Just What Is It About Barbecue?

Mark Carter - March 27, 2010


Ahhhh...Nothing smells or tastes quite like it. To me, just the thought of sitting down to a plate of well prepared barbecue ribs, pork, beef or chicken on a cold winter afternoon is enough to make the old mouth water. What type of cuisine am I referring to? It's that flavorful and great tasting cusine known as "barbecue" of course!

Since the time of the cave man, or more specifically, the late 1700's for those of us in the United States, no other cuisine has been as synonymous with the term "social gathering" as has barbecue, or it's culinary cousin, "grilling". Follow along as we take a closer look at both methods of outdoor cooking.

Each weekend, Barbecue, BBQ or Bar-B-Que as it is commonly spelled means a time of great eating, visitation and enjoyment for any number of friends and family taking the time to get together and fire up the old pit. Now, notice that I said "pit". To the purist, such as myself, there is considerable difference between barbecuing and "grilling".

Grilling is the typical activity that takes place in the backyard with a gas or charcoal grill and a few hamburger patties, hotdogs, chicken or steak being placed directly over the source of heat. While some barbecuing purists may sheesh at this technique, they can not deny the incredible flavors that are the end result of some grillers efforts.

Not wanting to be limited to the basic four meat items, some may also include a few brats,(sausage, not kids) shrimp, clams, oysters, lobster, lamb, salmon, peppers, onions, mushrooms, corn or even pineapple upside-down cake or some other dessert item on the menu(all with great results I might add).

However, For many individuals there just is no substitute for the real honest to goodness pit fired barbecue ribs that is the end result of slow-cooking the meat with the indirect heat produced from the smoke of wood or a combination of wood and charcoal fired flame. This slow wood smoke cooking method produces a flavor in the meat that grilling can't.

The most common types of wood used in barbecuing ribs are oak, hickory or maple for pork and mesquite is commonly used for beef but all can be inter-changed easily. Do not use a soft wood like pine unless you want your ribs to taste like turpentine. For more smoke, use green wood or soak your wood in water for a few hours before use.

For cooking, be sure to use a pit, grill or smoker that will allow you to move the meat away from the direct heat of the heat source. The equipment choices vary greatly in construction and of course price. Just make sure that you can easily adjust the temperature easily and monitor the cooking conditions and temperature closely.

Couple more tips - Be sure to check to make sure that you have the right ingredients in sufficient amounts before you start. It's a pain to have to stop and run up to the store to grab some garlic or pepper in the middle of your prep process. Plan out your process a few days ahead and you'll be glad that you did.

Don't try to cook too much at one time. Spread your items out on the cooking surface by allowing about one inch of space around each item being cooked.

Doing so will allow for better cooking experience for many reasons. You don't want barbecue sauce on your corn-on-the-cob or marinate on your pineapple upsidedown cake do you?

Whether you are barbecuing ribs or grilling steak, the spices, sauces, marinates and other ingredients you elect to use may vary greatly depending on the meat used and the desired end result.

The sky is the limit when you begin to plan your cooking experience. Deciding on the specific ingredients to use should include a tried and true recipe.

Add this flavorful method of cooking an array of seasonings and preparation techniques and the end result will be a flavor that will in fact make your mouth water just to think about it.

So, get a hold of a good recipe and go to it. Just remember, any barbecue or grilling done "right" is "good" grilling or barbecue.

Source: http://BestBarbecueRibRecipe.com/Just_What_Is_It_About_Barbecue.html

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