A License to Grill...
The History of American Barbecue The weekend barbecue has become a staple in American cuisine, but many of us smoke beef or pork without really knowing the history of this delicious tradition. To understand the ongoing feud in the barbecue belt between the four main styles–Texas, Carolina, Kansas City, and Memphis–you’ll need to learn more about how barbecue came to be, and how it’s evolved into these distinct styles. How it All Started Christopher Columbus encountered indigenous people on an island called Hispaniola, where they had developed a new way of cooking their meat among their tribes. This new method of cooking meat involved cooking meat over an indirect flame, which was made possible by using green wood. The green wood would prevent the food from burning, and so a new style of cooking was born called barbacoa. Beef vs. Pork Many BBQ enthusiasts believe that in order to make traditional barbecue, you need to only use pork. This is because the southern col...