A Question for our international brethren

Actually i think its the whole thing. Its as american as rock´n roll and harley davidson, its about the way its done, the variety, the quality time, the comradery, the good eats and drinks and also serving something special to your loved ones.

I can say that BBQ has had a huuuuuge impact on my life (and pants size :mmph and i wanna thank all you american pitmasters here and on the other forums whom i learned a lot from.

Cheers,

DM

Few people here in Italy consider bbq seriously as you do in the U.S.. Here is all about grilling...thank you all the brethren for all the knowledge sharing about real BBQ!

I'm a born and raised American expat so BBQ keeps me whole and was something I needed in my life after moving to the UK. I missed my family and the only environment I knew of where I felt secure.

Soon after I started sharing the love with strangers and trying to help build community spirit and togetherness by cooking at my local pub, my kids school PTA plus any organization I could find that needed support like such as battered women's shelters, homeless, children's charity etc.

Competition BBQ has always been second to all of the above and although I love to compete and hold my own I just can't get pull myself away from what the core of BBQ is for me and that's the act of bringing people together and sharing the love, fun, life changing experiences and just having a good time. ( It's midnight on a Sunday and I'm still here posting, that right there must mean I got it bad. )

Sorry a bit long winded but...

Doc

Don Marco said:

Actually i think its the whole thing. Its as american as rock´n roll and harley davidson, its about the way its done, the variety, the quality time, the comradery, the good eats and drinks and also serving something special to your loved ones.

I can say that BBQ has had a huuuuuge impact on my life (and pants size :mmph and i wanna thank all you american pitmasters here and on the other forums whom i learned a lot from.

Cheers,

DM

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DM,

I think I can safely say, you give a lot more than you get back.

You're an awesome and inspiring cook.

Nothing special about this over any other cuisine. I cook all sorts of different things and whatever I do, I just like to do right.

Over here we don't "BBQ" big pieces of meat...we grill thin pieces of meat,burgers,steaks,sateh sticks,porkbelly chops etc.
You won't see somebody smoking a whole chicken,pork shoulder,brisket,ribs during a BBQ over here.
Also we're used to an open grill instead of a smoker with a lid.
We know BBQ as grilling,direct cooking...and not as indirect smoking.
What's appealing to American BBQ?....Low and Slow and using smokewood.

I just love the whole thing, there is nothing that is like it in New Zealand cooking. I enjoy the preperation, the act of making something with lots of love for finished product and then sharing it with friends and blowing their minds on lovely flavours.

I have made many converts who are not prepared to spend a day prepping and cooking but I dont mind doing it for them.... they do thing I wont so who am I to judge them. Now I'm overseas working I really miss my UDS.

Oh and the smell of a big pulled pork sammy takes me back to June 2008 when I first tasted them in Californication and then hopped over to Texas and ate my way around from DFW, Rudys in Waco, San Antonio, Houston and then finally meeting the great owner of Ginas smoke skack on 71 from Columbis to Austin.

Muzza.

I really hope I don't step on anyone's toes with this response but I was never really introduced to barbecue, I was "brought up" with it. No... not in the American sense but barbecue none the less.

Now here's the touchy part... It has been said that barbecue actually originated in Jamaica. When the Spaniards came to Jamaica they brought with them their livestock (pigs) which then ran rampant on the island. Once the maroons got a hold of them they started to salt, season and smoke the hogs which was call'd jirking, the starting point for our modern day Jerk. These hogs were smoked by the Jamaican natives and slaves by a means of preserving the meat. Now because Jamaica was THE major trading point between Europe and the "New World" these techniques moved North to the Americas with the slave trade which is when the American form of Barbecue started to take shape.

Jamaica has a huge street food scene we call "Jerk Pans" which sells chicken, pork and sometimes sausage. It's flavored on the jerk side but not what I'd call real jerk. It's usually seared off and then put off to the side to smoke from the hardwood coals and juices dripping onto the hot coals.



So I say all this cuz when I hear the word barbecue I don't think American cue... I think of growing up with smoked chickens seasoned with onion, garlic, thyme, escallion, salt, black pepper, pimento & scotchie... Thats what Barbecue is to me!

Now to actually answer the OP's question... as far as what I've learnt from American Barbecue is a different set of flavor profiles, different combinations, an amazing set of new skill-sets! I love the Brethren and what I've picked up here. Any place you have so many different minds coming together and sharing new things daily will spark new spinoff ideas and the barbecue cycle continues! A great trip IMO! :thumb:

Cheers.

I'm just speculating here, but I think one of the reasons for the appeal/interest from overseas is the image of bbq... the idea of a great American past-time - bbq'ing/grilling in your yard, with the sun shining and all that. Also, the equipment for this great activity seems to have been commercialized and mass-produced with great success in the States. So may cultures in so many countries cook meat on fire with different techniques - open grill, hot rocks, buried in the ground, etc, but an icon like a Weber grill is distinctly American.

I have sometimes wondered about this as well, and then realized that bbq/grilling/cooking with fire is just a fundamentally fun thing to do, no matter where in the world you call home!! The input we get from domestic and overseas Brethren is phenomenal, and I really enjoy it.

Bbq in America originates from the slave days, which probably was around the same time or after that tradition started in the islands before the slaves get to the U.S. So America just made it famous. The same is true with comment above about Rock N Roll. Started in England, most of the legends came from there, but somehow people associate America with it.

I also love that its the working class mans type of cooking, build your gear yourself out of a 44 gallon drum or old propane tank, treat it with love and good ingredients, no absolutly correct recipes or techniques, and you can produce food even better than fancy schmancy resturants and T.V. chefs.
Muzza.

I had my first Weber grill 15 years ago, and she was almost unused building up rust on the backyard, then some day I saw the barbecue pit boys on you Tube and man, my life changed,
I started grilling every weekend. But then you wan to to know more and more, and when you discover the universe of teams, competitions, rub, sauces, and all those amazing techniques that will take your humble grilled food to another level, now, that is pure fun!
For me is all about to share quality time, please you family, friends and yourself with something of high quality, made with love ... and with a lot of help of our brethren friends of course!
Cheers from El Salvador.

Grilling a huge in NZ and Aussie for that matter,and so is smoking but generally fish .
I've had webers for years and cooked roasts and stuff on them and just doing research led me to experimenting with American style food.
I think it was mostly my love of ribs.
But in summing up BBQ wether it be American or Australasian style it's half about having a beer, relaxing and enjoying food with friends and family, we all grew up with that no matter where we come from

Well, I had been 'grilling' EU style, but once I got a taste of 'real BBQ' in TX I was hooked.

I had to wait 2 years till I finally got my hands on a Weber OTG from a local importer. I thought it too risky to buy from US and have it shipped (shipping damage).

Unfortunately I have to 'go places' to cook, I have no place to cook at our apartment, but I've managed about 10 cooks since June.

Got ribs nailed, I've done one pork shoulder, would want to get back to that and get more like a Boston Butt type cut.

I wish I could get some brisket here...

htrisna said:

Bbq in America originates from the slave days, which probably was around the same time or after that tradition started in the islands before the slaves get to the U.S. So America just made it famous. The same is true with comment above about Rock N Roll. Started in England, most of the legends came from there, but somehow people associate America with it.

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Rock and roll started in England? Not trying to sidetrack, but could you expand on that?

Ok, you got me. I was thinking of Bowie, Stones, Beatles, and countless others, but I guess Muddy Waters and Lil Richard preceedes them.

Cris said:

Rock and roll started in England? Not trying to sidetrack, but could you expand on that?

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I got turned on to bbq after attending a so-called "Rib Fest" in London Ontario about 20 years ago, and while I now understand that the fare at these vending events is considered by many to be sub-par, it did trigger my interest. After many boiled and burnt meals, I got more on-track after finding amazingribs.com and had the methodoligy explained better.

I've always been into 50's music and design, so the idea of charcoal grilling/Que'ing brings out the "Ward Cleaver" in my soul.

Thank you BBQ Brethren, for providing a safe place for those similarly afflicted to congregate!