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Barbecue or barbeque (often shortened to BBQ worldwide; barbie or barby in Australia and New Zealand) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that employ live fire and smoke to cook food. The term is also generally applied to the devices associated with those methods, the broader that these methods produce, and the meals or gatherings at which this style of food is cooked and served. The cooking methods associated with barbecuing vary significantly.
The various regional variations of barbecue can be broadly categorized into those methods which use direct and those which use indirect heating. Indirect barbecues are associated with US cuisine, in which meat is heated by roasting or smoked meat over wood or charcoal. These methods of barbecue involve cooking using smoke at low temperatures with long cooking times, for several hours. Elsewhere, barbecuing more commonly refers to the more direct application of heat, grilling of food over hot coals or a gas fire. This technique is usually done over direct, dry heat or a hot fire for a few minutes. Within these broader categorizations are further national and regional differences.
A popular folk etymology of the word says that the term is derived from the French language barbe à queue ("from beard to tail") signifying a whole animal being roasted on a spit, but this origin for the word is not supported by academic etymology.
The term itself has two spellings in English: "barbecue" and "barbeque". While in most countries the spelling "barbecue" is used, the spelling "barbeque" is occasionally used in Australia, New Zealand, and the US.
Another form of barbacoa involves digging a hole in the ground, burning logs in it and placing stones in it to absorb and retain heat. Large cuts of meat, often wrapped in leaves, often a whole Goat meat or lamb, are placed above a pot so the juices can be used to make a broth. It is then covered with Agave americana leaves and coal, and set alight. The cooking process takes a few hours. Olaudah Equiano, an African abolitionist, described this method of roasting alligators among the "Mosquito people" (Miskito people) on his journeys to Cabo Gracias a Dios on the Mosquito Coast, in his narrative The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano.
Linguists have suggested the word was loanword successively into Spanish language, then Portuguese, French language, and English language. In the form barbacado, the word was used in English in 1648 by the supposed Beauchamp Plantagenet in the tract A description of the province of New Albion: "the Indians in stead of salt doe barbecado or dry and smoak fish".
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first recorded use in modern form was in 1661, in Edmund Hickeringill's Jamaica Viewed: "Some are slain, And their flesh forthwith Barbacu'd and eat"; it also appears in 1672 in the writings of John Lederer following his travels in the North American southeast in 1669–1670.
The first known use as a noun was in 1697 by the English buccaneer William Dampier. In his New Voyage Round the World, Dampier wrote, "and lay there all night, upon our Borbecu's, or frames of Sticks, raised about 3 foot from the Ground".9781148385150, Ripol Classic. . ISBN 9781148385150
As early as the 1730s, Puritans were familiar with barbecue, as on 4 November 1731, New London, Connecticut, resident Joshua Hempstead wrote in his diary: "I was at Madm Winthrops at an Entertainment, or Treat of Colln Colonel or Samll Brownes a Barbaqued." Samuel Johnson's 1755 dictionary gave the following definitions:
For barbecue in the United States, each Southern locale has its own variety of barbecue, particularly sauces. In recent years, the regional variations have blurred as restaurants and consumers experiment and adapt the styles of other regions. South Carolina is the only state that traditionally features all four recognized , including mustard-based, vinegar-based, and light and heavy tomato-based sauces. North Carolina sauces vary by region; eastern North Carolina uses a vinegar-based sauce, the center of the state uses Lexington-style barbecue, with a combination of ketchup and vinegar as its base, and western North Carolina uses a heavier ketchup base. Memphis barbecue is best known for tomato- and vinegar-based sauces. In some Memphis establishments and in Kentucky, meat is rubbed with dry seasoning (spice rub) and smoked over hickory wood without sauce. The finished barbecue is then served with barbecue sauce on the side. Kansas City barbecue is barbecue that originated in Kansas City, Missouri in the early 20th century. It is known for slow-smoked meats (including pork, beef, chicken, turkey, lamb, sausage, and sometimes fish) cooked over various woods, seasoned with a dry rub, and served with a thick, sweet, tomato-based sauce made from brown sugar, molasses, and tomatoes. St. Louis–style barbecue refers to spare ribs associated with the St. Louis area. These are usually Grilling rather than slow-cooked over indirect heat with smoke which is typically associated with the term "barbecue" in the United States. Although St. Louis–style barbecue takes inspiration from other styles of barbecue it still retains its own distinct style. St. Louis style barbecue is known for its distinctive approach to ribs and sauce. The hallmark is the St. Louis–style spare rib cut, which is a rectangular, meaty cut with excess cartilage trimmed off for a uniform appearance and more meat compared to baby back ribs
In South Africa, braais are informal gatherings of people who convene around an open fire for any occasion and at any location with a grill. They are linked to the consistent warm weather of South Africa that leads to much communal, outdoor activity. The act of convening around a grill is reminiscent of past generations gathering around open fires after a hunt, solidifying the braais' importance to tradition. Modernity has expanded grilling to the use of gas grills, but steel grill grates and campfires are often used. The use of a gas grill is frowned upon and the use of charcoal is accepted, but wood is seen as the best method to cook the meat.
It is expected that people attending a braai bring snacks, drinks, and other meat to eat until the main meal has finished cooking on the grill. This potluck-like activity is known as "bring and braai". Cooking on the braai is a bonding experience for fathers and sons, while women prepare salads and other side dishes in kitchens or other areas away from the grill. Examples of meat prepared for a braai are lamb, steaks, spare ribs, sausages, chicken, and fish. Ugali, also known as "Krummel pap", is a crumbled cornmeal that is often served as a side dish.
The words "barbecue" and "grilling" are often used interchangeably, although some argue that barbecue is a type of grilling, and that grilling involves the use of a higher level of heat to sear the food, while barbecuing is a slower process over a low heat.
In practice, the lines blur because it is hard to define what is low temperature and what is high temperature and because many champion barbecue cooks now cook meats such as beef brisket at higher temperatures than was traditional.
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