The Differences Between Different Styles of BBQ Food by Region
Every region of the United States has its barbecue specialty: pulled pork sandwiches in North Carolina, racks of ribs in Memphis, “burnt ends” in Kansas City and chopped brisket in Texas. The roots of American barbecue run deep in the South, where even neighboring counties can have different approaches to barbecue, not to mention different states.
Consider North Carolina, a state with a long barbecue tradition .. In eastern North Carolina, you would probably find shredded meat from an entire pig, doused with a peppery vinegar sauce, and if you chose to drive West a few hours from the coast, and you will most likely be served meat from just the shoulder of the hog, with a tomato based sauce. Throughout Carolina, there is a clear preference for barbecue pork and thin vinegary sauces, which is a distinguishing style echoed throughout the state.
Memphis, Tennessee is another superb barbecue location, home to “Memphis in May,” which is the largest barbecue competition and festival in the world. The city boasts over 100 barbecue restaurants and several different barbecue styles. Like North Carolina and much of the South, pork is the barbecue meat of choice in Tennessee and pork ribs are the most common cut, but the city is divided between “dry-rubbed” and “wet rib” versions. Dry-rubbed ribs are generously rubbed with a mixture of spices, smoked and then served with sauce on the side. Wet ribs are lacquered with tangybarbecue sauce before, during and after cooking. Another Memphis favorite is the pulled-pork sandwich – smoked pork shoulder stuffed inside a hamburger bun and topped with coleslaw.
Kansas City is the barbecue capital of the Midwest. Like Memphis, it’s also home to over 100 barbecue restaurants and hosts an annual barbecue competition an an event called American Royal. In Kansas City, both pork and beef are barbecued and it is best known for its BBQ sauce, which is traditionally heavy on tomato and uses molasses as a distinctive sweetener. The traditional thickbarbecue sauce you buy in supermarkets is based on Kansas City style sauce. The bottled varieties are much different from the small batches of sweet zesty sauce cooked up by Kansas City pitmasters. For those that aren’t familiar with the term, “Burnt ends,” are the crunchy, charred ends of brisket slabs, are a Kansas City specialty not to be missed.
Texas is famous for its cattle, and beef brisket is the barbecue meat of choice. But chopped beef and beef ribs are also state favorites. Texas barbecue isn’t only about the beef, it is also about spicy pork sausages, called “hot links,” and pork ribs are also common barbecue fare. Almost all Texas barbecue is cooked without sauce. The meat is rubbed with spices, known as BBQ rub, smoked and, sometimes, a sauce is served on the side. Barbecue in other states is most often smoked over hickory, oak or a handful of other similar hardwoods. But Texas barbecue usually uses mesquite, which gives the meat a distinct and unique flavor.
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Have a Wonderful Bbq Party
Barbeques are popular for events such as the 4th of July, birthday parties, receptions, and going away parties. No matter why you have decided to plan a barbeque party, the memories that will come from it are sure to stick with your guests for many years to come, provided that you plan ahead. Planning the perfect BBQ party is not difficult, as long as you follow a few simple steps. 1) First, no barbeque would be complete without guests. Plan ahead of time, checking with your potential guest for scheduling conflicts and issues. Finding a date and time that is suitable for everyone should not be to far as long as you everyone enough advanced notice. Remember that not everyone will be able to come, no matter how much notice you give them, so do not get discouraged if you do not get as many RSVPs as your originally hoped for. 2) Be sure to check the weather for that type of year. If you live in a climate that cannot be predicted, then you may want to have a backup plan just incase unusual weather comes. You cannot predict things like rain and thunderstorms ahead of time, but you can make sure that you hold you barbeque during the time of year that will be pleasant to your guests. A barbeque in cold weather may hold more negative memories of trying to keep warm rather then good memories of family and friends. 3) Purchase the type of meat that you will be serving at your party. You will want to have a least a couple of different kinds of meats, as everyone attending may not like a certain kind. It is usually safe to go with pork, sausage, hamburgers, and chicken. If smaller children are going to be in attendance, you should consider child friendly foods such as smaller hamburgers and hot dogs. 4) Once you have the meat purchased, you will then want to consider what type of sides dished you will serve. If you want a completely tradition barbeque, you may want to stick with traditions sides. Traditional barbeque sides include potatoes, potato salad, baked beans, and coleslaw. Your traditional condiment bar should include pickles, relish, and onions. These foods are typically severed at barbeques because they are easy to prepare and store until the event happens. You may want to cook other items, but any barbeque is complete with just the items listed above. Once again, if children will be present, you may want to consider sides for them as well. The simplest approach to side dishes is chips and dip. Chips and dip do not require any cooking on your part, and will still be loved by the majority of your guests. 5) Depending on the theme of your party, you may or may not want to purchase decorations. Festive decorations can be found at any local party or general store. You may also consider purchasing decorations that can be stored and reused at a different time, such as reusable tablecloths and Tiki torches. 6) The day before you party, you will want to make sure to thaw, prepare, and marinate the meat you will be cooking. Store the meat stored away, soaking up the marinate until it is time for it to go on the grill. Prepare any side dishes that you can ahead of time. 7) The day of the party, get up early and start preparing for it. You do not want your guest arriving while you are still cooking or hanging decorations. It should only take you a few hours at most to prepare the area in which you will be having the party, but the reactions from your guest will probably seem as if you have been planning this for weeks. Try to have the grill already going by time the guests get there as well, because the smell coming from the grill is sure to get everyone in the mood.
English Independence Day BBQ Cooking
It all started over two hundred years ago with oppression and taxation by the British crown and ended up with a war. I am not sure why the American nation chooses to celebrate its separation from the British on July 4th but as a barbecue enthusiast I can really see the benefits.
Being a native of the country that lost the war of independence I look at our national holidays and wonder what I have done to deserve the dates we have. I guess the closest we come is St Georges day and that is in April. Have you ever been to England in April? Well if not, let me tell you that it is wet, overcast and usually blowing a gale so in general an all round misery and not conducive to a barbecue. Maybe that’s the reason why we do not celebrate our national saints day the same way that other countries do. Then let’s look at the other big celebrations:-
Easter – in March or April so generally the same weather as St Georges Day
Christmas – December can actually be a very peaceful month but still pretty cold for a BBQ
I hear so much about the Independence Day BBQ and what a great event it is that I am really jealous, it seems completely logical to me to have a national holiday at the height of summer and make an excellent opportunity for a party. So just needing any excuse to light the barbecue why not celebrate the fact that we lost the war in 1776? After that of course the only dilemma left to settle is what to cook?
In England we have the added confusion of the terminology because an American will call an English barbecue, a grill, and what an Englishman calls a meat smoker in America is called a barbecue pit. This makes some traditional barbecue smoker recipes difficult for an Englishman to do albeit I have got around this by investing in a Kamado ceramic barbecue but if an Englishman really wants a low cost method to indirectly cook then it’s got to be a large gas bbq grill that has at least two burners. I this way the food can be cooked over a drip tray on one side of the Barbie whilst on the other side the heat is applied to the coals.
So what do I cook? It is only right that an Independence day BBQ should be packed with the all American taste so for me it has to be a pulled pork recipe and / or a barbecue ribs recipe. Long slow cooking basted by a sugary viscous mop and a few soaked wood chips to complete the flavour – fantastic! It is always important to let the meat rest after the cooking process as this seals in the juices and during this time it makes perfect sense to be grilling that bbq appetizers. I go for some barbecue fish recipes because generally they are really quick to cook and offer a completely different flavour to the main course.
For dessert it has to be a blueberry pie but at the moment I have not been able to work out how I can do this on the barbie. I’ll keep trying and in the meantime I continue to send my thanks across the pond for a great summer party feast.
