BBQ'ing ribs

[oldschool1982]

Just for Gits and Shins this article was written by Derrick Riches on The History of Barbecue: Part I. This may shed soome light on some views of the technique and it's origins. There is also an episode of Modern Marvels on the History Channel that this echo's.

Enjoy the read!

When examining the history of Barbecue people quickly breakdown into the age old argument of what exactly Barbecue is. If we credit the indigenous peoples of the Southern United States with the advent of Barbecue as a method of preserving meat then it only follows that modern day Barbecue is an evolution of this process, changing over time into that great southern icon, Barbecued Pork (or pulled pork). However if you wander out of the south you quickly find people who "Barbecue" hamburgers on their Weber grill. In my life I have eaten things referred to as Mongolian Barbecue, Japanese Barbecue, and Greek Barbecue. All of these are very different things. The biggest debate you will find along the purists of the meaning of Barbecue will occur if you bring together a Texan and a South Carolinian. In Texas, Barbecue means Beef, particularly Brisket. In the Carolina's (the whole south for that matter), Barbecue means Pork (typically shoulder roasts and Boston butts).
So where do you start with a History of Barbecue? Let’s start with this somewhat controversial premise. Everything that is typically called Barbecue has a couple of things in common. Barbecue requires meat. You grill vegetables. For those of us living in the twentieth century, meat, regardless of what kind is far more prevalent than it was to our ancestors. Industrialized ranching, refrigeration and mass trucking of goods have made meat a not only a staple of diet but practically an every meal entree. In the evolution of Barbecue, wherever that evolution took place one this has always been a constant. Barbecue is more than a meal. It is an event. People gather for good barbecue, whether invited or not. Barbecue is an event that gathers people around a fire to watch, smell and eat. Like the fires of prehistory this is the place to eat, drink and tell stories.
My point? Before you start brawling, remember that Barbecue is a social event and though you might not agree with the process, the food is always good. So my goal in this series of features will be to examine Barbecue in all its forms from the perspective of each individual history. I will be starting with the origin of Barbecue in the United States and in later features will look at the evolution of both Texan and Southern Barbecue individually.
When the first Spanish explorers arrived in the new world they found the indigenous peoples preserving meats in the sun. This is an age old and almost completely universal method. The chief problem with doing this is that the meats spoil and become infested with bugs. To drive the bugs away the natives would built small smoky fires and place the meat on racks over the fires. The smoke would keep the insects at bay and help in the preserving of the meat.
Tradition tells us that this is the origin of Barbecue, both in process and in name. The natives of the West Indies had a word for this process, "barbacoa". It is generally believed that this is the origin of our modern word Barbecue, though there is some debate on the matter.
The process began to evolve with the migration of Europeans and Africans to the region of the Southern United States. European pigs and cattle were transplanted to the new world and became the primary meat source for the colonies, pork being the meat of choice in the South due to the ability of pigs to thrive with little care. The racks used to dry the meat were replaced with pits and smoke houses.
Now pit cooking is by no means new at this point in history or specific to any particular region of the world. If we define Barbecue as a process of cooking meat (or specifically pork) in pits then the inventors of this process are probably the Polynesians who have been masters of slow, pit cooked pork for thousands of years. So we will have to leave the definition for another time.
The process of slow cooking meat in early colonial times was often reserved for poor cuts of meat left for slaves and low income peoples. Higher quality meats had no need for a process of cooking that would reduce the toughness of the meat. Throughout the south Barbecue has long been an inexpensive food source, though labor intensive. But I am getting ahead of myself.
One thing to remember that without a process of refrigeration, meat had to be either cooked and eaten quickly after slaughter or preserved by either a spicing or smoking process. Traditionally spicing requires that large amounts of salt be used to dry the meat and lower the ability of contaminants to spoil the meat. Smoking in this period of time had much the same effect. The indigenous practitioners of Barbecue, cold smoked meat meaning that the meat was dried by exposure to the sun and preserved by the addition of smoke.

[OregonYeti]

I wonder how meat would taste if it were

slow, pit cooked pork for thousands of years.

Might be a bit dry

My mom is from Illinois and to her bbq is a sauce. Her bbq pork sandwiches are yummmm

[DC Sunshine]

bbq should mean bbq - but how do you qualify a bbq? Is it propane? Is it charcoal? Is it wood? Does it have a hood? Is it a flat plate or a grill plate? There's variety within just the word bbq

Being from down under - bbq generally means blackened sausages and cold beer yum yum - sorry other aussies, I know there's good bbqers amongst us, but that's the general result. But the beer is always cold and that's the main thing

[OregonYeti]

DC, you guys bbq whole crocs, so I heard

Stuffed with roo meat and prawns and covered with vegemite

And you drive on the wrong side of the road

[DC Sunshine]

Yeti yep absolutely - don't forget the side dish of coal roasted goanna cooked in its skin marinated in Foster's and the grilled budgies on a stick.

And WHO drives on the wrong side of the road?!?!?!

[DC Sunshine]

Oldschool - that makes a good read. Another word origin for bbq I've heard of is from early French settlers in North America who roasted the native goats whole - "de barbe en queue" - from head to tail.

DC

[OregonYeti]

Originally Posted by DC Sunshine

Yeti yep absolutely - don't forget the side dish of coal roasted goanna cooked in its skin marinated in Foster's and the grilled budgies on a stick.

And WHO drives on the wrong side of the road?!?!?!

Of left and right, which is right? Heh an American musta made that up, or maybe a Canadian

I would like to try that Foster's with or without goanna

[oldschool1982]

Thank's DC! That's the way I have always understood it so it wasn't hard for me to grasp.
For what it's worth.......During my career and life I have, among other places, lived in GA, SC, MO, and NC. I belonged to the KCBS and also Judged at the American Royal BBQ. In BBQ terms that's a pretty good influence from/in BBQ culture. I don't say this with my chest thrown outbut having experienced almost all the schools of BBQ here in these United States I can honestly say I don't find one more appealing that the other. They all bring something different to the table and I do enjoy each and every one because of that.

I enjoy food. One of the reasons I became a Chef. And because of this enjoyment I have found that each and every form of not only BBQ Culture but cooking culture in general has something to offer the palette. If anyone posting in this thread, the forun or on the web feels that they KNOW the only true form of BBQ or cooking in general out there then change your Culinary experience to "F'n Grand Master of all things"! For me I hope I never reach that title. IMHPO There's too much to miss by thinking it's all been experienced. Have and share an opinion, technique or style. That's what it's all about. There are also more places out there that steam/boil their ribs than you will ever know. And the ironic thing is in some cases unless you know exactly what to look for in smoked meats you'll never know the difference

Rant over soap box neatly tucked under hotel bed.

[DC Sunshine]

Oldschool - very fair comments. There are more things under the sun than anyone can ever know, and one should not close one's mind off to them. There is no definitive bbq -the variety is endless, and the differences are there to be experienced and enjoyed. If you don't like it, don't do it/eat it in that style.

Simple as that. But we should all let those who choose their preference enjoy it that way without derision/criticism Not everyone likes purple hot pants either, for example.

Oh heck, I'll be annoying the "purists". Oh well. Life's like that!

[OregonYeti]

The only true barbecue is Indian tandoori chicken--just kidding

[gonefishin]

So I think I finally get it now!


A grilled hamburger is just an evolved form of BBQ'ing

dan

[96khzz]

Did anyone actually answer the original question?

[DMT]

Originally Posted by 96khzz

Did anyone actually answer the original question?

The second reply took care of the question...

[Marge Gunaw]

Originally Posted by Lynne55

Hi - I've suddenly got guests for dinner - and have 2 lovely big slabs of pork back ribs - frozen solid. Can I just put my bbq sauce on them frozen & cook them VERY slowly for the afternoon, taking them out to brown on the bbq just before serving?

thanks!

Hope this will help. This is an Asian style cooking as I am from Indonesia.

In my experiences, frozen food is not suitable to be cooked before they were defrosted first as they need to absorb the marinates. I used to defrost them first, then marinate them.

Buy Hoisin sauce, add light soy sauce + sugar (honey) + fresh ground black pepper + a bit of chopped coriander leaves + 3 - 4 cloves of smashed garlic (do not open the skin). Rub all the ribs and then marinate for one hour, ready for grilling or BBQ. Make it well done as Pork needed to be really cooked well before we eat them, for health sake.

If necessary, garnish them with sprigs of julienne (stipes cut style) of spring onion greens and chopped deseeded red chillis.

Good luck Lynne55 with your party.

[cwshields]

Your recipe/method sounds VERY good. (my mouth is watering). I agree thawed meat and marinating is absolutley very tastey but if you get surprised by unexpected guests then using aluminum foil along with seasoning is a nice way to cook. on the grill Marinating thawed meat is the best, but sometimes you have to go with what you got. I certainly hope we didn't scare of the original poster as that is not why we are here. Please don't be afraid to participate, not everyone agrees with everything, but that's what makes these forums so great...differing<sp?> views/methods to achive yummy goodness. Thank goodness not everyone has the same tastes!