One of the great things about summertime is getting together with family and friends on a sunny day and grilling up some meats. In the United States, this is usually done on summer holidays like Independence Day and Labor Day, or during exceptionally nice weekends. A barbeque can refer to both the gathering of people to cook, as well as a cooking method. The techniques used in barbequing include, smoking, grilling and/or roasting. There are many different styles of barbeque in the United States, all of which originate in the South. Barbeque consists of three specific things: meat, wood smoke and a sauce or seasoning. However the type of meat can vary as well as the wood you use to smoke the meat. Sauces and seasonings also vary from region to region. This makes barbeque a very complex subject and results in people who don’t understand its origins or complexities to lump all the styles together.
Like all great foods, barbeque has humble beginnings and was born out of hardship. The word “barbeque” comes from the Spanish word “barbacoa”, which is thought to have come from the Arawak (indigenous people of the Caribbean) word “barabicu”. This was the Arawak’s word for cooking meat on a wooden stick framework over a fire. Because of the native origin, this cooking technique was thought of as “savage” by European settlers and was therefore shunned in society early on. However, African slaves in the south used this cooking method because they had a very similar cooking technique that was traditional in Africa, where you wrap meat in leaves and bury it in the ground heated by hot coals. This way of cooking involved minimal equipment and would use cuts of meat that would have been thought too tough to cook for the slave owners. Like many of the other foods I have discussed that are now revered in the US, barbeque started as a survival food, born out of the necessity to eat.
Barbeque has since grown to be one of the most defining cuisines of the United States and has many different varieties separated by region. The most popular meat used to barbeque is pork, however beef is also used in certain regions. The biggest differences in barbeque from region to region is the seasoning or sauces used on the meats, however the meat itself can also be a defining factor for a region.
South Carolina
South Carolina style barbeque traditionally uses pork as the meat, served pulled, chopped or shredded. However the defining characteristic for this style is the use of all four types of barbeque sauces: mustard-based, vinegar-based, and light and heavy tomato-based.
North Carolina
North Carolina style barbeque is characterized by the use of pork, usually pulled pork as the base meat. The sauces depend on the sub-regions in North Carolina. Eastern North Carolina uses vinegar-based sauces, central North Carolina uses a combination of ketchup and vinegar-based sauce. The western part of the state uses a heavier ketchup-based sauce.
Memphis
Memphis style barbeque uses pork ribs primarily as the base meat, however pulled pork sandwiches are also popular here. They are best known for tomato and vinegar-based sauces, however in some places, they use dry rubs instead of sauce and is smoked over hickory wood.
Kansas City
The main characterization for Kansas City barbeque is the wide variety of meats they use. The main meats used in Kansas City barbeque are pork, beef, and lamb. The meat is smoked with a dry rub, and then served with a side of thick tomato-based barbeque sauce on the table.
Texas
Texas style barbeque traditionally uses pork or beef for the meat, and are really known for barbeque beef brisket. However the styles differ based on sub-regions within the state. East Texas is characterized by long, slow roasting of the meat over hickory wood and is served with a sweet tomato-based sauce. Central Texas is characterized by the meat being rubbed and then smoked over mesquite wood and served without sauce or with the sauce on the side. West Texas style barbeque is cooked over direct heat from mesquite wood. South Texas style barbeque is marinated in a thick sauce meant to keep the meat moist after cooking it.
As you can see, the complexity of barbeque in the United States is vast, and grouping each variation together is problematic because there are many differences between each style. Barbequing is probably the United States most traditional cooking form still used today, having roots that precede the colonization of this land. When thinking of “United States Cuisine” this should be at the top of the list, however a lot of the time it isn’t. When I ask people from other countries what their view of American food is, usually it’s hamburgers and hotdogs. This is our fault, as Americans we focus too much on convenience and quickness, this leads people to believe that that’s what we’re all about. I want to show that we are more complex than that, that we have a rich history and culinary tradition. And I think we should celebrate that.
1. https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/texas-bbq-everything-you-need-to-know
2. http://ncbbq.com/Modules/Articles/article.aspx?id=20
3. Warnes, Andrew (2008). Savage Barbecue: Race, Culture, and the Invention of America’s First Food. University of Georgia Press.
4. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-evolution-of-american-barbecue-13770775/
The Cultural Chef 