A Smoldering Fire
America loves barbecue even if most people really aren’t sure what barbecue really means. The terms grilling, barbecue, and cookout are used interchangeably when they really mean very different things. A cookout is a meal or event where the cooking is done outside. Grilling is food cooked on a grill with either charcoal, wood, or gas as the heat source. Real Barbecue is like true love because it requires time, patience, and commitment to achieve happiness and good barbecue.
The king of barbecue ingredients is the hog. Not the most respected animal on the farm, but it is the most delicious.
Barbecue as a cooking method arrived on American shores from the Caribbean Islands and Africa via the slave trade. Slaves on southern plantations survived on the scraps that the master in the big house didn’t want; they got the hocks, the chitlins, ribs, etc. while plantation owners got the higher cuts, leading to the expression that they lived high on the hog. A bittersweet irony of culinary history is that poverty, servitude, and enslavement caused those people to create their cuisine from meager resources resulting in flavorful dishes from foods that the upper classes would reject. These peasant or soul food dishes are often “borrowed” by chefs in upscale restaurants. While some may cry cultural appropriation, that charge is often unfair. While some restaurants and clientele are upscale, those manning the stoves often have more humbler origins.
So, what are the key components of barbecue? There is no clear-cut answer because barbecue is highly regional. Even within a region such as the Carolinas, the style changes between North and South. In the south, whole hog is preferred, in Memphis, ribs and dry rubs, sauce on the side. In Texas, brisket and beef rule the smokehouse, and in Kansas City its history as a rail hub between east and west, north and south, means they will cook any meat, anytime.
In North Carolina, pork shoulder that is wet mopped within vinegary sauces rule the day. South Carolina prefers whole hogs artfully smoked. Mustard, a key regional cash crop, features prominently in the rubs or sauces. As important as the main event, the sides are where the flair takes the stage. Slaw, greens, and hush puppies are some of the usual suspects.
Texas barbecue surprisingly takes a minimalist approach: rubs are usually salt, pepper, and no sauce or mops used. The key flavor of Texas barbecue is meat and smoke created from either oak or pecan and in west Texas, mesquite.
Memphis barbecue may be my favorite; ribs and rubs rule the pit. Memphis rubs may contain a mind-boggling combination of up to 40 or so herbs and spices, with paprika and garlic the only two constants. Low and slow as Tennessee drawl is the key to the Memphis style. No glazes or sauces here; it’s all about the rub and that old hickory smoke. While you will find slaw and beans, slowly braised greens, mac and cheese, and cornbread piled high on the plate, barbecue is always sauce on the side.
Kansas City barbecue is hickory smoked with the molasses tomato-based sauce that is what most Americans think of as barbecue sauce. While you will see lots of ribs and chicken, K.C. Is about burnt ends with lots of sauce, slaw, and beans.
As you fire up the smoker and gather your tribe together to eat meat round the fire like our ancestors did, try these regional specialties: Memphis Dry Rub Ribs, Six-Cheese Mac and Cheese; Jalapeño Bacon Skillet Cornbread; Carolina Slaw, and Chipotle Peach Barbecue Sauce—on the side, of course.
