BARBECUE!

Also spelled barbeque or abbreviated BBQ.

SOUTHERN COOKING:

The South is the main region for barbecue in the United States. While barbecue is found outside of this region, the southern states contain 70 of the top 100 barbecue restaurants.

The humble origins of barbecue are reflected in many small restaurants called “rib joints,” and usually have a fiercely loyal clientele.

Chicken and beef, and sometimes goat, sheep and even alligator are also used in barbecue.

The most widely used meat used in most barbecue is PORK, especially pork ribs and the pork shoulder.

What’s the difference between BARBECUE and GRILLING?

GRILLING is done "hot and fast" with little smoke and the flame almost touching the meat.

BARBECUING is done "low and slow" with lots of smoke and indirect heat: the flame not touching the meat.

Barbecue is a traditional style of cooking all over the South, but every region has their own special style of barbecue.

In North Carolina, the meat is chopped or sliced pig and the sauce is peppery-vinegar.

It is probably the oldest form of American barbecue.

In South Carolina the pig is still chopped or sliced, but is sometimes covered in a yellow mustard-based sauce.

Memphis, Tennessee is the center of the PULLED PORK region.

Pulled pork is slow-cooked, shredded by hand into juicy threads of meat, then covered with sauce.

Memphis-style barbecue is slow-cooked in a pit and ribs can be prepared either "dry"

or "wet."

"Dry" ribs are covered with salt and various spices before cooking, and are normally eaten without sauce.

"Wet" ribs are brushed with sauce before, during, and after cooking.

In the East Texas style the meat is served with thick sauce and served with a bun. It is the most similar to the rest of southern barbecue.

In the Central Texas style the meat is rubbed with spices and cooked over indirect heat from pecan or oak wood.

In the West Texas style the meat is cooked over direct heat from mesquite wood.

The South Texas style is influenced by Mexican tastes.