add his own.
Lexington's well-known annual Barbecue Festival is normally held on one of the last two Saturdays in October. Some North Carolinians deny that real barbecue exists outside the State. Attesting to its popularity, Carolina-style barbecue restaurants are scattered along the
Eastern seaboard and tubs of NC chopped barbecue can be found in many grocers.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma barbecue reflects the state's geographic location. Located south of Kansas City, north of Texas and west of Memphis, Oklahomans like the beef brisket favored by their neighbors in Texas, the sweet spicy sauce typical of Kansas City and the pork ribs that are found in Memphis. However, Oklahoma barbecue also includes pork, chicken, sausage, and bologna. In Oklahoma, barbecue refers to meat that has been slowly cooked over wood smoke at a very low temperature, for a very long time. The woods most commonly used for smoking meat include
hickory,
oak, and
pecan. Some of the most popular barbecue joints in Oklahoma include Bad Brad's in
Stillwater & Pawhuska, Smokehouse Bob's in Muskogee, Elmer's, Stutt's House of BBQ, and the Knotty Pine in
Tulsa, Head Country in Ponca City, Earl's Rib Palace in
Oklahoma City,
Van's Pig Stands in Shawnee, Norman and Moore and Hopkins Barbecue Company in Eufaula.
Pennsylvania
In
Pennsylvania, 'barbecue' refers to various sweet and mild concoctions in the tradition of
Pennsylvania Dutch (German) cooking techniques. Especially in central PA, barbecue is generally a mixture of browned ground beef, or in some cases shredded roast beef, with varying combinations of ketchup, mustard, molasses, brown sugar, white sugar, salt, pepper, pickle relish, and vinegar. This dish is reminiscent of the meat on a
Sloppy joe sandwich and can be used as a hot dog topping. As served at most any type of event in central PA, a 'barbecue sandwich' consists of ground beef barbecue on an inexpensive white hamburger bun.
South Carolina
South Carolina is the only state to have four types of barbecue sauces: mustard, vinegar, heavy tomato, and light tomato. The meat used in South Carolina is consistent throughout the state, slow-cooked pulled pork. In the
Pee Dee and Lowcountry coastal region, a
vinegar and pepper sauce is prevalent, though the region is home to
Sticky Fingers, a rib house who uses all four sauces. In the Midlands area around
Columbia, a mustard-based sauce sometimes referred to as "Carolina Gold" is the predominant style. Such establishments as
Melvin's (2 locations in Charleston, SC),
Maurice Bessinger's "Piggie Park",
Shealy's and Jackie Hites
★ (both located in Batesburg-Leesville) and Dukes BBQ (3 locations in Orangeburg, SC) use gold sauce made from mustard, apple juice, pear juice, and other ingredients. In upcountry around
Rock Hill, one finds the light tomato and the rest of the upcountry stretching down past
Aiken is home to the heavy tomato sauce. In addition to pork, other popular BBQ dishes include hash and ribs.
Tennessee
While
Memphis dominates the culture of
Tennessee barbecue, some other restaurants in other cities have achieved some notoriety outside of their local markets. Ridgewood Barbeque in
Elizabethton has been featured in national publications and network television for its smoked sliced pork, drenched in a light, spicy tomato-based sauce. Still in its original location, Ridgewood has served a variety of notable clientèle over the past six decades, including
country music stars and
NASCAR drivers who race in nearby
Bristol. Bar-B-Cutie Bar-B-Que in
Nashville is a popular destination for tourists, and Sticky Fingers, a chain based in
Charleston, South Carolina, but whose founders hail from
Chattanooga, has overcome the stigma that hardcore barbecue fans tend to attach to chains and is widely regarded throughout the southeast for its ribs. Traditional Tennessee "barbeque" (the preferred spelling) is saucy, slow-cooked pork ribs or pulled/sliced pork shoulder, though beef brisket (and sometimes sliced roast beef served with sauce) is also popular. The
molasses content in the sauce usually becomes less pronounced in middle and east Tennessee, causing the sauces there to be thinner and less sweet. These eastern varieties more frequently use
ketchup as a base, sometimes adding small amounts of
Tabasco sauce or
jalapeño for flavor.
In recent years it has become increasingly common for restaurants in the far eastern part of the state to serve the meat "dry" and offer customers a choice of either tomato or "Eastern Carolina-style" vinegar-based sauces. The use of
cole slaw as a condiment on sandwiches varies from location to location. Typical side dishes include
french fries,
baked potatoes,
potato salad,
corn on the cob,
barbecue beans, cole slaw,
green beans,
white beans,
dinner rolls, and
collard greens. Most barbecue restaurants are locally owned, no-frills establishments, though a handful of fast food chains (such as Buddy's BBQ in the
Knoxville area) and several more upscale "rib houses" have proven popular regionally.
Memphis
Memphis-style barbecue is known for
★ wet ribs, made with a mild, sweet barbecue sauce that's basted on the ribs before and after smoking;
★ dry-rub ribs, made with a spice rub applied during or right after they've been cooked; and
★ pulled or chopped
pork sandwich topped with sweet, finely chopped
coleslaw and served on hamburger buns, which some locals insist is Memphis barbecue's highest form.
For people who simply can't get enough barbecue, there's also barbecue
spaghetti, barbecue
pizza, and barbecue
nachos.
Memphis is also home to the
Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest (WCBCC), an annual event which regularly draws over 90,000
pork lovers from around the globe. The title of "the largest
pork barbecue cooking contest in the world" was bestowed on the WCBCC in the 1990
Guinness Book of World Records [1].
It is also home to over 100 barbecue restaurants, including
Corky's,
Charlie Vergos' Rendezvous,
the Germantown Commissary,
Leonard's,
Pig-N-Whistle,
Central BBQ,
the Bar-B-Q Shop,
Hog Wild Barbecue,
Interstate Barbecue, Gridley's, Three Little Pigs, Tops Barbecue, and Cozy Corner. Several have been so successful that they have branches dedicated to shipping barbecue overnight via
FedEx (especially convenient for these restaurants, as the primary hub for FedEx is
Memphis International Airport).
Texas
Sliced
brisket,
sausage, and
pork ribs are the most popular
meats in
Texas barbecue.
Central Texans often refer to these three meats as ''The Holy Trinity''.
Chicken,
beef ribs, and
chopped beef are also often found. Even more exotic variants such as
turkey,
pork loin,
pork chops,
prime rib,
mutton, and
cabrito are sometimes available. The Mexican name often seen on signs is
barbacoa and is most often barbacoa de cabeza--barbecued head(cow). This is very popular to eat on Sundays in the Hispanic community.
In Texas, 'barbecuing' refers to what others call "hot smoking"—cooking with both smoke and low heat for hours over woods such as
oak,
mesquite, or
pecan. Cooking with direct heat, such as a
propane-fueled flame, is not referred to as barbecuing, but is instead known as '
grilling'. Meat prepared by Texas barbecue often has a red tinge even when fully cooked, and a pink
smoke ring around the edges of the meat. This is caused by
myoglobin in the meat reacting with
carbon monoxide in the smoke to form a heat stable pigment. The pink smoke ring is very tasty and a major focus of fans of this style.
If used, traditional
sauce consists of
tomatoes with a
vinegar base. It can be sweet or spicy and thick or thin, depending on the chef. At
barbecue cookoffs in Texas, however, meat is generally judged without sauce, as sauce can cover up for poor-quality meats and cooking. Commercially available sauces usually bear little resemblance to traditional barbecue sauce, and are frequently made from tomatoes and corn syrup.
Since creating proper barbecue requires considerable expense of money and time, in that one needs a specialized
smoker and has to start smoking many hours before the meat is ready, most Texans simply visit a local
restaurant known as a barbecue joint. Such establishments typically serve the meat in a no-frills manner, on a
plastic tray and
butcher paper with white
bread or
crackers, or, to-go, in a brown paper sack. Traditional side dishes include
potato salad,
coleslaw (mustard or vinegar),
pinto beans, which are often spicy. Banana
pudding, peach
cobbler and
Blue Bell ice cream are popular
dessert options. However, they are not always available—the film
''Kreuz Market: No Sauce, No Sides, No Silverware'' depicts a popular barbecue joint in
Lockhart that lacks the three items mentioned in the title.
Slight regional variations in Texas barbecue exist. In
Central Texas barbecue is more likely to consist of leaner meats, while
East Texans prefer more fatty cuts. It is possible, however, to find both kinds of meats all over the state. In South Texas, beef fajitas, beef briskets, beef ribs and chicken are probably the most popular, along with small cuts of pork called 'carnitas', of course all cooked over a mesquite fire. Side dishes include flour tortillas, pinto beans, Mexican rice, potato salad, and of course
pico de gallo (a garnish made with cilantro, jalapenos, onions and tomatoes.)
In Texas, barbecue, and the best barbecue joints, are popular topics both in individual discussions and the media. The documentary film
''Barbecue: A Texas Love Story'' depicts the culture associated with Texas barbecue.
''Texas Monthly'' magazine periodically performs ''roundups'' where they rate scores of barbecue joints across the state. The
most recent roundup was in
2003.
Upper Midwest
In northern Illinois (including
Chicago), Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, and Michigan, barbecue typically means a cut of meat with bone-in, either slow-cooked or cooked over an open flame. No-bone cuts of meat are usually said to be grilled, and are almost exclusively seared using dry direct heat. Fire, in the Upper Midwestern style, is necessary for barbecue; similar slow-cooked meat dishes prepared in an oven or a
Crock-Pot are quite tasty, but not barbecue. Most of these bone-in meat cuts are beef and pork spareribs, and chicken quarters (thigh and drumstick together). Beef brisket has become increasingly popular in recent years. Restaurant chains named "Carson's Ribs", "
Famous Dave's", and "Robinson's" use these meats with a variety of sauce styles.
Michiganders, particularly in
Western Michigan, use the term "barbecue" loosely, allowing the consumption of beef ribs and stewed meat. They also allow the designation of
Famous Dave's and
Tony Roma's as authentic (or add the prefix "
Texas style-" to appeal to ethos). In portions of
Michigan barbecue is also a name for a
sloppy joe sandwich.
Upper-Midwesterners typically serve barbecued meat with corn on the cob and baked potato (with butter, sour cream and chives) as side dishes, and sometimes baked beans and
potato chips.
Chicago is an exception to the rule in the Midwest. It has a very large population of African Americans who migrated from the Mississippi Delta in the middle of the 20th century. The million or so African Americans who live in Chicago today inherited the food, music, and religion of their parents and grandparents. The barbecue described in the Memphis, Arkansas, and Mississippi sections of this entry has become a part of the Chicago landscape and has evolved since leaving the South. South- and West-side Chicago is noted for smoked ribs and Deep South style rib sauce.
Many of the migrants to Chicago came for jobs in the meatpacking industry at the time Chicago was still known as the hogbutcher to the world. Pork spare ribs served with hot or mild sauce are a product of this happy cultural confluence. While barbecue is typically associated with tough cuts of meat, barbecue ribs in Chicago tend to be from very good cuts of pork, perhaps because of the abundance of good meat and resulting higher expectations in this meat industry town.
Virginia
It is arguable whether Virginia has a BBQ tradition of its own--other than to realize that BBQ is a noun, never a verb. Much of the BBQ that exists in Virginia is found near the Tidewater region. Pork is the main offering, but chicken is often available, as are pork ribs. Meat from pork shoulders--"Boston butts"--is pit or smoker cooked. The more North Carolina-inclined places serve the meat dry and offer vinegar-based and tomato-based vinegary sauces. Some places offer smoked, minced pork in a light tomato/vinegar sauce, perhaps best fitting the appellation "Virginia BBQ" although very similar to some North Carolina BBQ. Most will, however, serve cole slaw on the sandwich as part of the deal. Given how many restaurants and stands offer "North Carolina BBQ" it is permissible to let the reader decide for himself whether there is a genuine variation or not.
Washington State
In the Pacific Northwest, barbecue is approached using different smoking techniques and is primarily used for cooking salmon. In early spring, Native Americans living near the Columbia River celebrate the first appearance of returning Chinook salmon with outdoor feasts, which are repeated, in backyards and restaurants, until the middle of fall.
Through the summer, when silver and pink salmon can be cheaper than hamburger in the market, grills are crowded with the tender flesh of salmon. A few places in Seattle cook salmon the ancient way (on cedar sticks), while others add twists of their own.
Traditionally, the salmon are cut in long, wide strips along either side of the backbone. Then the fillets should be speared on skinny cedar sticks, while smaller twigs are used to stretch the fish sideways. When completed, this looks like a rib system, but it keeps the salmon from curling while cooking.
The fish-on-a-stick is then placed upright, about three feet from the firepit, and cooked slowly for about half an hour. This method keeps the juices intact; placing the fish any closer to the fire dries it out. When finished, the meat will break away in moist layers.
External links
★
National Barbecue Association
★
Pacific Northwest BBQ Association
★
Kansas City BBQ Association
★
Brief History of Texas BBQ
★
Barbecue Food Safety (US Dept of Agriculture)
★
Barbeque Recipes and Advice
★
Benzopyrene and Barbeque
★
Barbecue in Germany
★
''Barbecue'n On The Internet''
★
''The Pure Hibachi Style Barbecue''
★
Step by step barbecue guide for beginners
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