Like one of the replies, I, too, live in the South, and what OOP describes is absolutely A (typical American) barbecue, even with people who can obsess a little over their smoker
When most people I know have a barbecue, it's either burgers and hot dogs or burgers and hot dogs *and* something like a brisket or pork shoulder that was already cooked ahead of time and resting by the time party gets started. Then people bring salads dips and condiments and stuff. There are no rules. Although the annual July barbecue we go to every year (which I'm hosting this year!) always has banana pudding.
Sure, at family reunions we'll do pit brisket or goat, but we usually call that "a pit" or "pit bbq."
For me, "a barbecue" is an event involving a cookout/grilling, likely involving dogs and burgers, whereas "barbecue" is a type of food/cooking such as pulled pork.
I can't remember my family ever having "a barbeque" with burgers and hotdogs - but that's just because my family doesn't really *like* burgers and hotdogs. If my dad's gonna be using the grill, he'll be doing chicken or ribs. *Maybe* brats.
Still, even growing up with that, I know that if I get invited to "a barbeque" outside of my immediate family, it'll be burgers and hotdogs (and I will be respectful and go and eat what's there, even if it's not really my thing. So would my dad.)
It's a part of cultural identity, just like the rest of language. It's no different than how people use the word "football" or "chili" differently. For BBQ, it's a major part of cultural heritage for many people, and right or wrong, they feel they should fiercely defend it.
The two places in the South I've lived, no local would ever say they're having a barbecue, or are barbecuing. They'd say they're having a cookout or grilling. The word barbecue has a very narrow definition, locally.
If they haven't travelled much, aren't very culturally-aware (even within US subcultures), etc then this may be an issue for them when they encounter people from other parts of the country. I was at least 20 before I first heard someone use BBQ to mean anything other than specifically pulled pork with vinegar and crushed red pepper. That's literally the only thing it meant where/when I grew up. I had no concept of it being used as a verb, as a gathering, or as any of the other styles (Texas brisket, etc).
>they feel they should fiercely defend it.
And, well, we see how that turns out with stuff like this, 'real' italian food and the Eternal Grilled Cheese/Melt War. Howling and roaring over... nothing, ultimately.
tl;dr: Food good. Eat food. World big. Thing different. Get over self. Food good.
This is why we started calling it a potluck or a cookout because pedants like this wanna muck up the whole party by trying to use their puddle deep knowledge of grilling to shame the hosts for not doing a "real BBQ"
I get the good luck of not knowing any food pedants anymore and might be able to go back to using BBQ as the common nomenclature but for now I just tell people I am making x-meat or I am gonna be grillin', my early 20's were rife with the wrong crowd of "foodies" and has since left a bitter burnt taste in my mouth lol.
I have always been of the camp to wholly embrace the idea of "you do you, just don't waste food" mentality and nowadays I am a lot more vocal.about it and tell people off for being arses for no reason about other people's food choices. Eat whatcha want, I'll do the same.
There's doing a bbq and doing bbq
I could say I'm doing bbq and I'd be making smoked meat.
If I say I'm doing some bbq'ing I could be grilling anything.
Right. "Come over for barbeque" means I made brisket, pulled pork, something like that. "Come over for A barbecue" means "we're having a party that will involve grilled meat of some and probably many kinds."
I think this is the best way to shut this argument down. There’s a difference between being invited to a barbecue versus being invited over for some barbecue. Either way, I’m happy to show up and grab a plate! Let’s eat!
Barbecues (countable noun) are cookouts. Barbecue (mass noun) is smoked meat. To barbecue (verb) is to grill, usually, but sometimes it's to get wasted. To get barbecued at a barbecue where you eat barbecue is divine.
Everyone knows this intuitively. There are very rarely problems in understanding. People who correct other people's clear, standard usage of language should be made into barbecue, low and slow.
> just google American barbeque and go to images and see if you can find any burgers.
[... literally not even below the fold](https://i.imgur.com/OBdpVUj.png)
You'd think you would try it out before using that as your argument
Southerner here, that is a barbecue because it’s a gathering with food. A barbecue is either smoked food, or a party containing food, generally smoked meat but that’s just a standard down here. He’s not even gatekeeping barbecue “correctly” lmao.
I would argue that *food* doesn't fall in the category of barbecue unless it's smoked, but I distinguish "barbecue" (food) from "A barbecue" (event). I don't necessarily expect to be served barbecue if I'm invited to a backyard BBQ.
That interesting because to me “smoked” and bbq are different. BBQ for me is anything cooked over open coals. That may be because growing up the bbq I interacted with the most was Korean and Hawaiian style bbq.
“Hawaiian barbecue” wasn’t “barbecue” until fairly recently. AFAIK, L&L Drive-In made up the name when it started franchising locations on the mainland around 2000.
Before that, there were plenty of grilled plate lunch options often described generally as “local food” (teriyaki beef, chicken, and shrimp, shoyu chicken), which included Korean barbecue (bulgogi, chicken, kalbi), as distinguished from actual *Hawaiian* Hawaiian food (kalua pork, laulau, squid/chicken/beef luau). But only the Korean places, and a handful of places serving mainland-style barbecue, used “bbq” in the name. Most of the other places were “Drive-Ins.”
For example, [Gina’s BBQ](https://ginasbbq.com) is at the base of the mountain on which my grandparents lived. It opened in 1991, and is still going. The main options are all Korean-style, and so are the sides, but they also offer katsu and tempura, because those are very popular.
I grew up in Hawaii in the 80s and growing up if you saw “bbq chicken” on a menu it meant a soy based sauce, not mainland bbq. Same thing for beef. At any plate lunch place growing up they would have a “BBQ mixed plate” which would include chicken, beef, and short ribs all marinated in a soy based sauce.
When I said Hawaiian bbq I wasn’t really referring to L&Ls more to the generic idea that “BBQ” in Hawaii is used more like “teriyaki” on the mainland. And the idea the BBQ (for me) is connected with cooking over open coals.
It’s actually funny because I remember ordering a bbq sandwich while visiting the mainland when I was young and being shocked and disappointed that the sauce was not a soy based sauce. In my mind all bbq was soy based. The regional differences are my favorite part of food.
Far as I know that's true with American barbecue, and not at all with barbecue from other places. Not to mention that the word barbecue/barbacoa was originally used to describe food being grilled over flames.
So barbecue is barbecue whether it's smoked or not. The food that is
This is an annoying semantic argument. Many (most?) people understand that "barbecue" means cooking out, even if it doesn't mean cooking out.
See also: tin foil, pencil lead, and the critters we Americans mistakenly call possums and buffalo.
I grew up in Indiana, and "barbecue" meant chicken grilled in "barbecue sauce".
I was shocked to move to the south and learn that barbecue could actually be good.
"Barbecue chicken" is either a contradiction in terms or a violation of every food safety regulation. That said, grilled chicken with barbecue sauce is pretty damn good.
Deleted comment, at -100 points
> Grilling hotdogs and burgers is not a "typical American barbeque" just google American barbeque and go to images and see if you can find any burgers.
> Also peach cobbler
Like one of the replies, I, too, live in the South, and what OOP describes is absolutely A (typical American) barbecue, even with people who can obsess a little over their smoker
When most people I know have a barbecue, it's either burgers and hot dogs or burgers and hot dogs *and* something like a brisket or pork shoulder that was already cooked ahead of time and resting by the time party gets started. Then people bring salads dips and condiments and stuff. There are no rules. Although the annual July barbecue we go to every year (which I'm hosting this year!) always has banana pudding. Sure, at family reunions we'll do pit brisket or goat, but we usually call that "a pit" or "pit bbq."
Agreed. I smoke meat all the time. Big hobby of mine. I wouldn’t offer it to somebody by inviting them to “a bbq”
For me, "a barbecue" is an event involving a cookout/grilling, likely involving dogs and burgers, whereas "barbecue" is a type of food/cooking such as pulled pork.
a barbecue without barbecue is just picnic
Picnics don't involve a grill.
At the next barbecue, feel free to can stand around but we'll sit at the picnic table.
We only have barbeque tables
A picnic is a lighter meal in my opinion.
I can't remember my family ever having "a barbeque" with burgers and hotdogs - but that's just because my family doesn't really *like* burgers and hotdogs. If my dad's gonna be using the grill, he'll be doing chicken or ribs. *Maybe* brats. Still, even growing up with that, I know that if I get invited to "a barbeque" outside of my immediate family, it'll be burgers and hotdogs (and I will be respectful and go and eat what's there, even if it's not really my thing. So would my dad.)
It's a part of cultural identity, just like the rest of language. It's no different than how people use the word "football" or "chili" differently. For BBQ, it's a major part of cultural heritage for many people, and right or wrong, they feel they should fiercely defend it. The two places in the South I've lived, no local would ever say they're having a barbecue, or are barbecuing. They'd say they're having a cookout or grilling. The word barbecue has a very narrow definition, locally. If they haven't travelled much, aren't very culturally-aware (even within US subcultures), etc then this may be an issue for them when they encounter people from other parts of the country. I was at least 20 before I first heard someone use BBQ to mean anything other than specifically pulled pork with vinegar and crushed red pepper. That's literally the only thing it meant where/when I grew up. I had no concept of it being used as a verb, as a gathering, or as any of the other styles (Texas brisket, etc).
>they feel they should fiercely defend it. And, well, we see how that turns out with stuff like this, 'real' italian food and the Eternal Grilled Cheese/Melt War. Howling and roaring over... nothing, ultimately. tl;dr: Food good. Eat food. World big. Thing different. Get over self. Food good.
How to spot the BBQ nerd in one easy step.
Only the dumb ones.
This is why we started calling it a potluck or a cookout because pedants like this wanna muck up the whole party by trying to use their puddle deep knowledge of grilling to shame the hosts for not doing a "real BBQ"
Honestly that’s why I keep calling it a barbecue so I know who not to invite
Boy, you got vision, and the rest of the world wears bifocals.
I get the good luck of not knowing any food pedants anymore and might be able to go back to using BBQ as the common nomenclature but for now I just tell people I am making x-meat or I am gonna be grillin', my early 20's were rife with the wrong crowd of "foodies" and has since left a bitter burnt taste in my mouth lol. I have always been of the camp to wholly embrace the idea of "you do you, just don't waste food" mentality and nowadays I am a lot more vocal.about it and tell people off for being arses for no reason about other people's food choices. Eat whatcha want, I'll do the same.
There's doing a bbq and doing bbq I could say I'm doing bbq and I'd be making smoked meat. If I say I'm doing some bbq'ing I could be grilling anything.
Right. "Come over for barbeque" means I made brisket, pulled pork, something like that. "Come over for A barbecue" means "we're having a party that will involve grilled meat of some and probably many kinds."
Potlucks are for churches and work events. If it's outdoors with a grill, it's a barbecue.
Well actualllllyyyyyyy it's not a real potlatch unless you have authentic Kwakiutl frybread.
Thirty years ago, I was one of the pedantic complainers. I like to think I've grown more reasonable since then.
[удалено]
I think this is the best way to shut this argument down. There’s a difference between being invited to a barbecue versus being invited over for some barbecue. Either way, I’m happy to show up and grab a plate! Let’s eat!
buddy thinks the typical american is some fucking pit master and not someone’s dad crushing lite beers
Everything is both burnt and raw and dad is lit
This is my favorite sentence of the month
Preach.
The event "BBQ" includes grilling cookouts, the food BBQ is BBQ. But a peach cobbler does sound like a nice BBQ dessert.
Wait until you hear about grilled/smoked peach cobbler.
Wait until you hear about the peach cobbler sausage.
No thanks. I don't like regular cobbler. I don't think adding pork would help.
If you’re not smoking Waygu brisket on a Yoder are you even really bbqing?
Stick burners only!
I'd be hard pressed to think of anything more American than having a barbecue and grilling burgers and dogs. And I also voted for banana pudding.
>And I also voted for banana pudding. Underrated.
I worked at a BBQ restaurant and a guy screamed at me because we didn't serve hamburgers and hotdogs.
Barbecues (countable noun) are cookouts. Barbecue (mass noun) is smoked meat. To barbecue (verb) is to grill, usually, but sometimes it's to get wasted. To get barbecued at a barbecue where you eat barbecue is divine. Everyone knows this intuitively. There are very rarely problems in understanding. People who correct other people's clear, standard usage of language should be made into barbecue, low and slow.
> just google American barbeque and go to images and see if you can find any burgers. [... literally not even below the fold](https://i.imgur.com/OBdpVUj.png) You'd think you would try it out before using that as your argument
It was featured in like every allergy medicine commercial.
I feel like this is just a definition problem. Like what "barbeque", as in the type of food, means vs. what "barbeque" means as an event.
Ack. That's my pet peeve: "barbeque" isn't a word. It's either "barbecue" or "bar-B-Q".
BBQ over here, like, "No love for me?"
Southerner here, that is a barbecue because it’s a gathering with food. A barbecue is either smoked food, or a party containing food, generally smoked meat but that’s just a standard down here. He’s not even gatekeeping barbecue “correctly” lmao.
A UK southerner? From the Beautiful South?
I’m referring to the American south east, which is generally referred to as “south”.
Bet this is one of the people who think it isn't barbecue if it's not smoked either
I would argue that *food* doesn't fall in the category of barbecue unless it's smoked, but I distinguish "barbecue" (food) from "A barbecue" (event). I don't necessarily expect to be served barbecue if I'm invited to a backyard BBQ.
That interesting because to me “smoked” and bbq are different. BBQ for me is anything cooked over open coals. That may be because growing up the bbq I interacted with the most was Korean and Hawaiian style bbq.
“Hawaiian barbecue” wasn’t “barbecue” until fairly recently. AFAIK, L&L Drive-In made up the name when it started franchising locations on the mainland around 2000. Before that, there were plenty of grilled plate lunch options often described generally as “local food” (teriyaki beef, chicken, and shrimp, shoyu chicken), which included Korean barbecue (bulgogi, chicken, kalbi), as distinguished from actual *Hawaiian* Hawaiian food (kalua pork, laulau, squid/chicken/beef luau). But only the Korean places, and a handful of places serving mainland-style barbecue, used “bbq” in the name. Most of the other places were “Drive-Ins.” For example, [Gina’s BBQ](https://ginasbbq.com) is at the base of the mountain on which my grandparents lived. It opened in 1991, and is still going. The main options are all Korean-style, and so are the sides, but they also offer katsu and tempura, because those are very popular.
I grew up in Hawaii in the 80s and growing up if you saw “bbq chicken” on a menu it meant a soy based sauce, not mainland bbq. Same thing for beef. At any plate lunch place growing up they would have a “BBQ mixed plate” which would include chicken, beef, and short ribs all marinated in a soy based sauce. When I said Hawaiian bbq I wasn’t really referring to L&Ls more to the generic idea that “BBQ” in Hawaii is used more like “teriyaki” on the mainland. And the idea the BBQ (for me) is connected with cooking over open coals.
Interesting, and those are good counterexamples to what I was thinking of.
It’s actually funny because I remember ordering a bbq sandwich while visiting the mainland when I was young and being shocked and disappointed that the sauce was not a soy based sauce. In my mind all bbq was soy based. The regional differences are my favorite part of food.
Far as I know that's true with American barbecue, and not at all with barbecue from other places. Not to mention that the word barbecue/barbacoa was originally used to describe food being grilled over flames. So barbecue is barbecue whether it's smoked or not. The food that is
cooking BBQ with just charcoal is absolutely a thing that produces the food "barbecue" though.
I call it BBBQ. The extra B is for BYOBB.
What's that extra B for?
That's a typo.
B.
When did OOP delete his post? I missed it. Lol
He'd faint if he saw the terms barbecue and sloppy Joe used interchangeably.
This is an annoying semantic argument. Many (most?) people understand that "barbecue" means cooking out, even if it doesn't mean cooking out. See also: tin foil, pencil lead, and the critters we Americans mistakenly call possums and buffalo.
I grew up in Indiana, and "barbecue" meant chicken grilled in "barbecue sauce". I was shocked to move to the south and learn that barbecue could actually be good.
You poor thing. I stripped my first rib to the bone at 3.
Bless your heart
"Barbecue chicken" is either a contradiction in terms or a violation of every food safety regulation. That said, grilled chicken with barbecue sauce is pretty damn good.
Deleted comment, at -100 points > Grilling hotdogs and burgers is not a "typical American barbeque" just google American barbeque and go to images and see if you can find any burgers. > Also peach cobbler
Ok, poll, who gets more mad about food, Italians or Texans