While the Australians may like to take the credit for the rise in barbequing that has taken place in the UK in recent years, it is, in fact, the Americans who established barbequing, as we know it.  Native Americans would smoke or dry fish, meat and birds on crude wooden racks and the early settlers observed and adopted these techniques.

The cattle ranchers owned massive tracts of land, populated by their stock.  These cattle herds would be spread all over the land and ranch-hands were employed to round them up.  To encourage the best hired hands, it was imperative that the employer not only offered good wages, but good food.

What we today regard as a barbeque was likely to have originated in the USA during the early part of the 18th Century.  Large political rallies would be held and a whole animal would be roasted to feed (and influence) potential voters.  Influences from the Southern USA brought pig meat to the fore and whole hogs would be roasted – hence the expression “to go the whole hog”.

Barbequing is the traditional way to cook food in the Southern USA.  There are many regional variations in sauces and meats used in the area known as the “barbeque belt”.  Locals consider barbecues to be social gatherings and tend to sneer at the North American notion of a barbeque being a quick “cook out” on the grill in the back garden.

Some examples of regional variations are: Louisiana, where a spicy thick tomato-based sauce with a Creole influence is used mainly on pork or beef brisket; while in Kentucky a Worcester sauce base is more popular and served with mutton, pork or beef.  In Kansas, a sweeter, spicy tomato sauce, using molasses and chilli powder, is served with spare ribs, beef brisket, shredded port, pork or beef ribs, chicken or lamb.

American barbeques, or smokers, produce smoked foods or traditional pit barbequed food by applying heat and wood smoke to the food.  The food cooks at a low temperature under static conditions.  Because the lid is closed there is no additional air moving through the smoker to dry out the food.  No water is needed as it would only be added to create steam to replace lost moisture, but this cooking method retains moisture beautifully.  Cheaper cuts such as brisket cook particularly well this way.  The collagen breaks down with slow cooking, leaving the meat beautifully tender, moist and juicy.  Chickens will have delicious crispy skin while the meat is juicy and tender.