Barbecue is cooking at its most instinctive. Our cooking culture started with the roasting of meat over fire, and in that sense, barbecue tradition is the oldest and most primal there is. We’ve come a pretty long way since then, what with our water baths, foams, gels and probes, but in the American south you’ll still find barbecue pitmasters keeping things old-school with a simple combination of meat and smoke.
When we talk about barbecue in the UK, what we’re really referring to is the equipment – the use of a barbecue to cook anything from vegetables to fish to meat, even dessert if you’re feeling a bit Come Dine With Me. There are no rules or laws when it comes to British barbecue, other than Sod’s law, which dictates an increased chance of precipitation as soon as you organise one for the weekend.
If you take a trip to the American south in search of barbecue thinking it might be similar, well, prepare for a culture shock. Barbecue here is life. There are fierce rivalries between different states over who has the best barbecue, and competitions every year to find the best pitmasters in the country. People are zealously loyal to their preferred barbecue joints, and will stop at nothing to get a plate of their favourite barbecue. You can expect to queue for hours to eat at the best spots, and there is a ever-present possibility that all the food will be gone by the time you get through the door (many places will simply close once they run out of food for the day).
There are a few steadfast rules when it comes to barbecue in the USA. When we talk American barbecue, we’re talking about the roasting and smoking of meat over a fire, often – but not always – with a sauce. Sounds simple? It’s not. There are several distinct styles across the Deep South, all with their own nuances. Ready for a road trip? We’ve got a lot of barbecue to get through, starting with the self-proclaimed ‘birthplace of barbecue’ – South Carolina.