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The charcoal barbecue has been around
for quite some time. It is a summertime
tradition in the United States to
fire up some hot coals and grill up a slab
of meat while the smell of numerous other
barbecues floats across the neighborhood. A
barbecue with friends, family and all the
fixin s is truly an American
institution.
But where did all this summertime fun
and food come from? How did it begin? The
first charcoal barbecue as we are used to
seeing showed up in the United States in
the 1950 s. During this time a long running
television advertising campaign introduced
the American public to the charcoal
barbecue. This was the beginning of
barbecuing as we know it.
But even before the introduction of the
modern charcoal barbecue people were using
charcoal fires to roast meat. The first
people believed to have barbecued were the
native peoples of the Caribbean islands who
cooked large pieces of meat over big pits
filled with hot coals. The University of
Virginia did a research project on the
origins of the charcoal barbecue and found
that the French and Spanish explorers and
colonists borrowed this way of cooking meat
from the native islanders. It was imported
to America, particularly the pre-Civil War
south and became a part of the cooking
culture there.
Because the staple meat of the south was
and still is pork this charcoal cooking
caught on quite easily. Of course the
barbecue process was improved upon over
time until the first charcoal barbecue was
marketed nation wide in the 1950 s.
Since that first charcoal barbecue was
introduced over 50 years ago it has evolved
even further during that time. What started
as a coal filled pit with a spit to turn
the meat placed over is now the modern
barbecue we see in our local home
improvement stores. Of course there have
been several major advances in the charcoal
barbecue over the years. The first was the
introduction of lighter fluid. This made it
easier to get the fire started and along
with charcoal briquettes brought barbecuing
into mainstream American culture. Taking
this a step farther you can now get a
hybrid charcoal and gas grill all in one.
The gas is used to light the coals so that
the more traditional barbecue chefs can
continue to enjoy the smoky taste afforded
by hot coals.
The charcoal barbecue continues to be an
American institution and for good reason,
there is no better way to cook burgers,
steaks, chicken or just about anything else
then over an open fire.
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