Barbecue

Barbecue (from the Taíno word 'barbacoa' — a wooden framework for slow-cooking meat over fire) is humanity's oldest and most universal cooking method. In the American South, barbecue is simultaneously a cooking technique (slow-smoking meat over wood at low temperatures for 8–18 hours), a social event, and a fierce regional identity marker — Texas beef brisket, North Carolina pulled pork, Kansas City ribs, and Memphis dry-rub are all 'barbecue' and all different. The American BBQ tradition dates from colonial-era pig roasts (pigs were easy to raise in colonial conditions). Enslaved African Americans developed many of the techniques and seasonings central to American BBQ. The global BBQ tradition includes Korean BBQ (tabletop grilling), Argentinian asado, South African braai, and Brazilian churrasco.