| Two methods of cooking that are widely | | | | lid is closed. It's just like roasting or baking food in |
| misunderstood are barbecuing and grilling. Most people | | | | your oven. You can have barbecue sauce on it, but |
| think that anything you put on a grill outside can be | | | | what makes it barbecue is the cooking method, not |
| called either. Others think that barbecuing is cooking | | | | the ingredients. |
| on a grill using barbecue sauce. Then there is another | | | | This is also why tender meats (like tenderloin and |
| group that thinks that anything you put barbecue | | | | other steaks) are usually grilled and tougher meats |
| sauce on is called "barbecue". | | | | are usually barbecued. Tender meats are delicious |
| Adding to the confusion is our American way of using | | | | when quickly cooked and toughen when they are left |
| verbs as nouns and vice versa. You can barbecue | | | | on the heat too long. Tough cuts (like pork shoulder |
| meat. You can go to a barbecue. You can go to a | | | | and ribs) remain tough if quickly cooked (grilled) but |
| party and eat barbecue. You can even go to a | | | | become tender when cooked slowly over a long |
| barbecue and eat barbecue. And not only that, you | | | | period of time. |
| can even spell the word a number of different but | | | | To complicate matters even more, barbecue can |
| acceptable ways. | | | | often be a combination of both cooking methods. |
| In reality, however, barbecuing and grilling are two | | | | The meat is seared on a hot grate (grilled) and then |
| completely different methods of cooking that are | | | | moved to a cooler place within the grill to slowly |
| determined by the heat source. Both are done | | | | finish cooking because if it's left on a hot grate the |
| outside because the smoky element of the dish is | | | | collagen in the meat won't have time to break down |
| important. | | | | and it won't be tender before it's burned. Now it's |
| Let's start with grilling. When you grill food, for | | | | being barbecued. |
| example a steak, you use direct heat. In other | | | | All of this makes the difference between northern |
| words, you place the steak directly over the coals or | | | | and southern "barbecue" a little easier to understand. |
| gas grate. The heat and smoke rise and directly cook | | | | A northerner will expect his barbecue to be slowly |
| and smoke the meat. The cover of the grill is open. | | | | cooked in a tomato based barbecue sauce. Southern |
| On the other hand, when you barbecue something, | | | | sauces, on the other hand, lean more toward |
| you use indirect heat and create an environment like | | | | mustard and vinegar bases and have a significantly |
| an oven with your grill. In other words, you place | | | | different taste. It is, however, all the same meat |
| your coals on each side of the grill with an open | | | | (usually pork or beef ribs or shoulder) and it's all done |
| space in the middle. (If you are using gas, you turn | | | | by the same cooking methods. It's just the |
| on the side grates but not the middle one.) The food | | | | ingredients that differ. It's all seriously good. |
| you are cooking is then placed in the middle and the | | | | |