The Master List of BBQ Styles
Master ListsIn his travels, Mr. Zouch has encountered many exotic foods, and he’s eaten more than a few things he’d rather not discuss. However, in a recent conversation, he began grumbling about the global passion for barbecue.
“It’s naught but meat roasted over open flame! Such balderdash over something so simple. Bah!”
After a few pints of ale, though, as he belched his way through a great platter venison, beef, and mutton, Mr. Zouch was forced to admit the world offers a startling array of BBQ styles, all of which are passionately claimed and defended by their practitioners. Sauce secrets, wood types, meat preferences — Mr. Zouch likened the various schools of thought to priestly orders and competing tribes. And as we left his club that night, he requested we create a master list of global BBQ styles.
“To study, when I’m sober-er,” he mumbled. “And for the world’s reference too. What do I care if they take a look!”
For Mr. Zouch, then, and anyone else beguiled by humanity’s obsession with grilled meat, we present Zouch’s master list of BBQ styles.
Álvaro Franca’s Brazilian Barbecue Manual
Meat + fire + swords + the lyricism of português brasileiro — what could be better?
Grilling and BBQ by the Numbers
This infographic contains a really amazing history of BBQ (starting with the discovery of fire!) and a succinct overview of American regional barbecue styles from our “brahs” in Hawaii to those troublemakers in South Carolina.
The ABC’s of Barbecue
Some of Zouch’s editors have ties to Texas. Others hail from the deep South. Tensions between these two BBQ groups are well documented, and it’s nothing short of miraculous that we can all sit at Mr.Zouch’s conference table and pass a civilized moment. When we break out the grill, though, the gloves come off, and mama-centered pejoratives, assertions of dishonor, and sardonic “suh’s” fill the air.
Team cowboy wants to slice the cow. Those from the land of y’all’s, drawls, balls, and manor halls like to pull the pig. And never the twain shall meet! But whether you’re digging on swine or chopping up cow, this infographic outlines each critter’s best cuts and breaks down regional meat and wood preferences.
Going Global
Kababs, sausages, churrasco — this infographic omits Indian tandoori but otherwise hits the major global BBQ “hotspots.”*
*Mr. Zouch insisted we include one BBQ-related pun in this post. Now that it’s done, we can move on.
Regional Tension
This infographic offers a remarkably comprehensive portrait of the United States’ various BBQ regions. It even includes California, which isn’t exactly known as a barbecue mecca. But if you’ve ever had tri-tip roast covered in garlic, you know it probably should be.
Sauce It Up
If there’s anything about BBQ culture that causes more arguments than the meat, it’s the sauce. People argue over wood too, but these concerns pale in comparison to the vitriol BBQ sauce “identity” creates.
Heavy tomato, vinegar, or the freakish, but beloved, mustard sauces of South Carolina — every region has its favorite style, and this infographic courtesy of Mancrates outlines them all.
Indian Tandoori
Because it doesn’t feature prominently elsewhere in this master list, we’ve included this “Indian Food” infographic. Any culture that gave the world the gastronomic bliss of tandoori cooking — which, according to this infographic originated in the north, around Delhi — should not be overlooked.
Mr. Zouch was firm on that point, recalling an excellent meal he shared with a Gujarati Maharaja, which, he suggests, was more ambrosial than Indiana Jones’ experience might suggest.
“Chilled monkey brains indeed,” he scoffed, recalling the moment.
Other Resources
Finally, these are almost certainly among the most comprehensive lists of BBQ culture on the webernets:
