To the Editor:
If you drive with your car windows open, you can smell it on most spring evenings. The scent is unmistakable. Yes, someone is barbecuing. Most of us barbecue, and don’t give it a second thought. To grill is commonplace, and a tradition that crosses cultural lines. But where did barbecue start? Like so many things that we take for granted, the answer to that question is elusive.
Many credit the Spanish explorer Gonzalo Fernández De Oviedo y Valdés with being the first to use the word barbacoa in print, in Spain in 1526. However, several decades earlier, Columbus found the Taino people roasting meat over a grill that consisted of a wooden framework, on sticks over a fire. Others credit the Arawaks in other parts of the Caribbean, as well as regions in Mexico.
In modern times, grilling over a fire goes by a variety of names throughout the world. Barbecue, known as BBQ in the U.S., U.K., and Canada, is called barbie in Australia, and braai in South Africa. Beyond nomenclature, anyone with an interest in grilling will tell you there are barbecue snobs. Heated debates surround whether charcoal, mesquite, or propane is the most desirable heat source. Witness a South Carolinian argue with a Kansas City native over which region has the best barbecue ribs.
Cookbooks are another story. Amazon lists no fewer than seven pages of barbecue cookbooks, with names ranging from “Project Smoke” and “Pit Boss,” to “Planet Barbecue!” and of course, “Martha Stewart’s Grilling.” It becomes obvious that grilling extends far beyond just beef. Chicken, pork, lamb, fish, vegetables, watermelon and other fruits are all fair game for the outdoor chef. If it is edible, it is grillable.
As any craftsman will tell you, tools are an essential part of any task. So it is with barbecue. There is an advertisement on the Internet for the “Ten Essential Grilling Tools and Accessories.” Why stop at just 10? Three isn’t enough? There are as many tools to choose from as there are barbecue sauces or marinades.
And so there is no misunderstanding, let’s be clear that, for many, barbecue isn’t limited to spring and summer months. For the aficionado, barbecue is truly the endless summer. The hardy griller can be found next to the barbecue in the dead of winter, in subfreezing temperatures with snow on the ground, grilling away with a smile on his or her face.
If one needs any evidence of the enthusiasm of year-round grilling, look up the recipes for barbecued turkeys. For some, Thanksgiving is family, football, and grilling. The pronouns remind me of a gender issue. I have no data, and I can’t prove it, but it seems to me that you are much more likely to see a man at the grill than in the kitchen. The husband who can’t boil an egg is the expert, beyond reproach, of all things culinary when standing next to the grill.
So there we have it. Take a deep breath and enjoy the aroma of the barbecue. Its origin? Spain, the Caribbean, Mexico? Let’s face it, our Neanderthal ancestors had no choice but to rub two sticks together and start to grill. Bon appétit!
Kevin R. Loughlin
Edgartown
