Barbecue is a traditional style of preparing beef in the
cuisine of Texas(United States) and is one of the many different varieties of
barbecue found around the world. Texas barbecue traditions can be divided into four general styles:
East Texas,
Central Texas,
South Texas, and
West Texas.[sup]
[1][/sup]The Central and East Texas varieties are generally the most well-known.[sup]
[2][/sup] Author Griffin Smith, Jr. in a 1973
Texas Monthlyarticle described the dividing line between the two styles as "a line running from
Columbus and
Hearne northward between
Dallas and
Fort Worth".[sup]
[3][/sup]Additionally, in deep South Texas and along the Rio Grande valley a Mexican style of meat preparation known as
barbacoacan be found. The word
barbacoain Spanish means barbecue though in English it is often used specifically to refer to Mexican varieties of preparation.
Generally speaking the different Texas barbecue styles are distinguished as follows. In the East Texas style the beef is slowly cooked to the point that it is "falling off the bone", typically over hickory wood, and marinated in a sweet, tomato-based sauce. In the Central Texas style the meat is rubbed with spices and cooked over indirect heat from pecan or oak wood. In the West Texas style the meat is cooked over direct heat from mesquite wood giving it a somewhat bitter taste. The South Texas style features thick, molasses-like sauces that keep the meat very moist.[sup]
[1][/sup] The
barbacoa tradition is somewhat different from all of these. Though beef may be used, goat or sheep meat are common as well (sometimes even the whole animal may be used). In its most traditional form barbacoa is prepared in a hole dug in the ground and covered with
maguey leaves.[sup]
[4][/sup]
Contents
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History[edit]
In the U.S. barbecue traditions are believed to have originated when Caribbean slaves were brought to the Carolinas in the 17th century. Indeed the English word
barbecuecame from the Arawak-Carib word
barbracot (via the Spanish word
barbacoa). This Caribbean style of slow cooking meat formed the basis of the Southern barbecue tradition that influenced Texas when some of its first American settlers arrived.[sup]
[5][/sup]
European meat smoking traditions were brought by German and Czech settlers in Central Texas during the mid-19th century. The original tradition was that butchers would smoke leftover meat that had not been sold so that it could be stored and saved. As these smoked leftovers became popular among the migrants in the area many of these former meat markets evolved to specialize in these smoked meats.[sup]
[4][/sup]
The subsequent emancipation of the slaves in 1865 gave birth to the East Texas barbecue tradition, which was largely a product of the African American community.[sup]
[4][/sup]
Many well-known barbecue establishments in Texas originated as butcher shops.[sup]
[6][/sup]
In 1964 President
Lyndon B. Johnson hosted a state dinner featuring barbecue for the Mexican president-elect in
Johnson City. It is generally considered the first barbecue state dinner in the history of the United States.[sup]
[4][/sup]
By 2000, many old-fashioned barbecue smokers in Texas had been replaced by gas-fired ovens due to pollution concerns and due to ease of use.[sup]
[6][/sup]