Barbecue has many regional variations, based on several factors:
- the type of meat used
- the sauce or other flavoring added to the meat
- when the flavoring is added during preparation
- the role that smoke plays in preparation
- the equipment and fuel used to cook the meat
- how much time is spent cooking the meat
At its most generic, any source of protein may be used, including beef, pork, lamb, poultry, fish, and seafood. The meat could be ground, as with hamburger, processed into sausage or kebabs, and/or accompanied by vegetables and/or bread. Sometimes the cut of meat (e.g. brisket or ribs) matters; sometimes the cut is irrelevant. The meat may be marinated or rubbed with spices before cooking, basted with a sauce or oil before and/or during cooking, and/or flavored in numerous ways after being removed from the heat. Occasionally, vegetarian alternatives to meat, such as soyburgers and mushroom caps, are prepared similarly.
Typically meat is covered with barbecue sauce. Vinegar-based sauce is typical of Southeastern United States barbecue, while tomato-based sauce is Midwestern and Western United States style.
Many forms of barbecuing involve tough cuts of meat that require hours of cooking over low heat that barely exceeds the boiling point of water. Some forms of barbecue use rapid cooking over high heat, being barely distinguishable from grilled meats to those who would make such a distinction. With high heat barbecuing (often called grilling), the food is placed directly above the flame or other source of heat. With low heat barbecuing, the food is off to the side and almost always under a cover, frequently with added smoke for additional flavor. It is generally agreed among the many regions of North America that "barbecuing" has four definitions:
- indirect dry heat in a smoke pit constitutes "smoking,"
- direct and indirect dry heat in a masonry oven or other oven constitutes "baking,"
- direct heat on a shallow surface above a standard open flame constitutes "grilling," which in turn has two sub-definitions:
- direct dry heat on a ribbed surface is the mark of "charbroiling,"
- direct dry or moist heat with the use of cooking oils and fats on a flat surface is the mark of "griddling," and
- combining direct dry heat on a charbroil-grilling surface and direct moist heat in a broth-filled pot constitutes "braising." Outside of the US, these distinctions are rarely observed.
Sometimes an open flame is required, with the fuel source irrelevant. In other cases, the fuel source is critical to the end result, as when wood from particular kinds of trees are used as fuel.
Oceania
Pacific islands
Barbecuing is popular in the Australasian, Melanesian, Micronesian, and Polynesian islands. Every country has its own version of cuisine a la pit but some of the most legendary and continuously-practiced examples can be found in the South Pacific. In Hawaii, it’s the imu. New Zealand’s Maori have the hangi. Tahitians call it hima’a. And a thousand miles away in the Marquesas Islands, there’s the umu. As with many tropical islands' styles of barbecue, the meat is glazed with sauce and decorated with fruits.
Australia
In Australia barbecues are a popular summer pastime. Coin-operated or free public gas or electric barbecues are common in city parks. While Australian barbecue uses similar seasonings to its American counterpart, smoking or sugary sauces are used less often; more commonly, the meat is marinated for flavour and then is cooked on a grill. The barbecuing of prawns ("shrimp" in the USA) has become increasingly popular in Australia but was not popular at the time of the American TV commercial featuring Australian actor Paul Hogan.
Barbecues are also common in fund raising for schools and local communities, where sausages and onions are served on white bread with a fruit based BBQ sauce (typically apple) or ketchup Tomato sauce. These are most often referred to as "Sausage Sizzles".
New Zealand
In New Zealand, as in Australia, barbecue is also popular. A New Zealand barbecue is similar to a mix of American, British, Australian, and Pacific Island styles.
Caribbean
Jamaica
Jerk chicken is an example of Jamaican barbecue.
The Bahamas
Bahamian barbecue is similar to Pacific Islander, Hawaiian, mainland American, UK, and Australian styles.
Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico
The Taíno method of slowly cooking meat over a wooden mesh of sticks. An example is in Spanish-speaking islands of the Caribbean, such as Cuba, Dominican Republic, and especially Puerto Rico, Lechon is a common and extremely popular delicacy. Lechon consists of taking a whole pig, slicing it from the head to the rear from the bottom, and slow-grilling the hog as it is turned on a rod.
Other Caribbean islands
Barbecue is also popular in all the Caribbean islands, each with their own traditions.
Asia
China
In southern China, pork barbecue is made with a marinade of honey and soy sauce, and cooked in long, narrow strips. This form of barbecue is known as char siu. Outdoor barbecues (usually known simply as BBQ) are popular among Hong Kong residents on short trips to the countryside. These are invariably coal-fired, with meat (usually beef, pork, sausage, or chicken wing) simply marinated with honey, then cooked using long, hand-held forks. In these sense, the style and atmosphere is closer to fondue and hot pot.
Korea
Although called BBQ, Korean BBQ is actually grilled. Bulgogi (불고기) is thinly sliced beef (and sometimes pork or chicken) marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic and chili pepper, cooked on a grill at the table. It is a main course, and is therefore served with rice and side dishes such as Kimchi. Bulgogi literally means "fire meat." The more common Korean "BBQ" is called kalbi, which is marinated ribs.
Japan
Barbecueing is very popular in Japan as part of an outdoor activity. Normally, more vegetables and seafood are incorporated than in the US, and soy sauce or soy based sauces are commonly used. Occasionally, the Japanese-style fried noodle "Yakisoba" would be cooked as well.
Yakitori is an example of Japanese barbecue. It is the Japanese version of shish kebab.
Spare ribs, chicken, and steak are also grilled and glazed with teriyaki sauce.
Russia
Shashlik is the Russian version of shish kebab, and like all other international variants, is cooked on a grill. Sausages are also commonly grilled over an open flame, and Chicken Kiev and pierogies are baked in ovens, after which sometimes they can be grilled.
Central Southern Asia
The tandoor is a form of barbecue, particularly focusing on baking, that is common in Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern India. Grilling is also popular, and uses many spices native to the local land, such as curry.
Southeastern Asia
Satay is popular in several Southeast Asian countries: Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines. It consists of pieces of meat skewered on a bamboo stick. The meat is marinated in a mixture of spices similar to a curry mix and pulverised peanut. Most common meats are chicken, lamb and beef. In non-Muslim enclaves, you will also find pork and various other satay made from animal offal.
After the meat has been cooked over a charcoal flame, it is served with a thick gooey dipping sauce made from the same mixture as the marinate for the meat (a peanuty tasting curry like mixture).
In the mountainous regions of North Borneo, the local Kadazan people's specialities are chicken satay and snake meat satay (as of 2007 this is only available under exceptional circumstances). Before 1990 it was possible to get satay of animals like tapir, elephants, flying fox, goannas and wild boar. Unfortunately, these animals are now rare and/or endangered.
Philippines
In the Philippines, Lechon is a centerpiece of the main cultural diet. It is extremely rare for any celebratory occasion to lack lechon. Filipino lechon is made similarly to the same fashion as its done in the Spanish speaking islands of the Caribbean. The hog is cut, slicing it from the head to the rear from the bottom, and slow-grilling the hog as it is turned on a rod. Even though the Spanish speaking islands of the Caribbean and the Philippines do not share a common language (the Spanish language having long died out in the latter), it is still referred to with the same pronunciation. This may be in due to both regions being ruled by Spain for many centuries. Bananacue, a dish consisting of plantains skewered on a stick similar in style to shish kebab, is also commonly cooked.
Mongolia
Nomadic Mongolians have several barbecue methods, one of them called "Khorkhog". They first heat palm-sized stones to a high temperature over the fire and sandwich several layers of lamb and stone in a pot. The cooking time depends on the amount of lamb used. It is believed that it's good for your health if you hold the stone used for c
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