Barbecue at its Best

Barbecue at its Best
The combination of the smell of a premium cigar burning mixed with burning hickory is certainly heaven scent. One of life’s greatest pleasures in the southern U.S. and beyond is the act of cooking barbecue. Since there is often much time spent outdoors prepping meat, stoking coals, cutting wood and monitoring temps while smoking various meats, it is a fabulous time to enjoy a fine stogie or three.

The Origins of Barbecue

Barbecue is a very interesting type of food to say the least. There are very many nuances to this type of food that typically varies regionally. From the cuts of meat, to the types of rubs and sauces to even the type of wood used, there are literally dozens of ways to cook barbecue.
There are several different stories about the origins of barbecue.  The definition that seems to be the most credible started on the islands of the Caribbean. The term originates from ‘barbacoa’ which translated to English means ‘sacred fire pit’. The islanders would bury a carcass, usually a goat and build fires around it to preserve the meat. Polynesian historians claim that their ancestors were the first to barbecue by digging a pit, placing hot lava coals in the bottom and then placing a whole pig wrapped in banana leaves into the pit, covering it with dirt and cooking it for several hours. If you have ever been to a Luau in Hawaii, you have probably seen this process perfected and it would be hard to argue that process as an origin.

The True Definition of Barbecue
For our discussion, we will consider barbecue as the process of slow smoking meat for several hours. Barbecue is not putting hot dogs or hamburgers on a grill and cooking quickly. Although I am a big fan of ‘grilling’ steaks, burgers and brats, this would be considered grilling to the barbecue purist. The term most often used by barbecue purists is cooking ‘low and slow’. Grilling steaks and burgers, the typical temperatures are 300 degrees and up (much higher for searing steaks). The optimal temperature for smoking is in the 225-250 degree range. Cooking a typical boston butt, pork shoulder or beef brisket usually takes 1 to 1.5 hours per pound to cook in that temperature range. A good sized boston butt is usually around 8 pounds so you can count on 8-12 hours cook time.

We will go into detail in future blogs detailing different cuts of meat, brines, rubs, marinades and cooking techniques. For now we will discuss how barbecue varies by regionally in the U.S.

Regional Barbecue

It really is amazing how barbecue varies so much by region. Not only how it is prepared, but also which cuts of meat are utilized, the type rub used and the difference in the sauces used for finishing differing cuts of meat. In some instances, families have been divided due to barbecue preferences much like football rivals. The author happens to enjoy most every variation and would be hard pressed to pick a favorite.

Texas BBQ

In Texas, beef is king. Rarely will you find a Texas barbecue restaurant with anything but beef on the menu. From beef ribs, beef sausage to beef brisket. If you have never had beef brisket prepared Texas style, you have missed one of the best possible ways to prepare a cut of meat. Texas barbecue typically uses a tomato based sauce that usually has some kick. One of the author’s personal favorites is Stubb’s. Texas smoked beef sausage is another great feature to their cuisine. Usually a bit spicy and when properly smoked, it has a bit of a caramelization to the outside of the meat, yet is tender and juicy in the middle.

Try some Stubb’s Texas Style BBQ Sauce

Memphis BBQ

Memphis is another area that has its own special flavor of barbecue. Of course Memphis is famous for its dry rub ribs (another favorite of the author) typically applied to whole racks of pork ribs or pulled pork. Typical Memphis sauce is a mixture of tomatoes and vinegar and lots of spices. The sauce is typically tangy, but not spicy. The sauce is usually drizzled on pulled pork or served on the side for dipping the dry ribs.. One unusual Memphis treat found often at their barbecue restaurants is smoked tamales. They are typically outstanding!

Kansas City BBQ

Kansas City style is another one of the more famous styles of barbecue. Similar to Memphis style being mostly pork products, KC is set apart by the sauce. The sauce is usually very thick and sweet sauce. Where Memphis uses a combination of tomatoes and vinegar, KC typically uses tomatoes with a thicker additive such as honey or molasses. KC boasts over 100 barbecue restaurants and is the self titled ‘barbecue capital of the world’. Some of the more famous sauces originate from KC such as KC Masterpiece and Arthur Bryants. The city is also home to the largest barbecue association, the Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS), which boasts over 10,000 members and sanctions over 300 contests per year.

Try some Gate’s Famous Kansas City BBQ Sauce

St. Louis BBQ

Saint Louis is another area famous for its barbecue. Again, similar in nature to Memphis, St. Louis is typically pork products that have a dry rub applied before cooking. The sauce is unique in that it is tomato based, thinned with vinegar and is not as thick as KC sauce ort as spicy as Texas sauce. One procedure unique to St. Louis is often the sauce is warmed, and some meats when finished cooking are simmered in the sauce to give it a true ‘wet’ taste. The region also has the designation noted for a style of spare ribs named ‘Saint Louis style’ where the brisket portion of the spare ribs are cut off prior to cooking to give a rack a straight uniform appearance.

North Carolina BBQ

North Carolina has multiple types of barbecue preparation but the area is primarily known for its North Carolina spicy vinegar based sauce. Aficionados of this region feel that this is the only way to prepare barbecue. What is unique to this style is that typically whole hogs are smoked and then chopped into fine pieces and then sprinkled with the vinegar based sauce. Most other regions use boston butts or whole shoulders and then the meat is pulled into larger chunks as opposed to finally chopped in North Carolina. This style is typically a love/hate relationship. You either love or hate this style. NC barbecue purists say that a good NC style sauce will only have three ingredients: vinegar, salt and spices.

Try the author’s all-time favorite North Carolina BBQ Sauce.

All Other BBQ

That about sums up the major classifications and regions for barbecue, but there are a few others worth noting. Parts of South Carolina uses a mustard and vinegar concoction for sauce that is unique to that area. There is also a sauce unique to northern Alabama which is a white sauce for chicken made famous by Big Bob Gibson’s restaurant in Decatur, Ala. The white sauce is a mix of mayonnaise, vinegar and spices. Typical use is when the chicken is finished to dip the pieces as a finishing sauce. So with all these barbecue options, there’s bound to be one or more that fits your family.

Get the grill going and enjoy!  What is your favorite type of barbecue?

– The author is a huge bbq enthusiast and on weekends often has multiple smokers going.  Check back in the future for additional blogs about barbecue.