The ABC's of BBQ

By Carl Weiss

Summer means barbecue in the USA.  Barbecue was actually invented in the West Indies.  Called barbacoa 

by the islanders, the process of slowly smoking fish and meat over an open fire was first discovered by Spanish explorers.  But the process was quickly adopted and evolved by hog farmers in the Southern US.  Even the charcoal briquette was an American invention, being patented by Pennsylvanian Ellswth Zwoyer in 1897.  So clearly barbecue is as American as hot dogs, baseball and apple pie.  But what separates the men from the boys when it comes to great BBQ?  Several things actually:

      A.    All you need is charcoal.  .  I hate to say it but barbecue rule number one is you have to grill over 

      charcoal.  While I have met a number of grillmeisters who know a thing or two about grilling and claim that they can get nearly the same smoky flavor on a gas grill with the liberal application of wood chips, I beg to differ.  While the gas grill is a great time saver when it comes to cooking outdoors, it still is most definitely NOT barbecue.

      B.     BBQ cannot be rushed.  In fact the essence of great barbecue is slow cooking.  The longer the meat cooks the more tasty and tender it gets.  Even setting up a charcoal grill for maximum efficiency can take an hour or more. In order to get charcoal to light properly you need to let them soak in charcoal lighter for at least twenty minutes and you need to let them burn at least a half hour before you bring on the meat.  To try and rush the process means that you run the risk of the coals not reaching the proper temperature, or even becoming extinguished.

      C.     Control is key.  While there are some nifty barbecues out there, true grill masters will insist on having the kind of grill that comes equipped with louvers that allow them to regulate the draft and has space enough to put the charcoal on one side of the grill and the meat on the other.  Indirect heat is what separates BBQ from baking.

      D.    Dry rubs are all the rage these days.  Rubs are composed of spices and herbs that are combined and rubbed on the outside of meat or fish prior to being placed on the grill.  The action of barbecuing or smoking the meat will activate the spices.  Rubs that include the use of brown sugar will not only sweeten the process, but it will also glaze the meat. 

      E.     Everything you need to know about sauces and marinades.  Marinade is applied hours or in

some cases a day or more before the cooking process begins.  The difference between marinade and sauce is the fact that while both typically impart flavor, marinades are also designed to tenderize meat via the inclusion of either vinegar or citric acid (typically lemon or lime juice).  Books are written about barbecue sauce and there are literally hundreds that can be purchased off the shelf or ordered online.  So I won’t attempt to get into the subject here.  Suffice it to say that the most important piece of advice I can give people about sauce is that they need to be applied either at the last stage of cooking or after the meat is removed from the grill.  Adding sauce at the outset of cooking is a no-no since this will cause the sauce to dry out and even burn.

While there are many routes to crafting mouth-watering deep down smoky barbecue, the most vital elements to keep in mind are that a little knowledge of the basics and the proper application of smoke and time is all you really need to wow the crowd at your next summer cookout.

Carl Weiss is a foodie and the producer of Man Cave Munchies, a cooking show designed for men.  Feel free to peruse more of his videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MancaveMunchies