Quest For Fire - Around the World of BBQ

Since the very birth of cooking over an open flame the BBQ tradition has been kindled and embraced almost becoming a religion of sorts to some people.
In some places worshiping the delicious efforts with massive followings and competitions like Ribfest  and others held around the country.

Although having obscure origins in both activity and the origin of the word itself etymologists believe that barbecue is ultimately derived from the word barabicu found in the languages of both the Timucua of Florida and Taíno people of the Caribbean, which entered in European languages in the form barbacoa.
                                         The word translates as "sacred fire pit."

                                  The Six Zones of the BBQ Belt

The recipes and methods may be different in all six regions of the worlds BBQ belt they all usually have two things in common, Meat and Fire.
In some places it is just something you do outdoors when you don't have access to a proper kitchen.
In other places grilling and BBQ lie at the core of the cultures culinary identity.



The first zone comprises the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Standing alone as the second is South America.

Crossing the Atlantic zone number three stretches from the Mediterranean Basin to the Middle East.

Number four consists of Arab North Africa to South Africa via the continent's western coast.

 The largest connecting barbeque zone number five starts in Turkey running east through the Caucasus Mountains, Central Asia, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

Given the Help of the Mongols in the 13 century led by Genghis Khan the love of grilled meats grew to as far west as Turkey.

The sixth and last great barbeque zone follows the eastern rim of the Pacific, stretching from Australia and Indonesia to Korea.
Along that route interesting grilling can be found in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Macao and Japan.

So as you might expect most of the worlds grilling takes place in the tropics.
 But a great deal of remarkable live fire cooking likes outside the tropics like Japan, Argentina and in the U.S.


What is almost as interesting as where people who do live fire cooking is where they don't. 
Grilling has never played a big role in two of the worlds culinary superpowers: Northern Europe and China.
One more thing although grilling is found in Central Africa the charcoals are more often used to heat stews and frying pans and not to cook the meat directly.

Closer To Home

In many places the word has different meanings for instance in Britain, barbecuing refers to a fast cooking process directly over high heat, while grilling refers to cooking under a source of direct, high heat known in the U.S. and Canada as broiling.

In US English usage, however, grilling refers to a fast process over high heat, while barbecuing
refers to a slow process using indirect heat and/or hot smoke and similar to some forms of roasting.
Confusing maybe a little but we all know how great the smell of meat cooking on an open flame can be no matter what words or language we use, the bonds of food allow us to crisscross through all cultures and borders.

To a majority of U.S. backyard grillers, a barbecue is an event that involves a gas or charcoal grill, some burgers, hot dogs, maybe some sausage, and some cold drinks. To the purists barbecue is not an event or just a type of cuisine; it’s part of a cultural heritage.

The vast regional differences that exist from the coast to the gulf inspires such debate, fierce competition, coveting of hidden recipes, and long standing rivalries over which state has the best, most original, and truly authentic barbecue. 

RIBFEST 2011

 In July of this year I had the unique opportunity to go behind the scenes at one of the largest BBQ festivals in the country serving around 300 thousand people in a period of 4 days called Ribfest in Naperville Illinois.
Rib vendors from all around the country came to compete for a title of Best Ribs and Best Sauce.
  Two America's Chefs - http://www.americaschefs.org/ were selected as judges for this event.

The Rib Master himself Gorilla Rich Bacchi from Gorilla BBQ in Pacifica, Ca. http://www.gorillabbq.com/
&
The Amazing Culinary Visionary  STRETCH of Grinders in Kansas City, MO. http://www.grinderspizza.com/

  I also had the pleasure of tasting some of this amazing competition BBQ over that time some of the best was cooked for us by Chef  Craig Carter of  http://www.ultimatetailgateinc.com/
 * thanks again for everything Craig !

 In the end only one "Ribber" came away with both titles


                                                    Mr. Dan Johnson of Johnson's BBQ!!!

                                                  http://www.johnsons-bbq.com/index.php

 I had the pleasure to sit down with Dan and discuss his winning methods and what BBQ meant to him.  He told me that the judges are a lot harder to please now because they are more experienced and their palates have matured to the flavor profiles.
 He explained that it is becoming a lot harder to win with wood smoke and over smoking the meats in the past have affected how the judges respond to a heavier wood smoked flavor.

 He also let me have a bottle of his winning BBQ sauce to try so I will be sure to tell you how it is.  
He was like ObiWan Kenobi of BBQ but I also met another BBQ personality that would be considered the Yoda of BBQ if  it was Star Wars.
  Dave Raymond !!!
The name does not ring a bell ? 
Well his nickname "Sweet Baby Ray"  from his basketball days was given to him and his brothers famous BBQ sauce of the same name.
                                                              http://www.sweetbabyrays.com/    

 He was very cool and invited me to come back to Chicago and talk with him about BBQ sometime

                                                Of course I will have to take him up on that offer when I can.

        He let me take his picture I don't take many photos of people but this was Sweet Baby Ray!

One thing I have noticed is that very few methods of cooking are taken so seriously by so many and have the unique abilty to draw people together.  We all love to gather around the sacred fire pit and share our conversations and memories with our loved ones while our favorite foods cook over the open flames.
 So yes the world does have a BBQ belt but I consider this country the buckle of that belt.  We have a unique culinary place in the world of barbecue by having such a rich and diverse nation of people who from all around the world to share with us in the american dream.

Sharing recipes and techinques from this  broad spectrum of people have provided us with an infusion of some of the best the rest of the world has to offer with our tradition of gathering and family we will continue fueling a world cooking connection with others.

This was your introduction to some of the players and a background/history lesson into our love of cooking over open flames.
The Quest for Fire.

In my next blog I will break down a few real tips and tricks around the grill and smoker and provide some easy BBQ recipes to try out for yourself.

IMPORTANT
Remember like anything to do with fire safety is very important so I suggest
checking out these great cooking with live fire safety tips by clicking the link below.

Thanks for your all of your support and Happy Grilling/ BBQ !

                                                                                            Chef Ed

 
Fire Safety Link
http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/citizens/home_fire_prev/cooking.shtm