Explanation of what REAL BBQ is (& why I think asado is lacking)

[Napoleon]

There have been many debates regarding food and more specifically BEEF preparation & cooking here in Argentina.

Having come from one of THE beef cooking meccas in the world (Texas), I can't begin to convey how underwhelmed and often bored I can get with the equation

meat + salt + fire = asado

This article explains how over the last 250,000 years, cooking meat with fire has evolved. (Especially since the 16th century.) But you wouldn't know it here.

CNN: Quest of the best BBQ

"It's a combination of flavors, sights, smells, sounds, people and stories," said Mark Dunkerley, 32, of Nashville, Tennessee, who embarked on his own barbecue quest last fall (a road trip spanning four Southern states) and named The Bar-B-Q Shop in Memphis, Tennessee, as his top pick. "Anything you spend six to 18 hours preparing, it's more than a meal. It's an event."

This "event" became possible about half a million years ago, when humans discovered fire. For about 250,000 years, humans have been throwing meat on and around the flames, said Steven Raichlen, best-selling author of "The Barbecue Bible."

But the 16th century Spanish explorers to the Americas first chronicled the unique cooking technique that became barbecue when they came across the Taino Indians of the West Indies using a barbacoa, their word for a wooden framework propped above flames, to smoke meat.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/05/22/barbecue.quest/index.html?iref=t2test_travelfri

I can't tell you how many times I look at BBQ photo threads like this one:
http://forums.hornfans.com/php/wwwt...=5936823&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=0&fpart=

I hope to someday bring a smoker down here to turn some of the tough, fatty meat that is often found at asados into tender, flavorful, yet relatively lean BBQ that makes people's mouths explode.

Have a good holiday weekend.

 

[Harleygirl]

You hit the naill on the head, Napoleon...I totally agree with you. I was raised by parents from Texas and Oklahoma and "Oh, lordy!" the sights, smells and taste of those family bbqs still linger in my mind. Putting ribs on to cook for 18-24 hours!!! Pure heaven. All the different rubs that are used are amazing. (I almost choked on a piece of entrana the other night....I chewed and chewed and still couldn't swallow it.)

 

[criswkh]

Yes Napoleon. I was raised in OK and TX BBQ damn I miss the smell and meat so soft you could cut with a spoon.

 

[captdave]

Hummmm

First Annual BsAs BBQ Open

I've got a grill big enough for 4 or 5 contestants at once

(Now why would I want to host a party like that, I wonder?)


How about it folks - anybody wanna show these folks how meat is SUPPOSED to be cooked?

(I suppose we could have a simultaneous Margarita shoot-out, then maybe the ladies guacamole wrestling championship, although that sounds more like a summer event!)

Just a thought!

David

Yes Napoleon. I was raised in OK and TX BBQ damn I miss the smell and meat so soft you could cut with a spoon.

 

[EvanB]

What do you mean REAL BBQ? Sure, meat full of flavor is more to my liking, however, there's no definition, just a cultural difference

 

[Napoleon]

What do you mean REAL BBQ? Sure, meat full of flavor is more to my liking, however, there's no definition, just a cultural difference

You're correct Evan and the article points out that "BBQ" in the States means many different things depending on the region of the country you are in. But at no time does it mean meat + salt + fire = BBQ.

The lack of creativity was the point of the original post.

 

[thuy.ashtango]

"anybody wanna show these folks how meat is SUPPOSED to be cooked?"
"real BBQ"
Seriously? Are we really going to confirm the world's belief that North American's are arrogant and believe that we have and are the best at everything?
Make your situation better by sharing your experiences and knowledge. When we ONLY compare ourselves to others, we limit ourselves from learning new things. Now, do you really want to be THAT guy?

 

[captdave]

Hey there thuy...

Calm down - if you couldn't tell from the rest of that post, my tongue was firmly in my cheek when I said that!

That being said, since I believe the whole concept of BBQ is as "Estado Unidense" as Asado is Argentine, I don't think it's arrogant to assume the best BBQ comes from the USA!

All that being said, the idea of a BBQ shootout still has a kinda yummy ring, and you would be welcome to come, taste, and reach your own conclusions!




David

"anybody wanna show these folks how meat is SUPPOSED to be cooked?"
"real BBQ"
Seriously? Are we really going to confirm the world's belief that North American's are arrogant and believe that we have and are the best at everything?
Make your situation better by sharing your experiences and knowledge. When we ONLY compare ourselves to others, we limit ourselves from learning new things. Now, do you really want to be THAT guy?

 

[nikad]

It would be an awesome contest really: Argentine Asado against American BBQ with both American and Argentine judges, hell, it would even be a great restaurant concept!

 

[mrisley]

I think that there is a big difference in Argentine Beef and American Beef, first of all. Argentine beef is slaughtered at an much smaller size than American Beef. Also, American Beef is hung for up to a year to age the beef to make it more tender. I have been living in Argentina for more than 10 years now and I remember how when I first got to Argentina I needed my A1 sauce and my bottle of Bullseye, but to me, American Beef does not taste as good as Argentine beef and that is why we need the BBQ sauce and A1 etc. As all you you know, it is difficult to find an Argentine that eats spicy food, actually, they think that our common BBQ sauce is spicy for them. I also on the otherhand have cooked several pork ribs with BBQ sauce and lots of Argentines have loved it. Keep the grill fired up, but I would much rather eat Argentine ribs with salt and fire, with a little of chimmichuri on the side. My opinion, nothing more. Saludos to all.

Mike