Poll: What would you consider to be "traditional" BBQ meat?

[Lake Dogs]

Bo, thanks for the info. Most of this (above) I did know, except:

> In fact, "possum" was considered a "sumptuous" meal in the 18th and 19th
> centuries by all races in America.

I'm not surprised that it was eaten or bbq'd, but I am surprised that it was considred "sumptuous". That's new news to me.

I actually use part of this history above in my MBN on-site spiel, as the spices, seasonings, and the wood we use harkens back to the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries that would've/could've been used by African Americans in that time period. I even talk a little about the pit in the ground and .... I'll save that for MBN.

Dont think I'll mention the possum part though....

 

[BigBlock]

Here's the problem with your poll: the right answer is not one of the options.

The correct answer is: pork and beef

Anything else is grilling

Looks like pork over beef to me

 

[Boshizzle]

Bo, thanks for the info. Most of this (above) I did know, except:

> In fact, "possum" was considered a "sumptuous" meal in the 18th and 19th
> centuries by all races in America.

I'm not surprised that it was eaten or bbq'd, but I am surprised that it was considred "sumptuous". That's new news to me.

I actually use part of this history above in my MBN on-site spiel, as the spices, seasonings, and the wood we use harkens back to the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries that would've/could've been used by African Americans in that time period. I even talk a little about the pit in the ground and .... I'll save that for MBN.

Dont think I'll mention the possum part though....

Yeah, I'm with you on the possum. They are nasty critters and I wouldn't want to eat one.

The real point of my rambling post above is that I think things like competition rules published by sanctioning bodies, TV shows, many barbecue cookbooks, and some barbecue "experts" seem to box us all into a very narrow perception of what barbecue is. The truth is, barbecue cooking techniques and the foods that can authentically be barbecued is much larger than the small subset that we are taught is "real barbecue."

Heck, if you can barbecue a possum surely you can barbecue a chicken. And, you don't need a Jambo pit or a fabulous Klose pit to do it. Traditionally, all you needed was a hole in the ground, some hardwood, some simple seasonings, and some delicious food to cook over it. I'd love to see that at a KCBS competition at least one time.

 

[CarolinaQue]

Speaking of simple seasonings...

When I was stationed in VA, one of the first gigs I did was for some one in our Chain of Command that was retiring. He was also from NC and his family was coming up and brought some small farm raised whole shoulders (the shoulders weren't small...18 to 20 lb average, just the farm they came from was small) with them to be cooked for the retirement party.

The coolers were waiting for me on site when I showed up to start cooking with a container of salt and a note that said to only season the meat with the salt and cook.

...And that's all it was. Whole shoulder seasoned with salt and cooked with a hickory and white oak fire. It was some of the best meat I ever had! Definately one of those cases where less was more for sure!!!