Guide Note

Barbecue is a popular outdoor cooking method where meat and vegetables are cooked over hot coals or a gas flame.

The method of cooking is important, as American barbecuing is an indirect style of cooking where the food does not directly touch the heat source. Instead, the coals or flame are intended to heat a grill on which the food sits and cooks.

The trademark of American barbecue is barbecue sauce and smoky flavor. Many cooks utilize a process called "smoking," whereby fire cooks the meat and smoke from the wet moist conduction method "smokes" the meat.

Woods are frequently used to accentuate the flavor of the cooked products. Mesquite and Hickory woods are selected and used for the specific level of smokiness added. The flavors can be so apparent that dishes are often named after the woods themselves.

The culture of barbecue has become so prominent in the United States that non-barbecued foods are often given artificial barbecue flavoring. Potato Chips are one of the most commonly "barbecued" snack foods and are flavored with oils and sugar to impersonate the taste of barbecue sauce.

Fast Facts

1. Numerous regional variations
2. Process of slow cooking
3. Inspires outdoor gatherings
4. Slow process of indirect heat
5. Food is usually kept at least several inches above heat source
6. Many barbecue purists refuse to use gas grills