Cooking Techniques Codexery

Barbecue

A cooking method using live fire and smoke, with regional variations worldwide.

Last updated

Barbecue is a cooking method that uses live fire and smoke to prepare food, with regional variations worldwide.[1] The term originates from the Spanish word barbacoa, which comes from a Taíno word barabicu meaning a "framework of sticks set upon posts".[2] Barbecue techniques can be separated into those that use direct heat and those that use indirect heat.[3]

Quick Facts

Etymology
From Spanish barbacoa, derived from Taíno barabicu
First printed use
1526 by Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés in Spain
Spelling variants
barbecue and barbeque

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

Spanish explorer Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés first printed the word barbecoa in Spain in 1526.[4] The Oxford English Dictionary records the first modern English use of "barbacu'd" in 1661 in Edmund Hickeringill's Jamaica Viewed.[5] In the 1730s, New England Puritans were familiar with barbecue, as Joshua Hempstead recorded attending a "Barbaqued" treat in 1731.[6] Samuel Johnson's 1755 dictionary included a definition for barbecue.[6]

The noun "Borbecu's" was first recorded in 1697 by English buccaneer William Dampier, who used it to describe stick frames elevated roughly three feet off the ground.[7] In English, the term appears as both "barbecue" and "barbeque".[8] In the United States, the term barbecue typically denotes slow cooking via indirect heat, whereas in British usage it commonly refers to fast grilling over direct heat.[9]

What the cited sources add

Bawdon notes that in South America these barbecues are called parillas, while in South Africa they are known as braai.[10] According to Bawdon, early smokers in the US originated from oil workers who used welding skills to build commercial barbecues after the oil industry declined in the 1980s.[10] A Food Republic article explains that Kentucky mutton barbecue uses a "mutton dip" of salt water, vinegar and peppers applied during slow cooking.[11] SAVEUR magazine describes barbecue as relying on indirect cooking, putting distance between coals and meat inside a closed chamber.[12]

Global News quotes an expert saying, "You grill a steak and you barbecue a pork butt".[13]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Barbecue" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bawdon, "A guide to different types of barbecue", Great British Chefs (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Barbecue" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hakim, "The First Americans: Prehistory - 1600", Oxford University Press, 2005, p. 121; Hale, "The Great American Barbecue and Grilling Manual", Abacus Pub. Co., December 2015; Rachel Bannarasee, "Where did the term barbecue come from?", ChefsResource, April 13, 2024; "Oxford Dictionary", Old.cbbqa.org (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Barbecue" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bawdon, "A guide to different types of barbecue", Great British Chefs; Moss, "Barbecue: the history of an American institution", University Alabama Press., 2020 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Barbecue" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Peters, "Caribbean Wow 2.0", House of Zagada, 2003, p. 27 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Barbecue" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Oxford Dictionary", Old.cbbqa.org; Lederer, "The Discoveries of John Lederer", 1672, p. 28 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Barbecue" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hempstead, "Diary of Joshua Hempstead of New London, Connecticut", New London County Historical Society, 1901, p. 241; Johnson, "A dictionary of the English language", Oxford University, 1756, p. 70 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Barbecue" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dampier, "A New Voyage Round the World", Ripol Classic, p. 20 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Barbecue" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Barbeque or Barbecue in Australia: You're probably right - Z Grills Australia", 25 September 2020 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Barbecue" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Matthew Bell, "Gaucho grill: How to cook the Argentinian way | Reviews | Lifestyle", The Independent, 18 July 2013 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Bawdon, "A guide to different types of barbecue", Great British Chefs. facts only, no text reused. greatbritishchefs.com
  11. "A Year of Barbecue: Kentucky Mutton - Food Republic", Food Republic, 13 March 2012. facts only, no text reused. foodrepublic.com
  12. "Barbecue 101", SAVEUR, 17 June 2011. facts only, no text reused. saveur.com
  13. "Grill vs barbecue – do you know the difference?", Global News. facts only, no text reused. globalnews.ca

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Barbecue (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Also in the Codexery

Barbecue · Barbecue & Grilling

More in Cooking Techniques

BakingBlanching (cooking)RotisserieThermal cookingLow-temperature cookingPoaching (cooking)FlambéShallow fryingInfusionIndirect grillingDiscadaJugging

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

Spotted an error? Know more?

Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced

Comments

Loading…
Open in the interactive codex →