Barbecue Best

Global BBQ Cultures

The summer BBQ is a great American tradition. It is also a global tradition. Around the world most societies do some form of grilling meat. The most popular type is skewered meats, commonly known in the U.S. as kabob. Another popular global BBQ staple is sausages which are not only popular in countries of European heritage but also in China. In America we see this form most commonly in hot dogs. In other BBQ cultures however the sausage takes center stage such as at the South African "braai".It is easy to understand why skewered meat is the most popular item in global BBQ culture. Ever roast marshmallows on a camping trip? Probably the easiest way for our ancestors to cook food over a fire was to put it on a stick or a sword or knife and hold it over the heat of the fire. This may be why in some BBQ cultures skewers still look like swords instead of wire or bamboo skewers.Lechon a very popular item in former Spanish colonies in the Caribbean and the Philippines is a whole rotisserie hog. Lechon originally referred to the use of a young suckling pig though it has become more of a generic term. The pig's internal organs are removed and a rod is inserted through the pig and placed over coals to cook for several hours. The pig is turned and basted with sauce adding flavors and crisping the skin of the pig, a signature of this specific style.Another style of kabob, the doner kabob is placed on a vertical spit to cook. Greek gyros are actually a type of doner kabob where ground lamb is placed on the vertical spit. Other styles of doner kabobs often feature layers of whole cuts of meat, ground meat and fat. This style of BBQ is popular throughout the Middle East through Greece and into the Balkans.In some cultures pit and stone cooking is also used. While many people may be familiar with the Hawaiian lua style of whole hog even French and Swiss BBQers use hot rocks to cook meat, called pierade. Something between a pit BBQ and an oven is the Pakistani tandoor. The tandoor is a charcoal heated vertical ceramic vessel into which skewered meats are placed to cook at high temperature. Apparently there are even styles of bread cooked on the sides of the tandoor.There are some things that are strangely common about different cultural grilling practices. Ingredients such as cumin, red pepper, and black pepper find their way into almost all different styles. The BBQ is a social event and the one time where it is expected of the men to cook, family and friends are always an important part of a BBQ.