FO O D
A GL O B A L BA R B E Q U E
Barbeque cuisine is enjoyed all over the world and fi ring up the family grill is a national past in the US. So if you
fancy a little barbeque this summer, Mat Snow provides some interesting history to help wet your appetite.
n Latin America you have the asado, churrasco and off ers Kansas City-style barbecue in a wraparound all-
I
parillada, in South African the braai, in Central American environment that includes uptown diner-
Asia the shashlik, in the Middle East the mangal, style décor, big-screen US sports and a hand-picked
and in Japan the yakiniku: all traditions of cooking meat soundtrack of the best in rock’n’roll, rhythm’n’blues,
in campfi re conditions and still often savoured in the soul and country. Several world-famous rock stars are
great outdoors with something cold to wash it down. regulars, but the ethos at Bodean’s is very much access-
But barbecue? It’s the cuisine that’s as all-American all-areas to everyone, and it attracts families, couples,
as apple-pie with one big diff erence: for once, mom can singletons and just plain folks craving those full-strength
put her feet up because, by right, by instinct, and in the fl avours without having to bust the budget.
fi nest traditions that stretch from Homer Simpson and Kansas City-style barbecue? This requires some
Hank Hill back to Fred Flintstone and beyond, this is explanation. George Washington attended a “barbicue”
when pop puts on the apron and gets in touch with the in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1769 and the fi rst recorded
inner caveman who fi rst heaved a mammoth rib onto American mention dates back to the colonial settlements
the embers. of 1610; the word itself derives from the word barbacoa,
And if the inner caveman can cultivate his outer the “sacred fi re pit” of the Caribbean Taíno people.
superchef, then barbecue can amount to a whole lot Fast-forward to the mid-19th century and the
more than just savoury cuts cooked on the open fi re — Southern States bounded by the sea to the south and east,
or, to make the crucial distinction with mere grilling or to the west by Texas and Oklahoma, and to the north by
broiling, in the smoking pit. But whether it’s an adequate Missouri, Kentucky, and North Carolina. Introduced
amateur or polished pro manning the meat and fanning by the Spanish, pigs ran half-wild — a self-feeding, no-
the fl ames, the smoky smell of singed steaks, sausages, maintenance protein source that only required catching
seafood, ribs and wings sends a universal message from to make a feast. With food often running short for the
nostril to pleasure centre: here comes summer! And to poor folks of the South, how to get the most out of the
American expatriates, the fi rst scent of barbecue can slaughtered porker? By cooking the tougher portions
take you right back home like no other smell. low and slow for hours over hot smoke to make them
All over the world barbecue restaurants are a
culinary home-from-home for expat Americans and
local connoisseurs of cuisine at its most ruggedly
fl avoursome. The UK, for instance, has recently come
round to welcome American-style barbecue with the
enthusiasm it has for US music, movies and literature. It
now boasts several American sytle barbeque resturants
OM
.C such as Bodean’s, Tony Roma’s and the Chicago Rib
Shack.
At Bodean’s, one of the leading barbecue resturants,
boasting fi ve branches in and around the London centre
GENT@DREAMSTIME
A
where expat Americans and carnivorous Cockneys
UL
P
A
unite under the sign of the brass pig. Here the menu
Above: President of Uruguay Tabaré Vázquez and U.S. President George W. Bush
enjoy a barbeque asado style.
EX P A T R I A T E 35
Barbeque.indd 35 6/11/2009 11:07:42 PM
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