Daphne duLibre
Washing Up
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2005
- Messages
- 66
Probably none more obnoxiously evangelical (in the secular sense) than a new convert . . . 
I've been at "barbeque" now for about 18 months. I stepped into this arcane craft by accident. I'd been "grilling" for years.
And so I log into this particular forum -- expecting great things like the other forums on this site.
No barbeque.
One thread on comparing a Weber to a Char-Broil. One thread asking "What Grill Do You Own."
No barbeque.
I live on the North Oregon Coast. Around here only a few, and they're "imports" make a distinction between grilling and barbeque.
"Grilling" is where you put the food on a grill and cook it over a heat source -- these days it's more and more about gas.
Weber, with it's covered grill is a hybrid -- but technically it's a "grill" and not "barbeque.
Barbeque . . .
This opens a huge can of worms. Bottom line is that "barbeque" in the strictest sense of the term is about smoking meat.
A "barbeque" is some sort of enclosed chamber which is heated from an offset/indirect firebox. The firebox contains aromatic woods, and maybe some charcoal. The firebox is dampered so that the aromatic woods smoke and smolder. The smoke is directed into an enclosed chamber where meat is hung. Temperature in this chamber runs about 200 - 250 F depending on what you've got on the barbeque.
Meat preparation is a hugely complicated, and largely secreted process:
Dry rubs, brines, sauces . . .
Lots of links on google.
Best barbeque I've done -- and I'm at the ocean, so maybe it's a regional thing -- brined Chinook salmon filets, rubbed with olive oil and Italian herbs. Smoked over Mesquite at 200 F for about 4 hours.
My ribs and pork shoulder are coming along.
Beef brisket -- the paramount barbeque challenge -- is not readily available locally. I'd have to order a special cut. And because it's complicated, it'd be like asking for trouble.
Nothing wrong with grilling. I grill stuff all the time -- usually in an electric oven. With sauces, marinades, even a brine or two.
But it ain't "barbeque."
I've been at "barbeque" now for about 18 months. I stepped into this arcane craft by accident. I'd been "grilling" for years.
And so I log into this particular forum -- expecting great things like the other forums on this site.
No barbeque.
One thread on comparing a Weber to a Char-Broil. One thread asking "What Grill Do You Own."
No barbeque.
I live on the North Oregon Coast. Around here only a few, and they're "imports" make a distinction between grilling and barbeque.
"Grilling" is where you put the food on a grill and cook it over a heat source -- these days it's more and more about gas.
Weber, with it's covered grill is a hybrid -- but technically it's a "grill" and not "barbeque.
Barbeque . . .
This opens a huge can of worms. Bottom line is that "barbeque" in the strictest sense of the term is about smoking meat.
A "barbeque" is some sort of enclosed chamber which is heated from an offset/indirect firebox. The firebox contains aromatic woods, and maybe some charcoal. The firebox is dampered so that the aromatic woods smoke and smolder. The smoke is directed into an enclosed chamber where meat is hung. Temperature in this chamber runs about 200 - 250 F depending on what you've got on the barbeque.
Meat preparation is a hugely complicated, and largely secreted process:
Dry rubs, brines, sauces . . .
Lots of links on google.
Best barbeque I've done -- and I'm at the ocean, so maybe it's a regional thing -- brined Chinook salmon filets, rubbed with olive oil and Italian herbs. Smoked over Mesquite at 200 F for about 4 hours.
My ribs and pork shoulder are coming along.
Beef brisket -- the paramount barbeque challenge -- is not readily available locally. I'd have to order a special cut. And because it's complicated, it'd be like asking for trouble.
Nothing wrong with grilling. I grill stuff all the time -- usually in an electric oven.
With sauces, marinades, even a brine or two. But it ain't "barbeque."
) I have spent the last 2 years in book signings, cooking demonstrations and teaching various and sundry classes on cooking. One of my most popular (to date) has been the class on Outdoor cooking that I did as part of a charity benefit this spring. Over 60 people signed up a we spent the better part of a Saturday cooking and eating some really great outdoor food. The best compliment I recieved was from a 68 year old woman who had never used any sort of "grill" in her life because she was afraid she would "mess somethin' up". She told me that I removed her fear by calling the cooking processes Broiling (what "grilling" actually is) and Roasting or Baking (What "barbecueing" actually is). I cannot take credit for my attitude towards terminology...it comes from none other than James Beard who believed in simplifying the processes in cooking as much as possible to make it more accessible to non-experienced cooks. He never titled any of his three books on Outdoor Cooking "Barbecue This" or "Grilling That". They were titled "Cook It Outdoors", "The Complete Book of Outdoor Cookery" and "James Beards Treasury of Outdoor Cooking"
