Barbecue in the United States

Barbecue's biggest mass adoption by the American public occurred during the 1950s, when grills became inexpensive and commonplace in backyards.

[5][6] Characteristically, this process leaves a distinctive line of red just under the surface, where the myoglobin in the meat reacts with carbon monoxide from the smoke, and imparts the smoky taste essential to barbecue.

[4] Barbecue in its current form came from the South, where cooks learned to slow-roast tough cuts of meat over fire pits to make them tender.

These humble beginnings are still reflected in the many barbecue restaurants that are operated out of "hole-in-the-wall" (or "dive") locations; the "rib joint" is the purest expression of this.

Many of these will have irregular hours, and remain open only until all of a day's ribs are sold; they may shut down for a month at a time as the proprietor goes on vacation.

[4] Barbecue is strongly associated with Southern cooking and culture due to its long history and evolution in the region.

Indian corn cribs, predecessors to Southern barbecue, were described during the Hernando de Soto expedition in southwest Georgia, and were still around when English settlers arrived two centuries later.

[12] As such, due to the strong cultural associations that it holds, barbecue has attained an important position in America's culinary tradition.

For example, in Kansas City, barbecue entails a wide variety of meats, sweet and thick sauces, dry rubs, and sliced beef brisket.

Variations of these ideals by region are reflected in the great diversity of barbecue styles and traditions within the United States.

As author Andrew Warnes states, "its mythology of savagery and freedom, of pleasure, masculinity and strength" is part of what makes barbecues so popular to date.

[17][18] The pig, the essential ingredient to most barbecue, became a fundamental part of Southern cuisine in the 18th century because it requires little maintenance and more efficiently converts feed to meat (six times quicker than beef cattle).

By 1860, hogs and southern livestock were valued at double the cotton crop, at a price of half a billion dollars.

By the 19th century, the role of barbecue in public celebration and political events increased significantly, becoming prominent in the South and the Midwest.

Lamb and mutton are found in some areas, such as Owensboro, Kentucky (International Bar-B-Q Festival), and some regions will add other meats.

Major Kansas City-area barbecue restaurants include Arthur Bryant's, which is descended directly from Perry's establishment and Gates Bar-B-Q, notably spicier than other KC-style sauces with primary seasonings being cumin and celery salt.

[29] The original use of buried cooking in barbecue pits in North America was done by the Native Americans for thousands of years, including by the tribes of California.

At the end of the culling and leather tanning season large pit barbecues cooked the remaining meat.

In California, the Santa Maria-style barbecue, which originated in the Central Coast region, is best known for its tri-tip beef rump, sometimes cut into steaks, which is grilled over a pit of red oak, and simply seasoned with salt and garlic.

Lechon consists of taking a whole pig, slicing it from the head to tail along the chest and stomach, and slow-grilling the hog as it is turned on a rod.

Although now considered a part of the Midwest, Missouri was originally settled primarily by Southerners from Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee.

These original settlers brought a strong barbecue tradition and even though successive waves of later, primarily German and Scandinavian, immigration obscured much of the state's Southern roots, the Southern influences persisted, especially throughout the Little Dixie enclave of central Missouri (connecting the Kansas City and St. Louis barbecue traditions).

[citation needed] St. Louis style barbecue sauce is characterized by its mildly sweet, tart, and spicy taste and tomato base.

Unlike most other prominent barbecue sauces, the St. Louis style variety doesn't contain liquid smoke.

With less local tradition to draw on, restaurants often bring together eclectic mixes of things such as Carolina pulled pork and Texas brisket on the same menu, or add original creations or elements of other types of cuisine.

[38] There are hundreds of barbecue competitions every year, from small local affairs to large festivals that draw from all over the region.

[5][9] The nonprofit Kansas City Barbeque Society, or KCBS, sanctions over 300 barbecue contests per year, in 44 different states.

Despite the "Kansas City" name, the KCBS judges all styles of barbecue, broken down into classes for ribs, brisket, pork, and chicken.