BBQ can mean a lot of things to different people and cultures. It can be a sauce, a rub, or even a type of meat.

But it all comes back to smoke. Here’s a look at the three key elements of barbecue: smoked meat, a rub, and a good sauce. Contact Tom’s BBQ now!

Smoke is a visible mixture of solid particles (mainly carbon or soot) and gaseous air pollutants including nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, and hydrocarbons. These substances can cause health effects if inhaled over a long period of time. They can also worsen some medical conditions, especially respiratory ones like asthma.

Smoke comes from the incomplete combustion of plant or animal matter. It is produced by open fires, wood-burning devices, and some industrial processes. Smoke can also be generated by indoor cooking, such as in stoves or ovens. Smoke can even be generated by smoking cigarettes and other tobacco products.

There are many different types of smoke, each resulting in a unique flavor profile. The type of smoke used determines the resulting barbecue flavor. For example, hickory smoked BBQ is a very sweet flavor, while applewood smoked BBQ is a more subtle and mild flavor.

Barbecue is a social event at which food that has been cooked over an open flame or over a slow-burning fire is served. The word comes from the Spanish barbacoa, which itself is derived from the Arawakan term for a framework that holds meat strips to cure and dry. The word soon made its way to the United States and grew to mean any meal that is cooked using these methods. It is also sometimes used to refer to the grill or pit that is used for these meals, as well as the sauce used to serve them.

Some people believe that to be called barbecue, a meal must be cooked outdoors over an open fire and with direct heat. This is a mistaken and snobbish view that ignores the fact that millions of barbecue meals are prepared every day in homes, restaurants, and commercial kitchens across the country. Furthermore, many of the earliest barbecue dishes were smoked, not grilled. For instance, the famous pastrami sandwich at Katz’s Delicatessen in New York City is a smoked brisket.

Rub

A rub is a combination of dry ingredients that are applied to the surface of meat or vegetables prior to cooking. The dry ingredients cling to the outer layer of the food when cooked, bringing bold flavor that enhances the meat or vegetable without covering it with sauce. In addition to the typical salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powders, most rubs contain other flavor-building ingredients such as onion or chile powders. Some include brown sugar, which helps to caramelize the outside of the meat or vegetable for a delicious crust. Most rubs require that the meat or vegetable be cooked low and slow for best results.

For those interested in experimenting with their own rubs, the basics are easy to find and affordable. The recipe for a basic rub can be found in many cook books and online, with simple combinations such as salt and pepper or a mix of sugar and herbs. For those who want to add a bit of spice, adding cayenne or sriracha to the basic salt and pepper mix can kick it up a notch.

More advanced rubs use more exotic ingredients such as Worcestershire sauce powder or shitake mushroom powder to create unique flavor profiles. The Meat Church Holy Cow and Gospel rubs are a good example of this, each containing a blend of spices that complements beef well but also works great sprinkled over roast veggies.

Some rubs earn their name with their appearance on the finished product, such as the Hardcore Carnivore black rub which leaves a dark color on the meat when cooked. Others are more subtle in their presentation, such as the Plowboys’Yardbird’ and ‘Bovine Bold’ mixes, both of which work exceptionally well with pork butt that has been slow-cooked into carnitas.

The most important thing to remember when using a rub is that it must be applied sparingly. It is easy to get carried away, applying too much and drowning the meat in a thick layer of seasoning. When applying a rub, it is recommended that you use one hand to sprinkle the mixture and the other to handle the meat (or veggie), to avoid cross-contamination. Some BBQ geeks prefer to invest in an adjustable rub shaker to help them get a consistent, even coating.

Sauce

There’s nothing like a delicious barbecue sauce to enhance the flavors of grilled meats. Barbecue sauce is traditionally used to baste the meat during grilling, but it also can be served on the side as a dipping sauce. The exact recipe for BBQ sauce varies, but the ingredients usually include tomato sauce or ketchup, vinegar, and sweeteners such as molasses or brown sugar. Additional flavorings, such as garlic, onion powder, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce, can be included in the recipe. The sauce can be made with as little or as many of these ingredients as desired, depending on the taste preference of the cook.

There are several different types of BBQ sauces available, and the one you choose should be a good match for the meat you’re grilling. Most of the popular varieties are tomato-based, which is perfect for pairing with chopped beef or a full rack of pork ribs. In addition to tomato, these sauces typically contain some type of pepper. Tomato-based BBQ sauces became the most popular in America during the middle of the 20th century.

Another popular option is a mustard-based barbecue sauce, which is typically used with smoked pork in the Carolinas and Georgia. While this type of condiment is usually not as thick as a tomato-based sauce, it does contain plenty of flavorings to complement the smokey meat. It is also often found in burgers, which is appropriate because the smoky flavor of the sauce can help keep the burger moist and juicy.

The simplest way to make BBQ sauce is to combine all of the ingredients and stir them together in a saucepan. It’s important to use high-quality ingredients so that the resulting sauce has a fresh and delicious flavor. If the sauce is too runny, it can be brought to a boil and cooked for about a minute, which will thicken the sauce.

Homemade BBQ sauce is easy to make, and the recipes can be scaled up or down to fit the amount of meat you’re cooking. Unlike commercial BBQ sauce, homemade versions tend to be much healthier, since they don’t contain any unhealthy ingredients such as high-fructose corn syrup. If you’re making a large batch of BBQ sauce, it can be easily frozen for future use. Just be sure to label and date the sauce so that you know how long it’s been in the freezer.

Cooking

Whether you’re cooking ribs, burgers or chicken on your BBQ it’s important to understand how the cooking process works. There are three basic methods that can be used on a barbecue: Grilling, barbecuing and smoking. Each of these cooking methods provides a different flavor and texture to your food.

The cooking process in your barbecue can be described as a combination of convection and conduction. Convection is when heat from the flame or coals travels across the grate and cooks the food. The heat also transfers to the cooking grids and any other accessories that are on the barbecue. It’s important to make sure your barbecue is set up properly so that it has this proper flow of heat.

Revisionists have tried to shrink the definition of barbecue by saying that it is a method of cooking meat over a fire in a steel closed pit. But, they forget that barbecue has been in common usage for centuries and that some of the greatest American chefs, including James Beard, Julia Child, Craig Claiborne and MFK Fisher use the term interchangeably with grilling.

The real meaning of the word barbecue, according to the Journal of American Speech, is “to cook food over a fire in the open.” This means that you can use your barbecue for all types of outdoor cooking. The key to a successful barbecue is understanding and using the right equipment, choosing the best cuts of meat, mastering cooking techniques, and adding the perfect sauces to make your dishes delicious. By taking the time to learn these techniques, you can impress your family and friends with a great barbecue meal any time of the year. Then, all you need is the perfect weather to enjoy it.