Authentic Southern Barbecue
 Have
you eaten Southern Barbecue before?
Is the first thought that comes to mind at the mention of the
word barbecue..an event?...a type of food?...or a cooking
process? Did you know that it can be an Art, Hobby and Sport
too?
Barbecue can mean so many things and be spelled so many
different ways it is hard to know just what to think. Let's see
if we can help make sense of it all with the help of the
California barbecue association, from their website
www.cbbqa.com
"The low 'n slow method of barbecue was developed in the
Southern U.S. It requires wood (or wood charcoal) to cook meat
(or fish and vegetables) at a low temperature (usually between
212º to 250º) for a long period. This method of cooking, with
indirect heat and wood smoke, will produce an appearance, taste
and texture in meat that is unmatched by any other cooking
method."
Real Southern Barbecue is the way it is because the meat is
cooked at a lower temperature and for a longer time than
grilling, conventional oven baking or stove-top cooking. We call
this type of cooking 'low 'n slow'.
" What is the 'correct' way to spell it? [I've seen it
spelled 'barbecue', 'barbeque', Bar-b-que, Bar-B-Que, 'BBQ'.
'Q', and 'Que'. Which way is correct?
"Darned if we know. It tastes the same to us no matter how we
spell it. For this FAQ, we will try to use the spelling:
'barbecue', from Mr. Webster's big book and the abbreviation
'BBQ'. But we do know not all BBQ is created
equal.
What people in the south call barbecuing, people in
California call smoking (or more correctly, smokin'), and what
we in California call BBQ'n in the south it is referred to as "Grillin'".
The low and slow BBQ'n with indirect heat and smoke from hard
woods and charcoal produces a more flavorful, tender and more
moist barbecue product than any "grill" will put out.
Now as far as barbecue being a hobby and a sport, every
weekend in the southern states (Texas thru the Carolinas, and
south) there are avid barbecue fanatics competing in BBQ
competitions.
The competitions take place over night allowing the
contestants to cook all night, with some entries cooking for
12-14hours or more. Then they turn in the finished products to a
panel of judges during a 10 minutes timeframe. The BBQ is judge
typically for appearance, taste and texture/tenderness.
California (as well as other western states) has established
it's self on the competition map the last few years, with more
and more competitions being held every year. For a current
calendar of up coming BBQ events go to the
California BBQ Association Website.
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