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A barrel-shaped barbecue on a trailer. Pans on the top shelf hold hamburgers and hot dogs. The lower grill is being used to cook pork ribs and "drunken chicken".




Barbecued hickory-smoked, baby-back pork ribs

Some etymologists believe the word barbecue derives from barabicu found in the language of the Taíno people of the Caribbean and the Timucua of Florida;[1][page needed] it has entered some European languages in the form of barbacoa. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) traces the word to Haiti and translates it as a "framework of sticks set upon posts".[2] Gonzalo Fernández De Oviedo y Valdés, a Spanish explorer, was the first to use the word "barbecoa" in print in Spain in 1526 in the Diccionario de la Lengua Española (2nd Edition) of the Real Academia Española.[3] After Columbus landed in the Americas in 1492, the Spaniards apparently found native Haitians roasting meat over a grill consisting of a wooden framework resting on sticks above a fire. The flames and smoke rose and enveloped the meat, giving it a certain flavor.[4] The same framework was also used as protection from nocturnal animal attacks.[citation needed]


Linguists have suggested the word barbacoa migrated from the Caribbean and into other languages and cultures; it moved from Caribbean dialects into Spanish, then Portuguese, French, and English. According to the OED, the first recorded use of the word in English was a verb in 1661, in Edmund Hickeringill's Jamaica Viewed: "Some are slain, And their flesh forthwith Barbacu'd and eat".[2] The word barbecue was published in English in 1672 as a verb from the writings of John Lederer, following his travels in the North American southeast in 1669-70.[6] The first known use of the word as a noun was in 1697 by the British buccaneer William Dampier. In his New Voyage Round the World, Dampier wrote, " ... and lay there all night, upon our Borbecu's, or frames of Sticks, raised about 3 foot from the Ground".[7]

Samuel Johnson's 1756 dictionary gave the following definitions:[8][page needed]

  • "To Barbecue – a term for dressing a whole hog" (attestation to Pope)
  • "Barbecue – a hog dressed whole"



A British Asian style barbecue including chicken kebabs, marinated chicken wings, sweetcorn, and an assortment of vegetables.


U.S. South and Midwest[edit]

A barbecued pig


According to estimates, prior to the American Civil War, Southerners ate around five pounds (2.3 kg) of pork for every one pound (0.45 kg) of beef they consumed.[14] Because of the effort to capture and cook these wild hogs, pig slaughtering became a time for celebration and the neighborhood would be invited to share in the largesse. In Cajun culture, these feats are called boucheries or "pig pickin's". The traditional Southern barbecue grew out of these gatherings.[citation needed]





The state of Kentucky, particularly Western Kentucky, is unusual in its barbecue cooking; the preferred meat is mutton.[17] This kind of mutton barbecue is often used in communal events in Kentucky, such as political rallies, county fairs, and church fund-raising events.[citation needed]


Events and gatherings[edit]

Diagram of a propane smoker used for barbecuing

The word barbecue is also used to refer to a social gathering where food is served, usually outdoors in the evening or late afternoon.[citation needed] In the southern United States, outdoor gatherings are not typically called "barbecues" unless barbecue itself is served, typically, they use the term "cookouts".[citation needed] The device used for cooking at a barbecue is commonly referred to as a "barbecue", "barbecue grill", or "grill". In North Carolina, however, "barbecue" is a noun primarily referring to the food; natives of the state never use the word to describe the act of cooking or the device on which the meat is cooked.[18]

Barbecue competitions are held in virtually every state in the United States between around April and September. These events feature competitions between teams of cooks and are divided into separate competitions for the best pork, beef, and poultry barbecue, and for the best barbecue sauces.[citation needed]





Chicken, pork and bacon wrapped corn cooked in a barbecue smoker
Main article: Smoking (cooking)



See also: Pit barbecue




Other uses[edit]

The term barbecue is also used to designate a flavor added to foodstuffs, the most prominent of which are potato chips.[citation needed]

See also[edit]


  1. ^ Hale, C. Clark (2000). The Great American Barbecue and Grilling Manual. McComb, MS: Abacus Pub. Co. ISBN 0936171022. 
  2. ^ a b "Oxford Dictionary". Retrieved 2015-12-12. 
  3. ^ Goldwyn, Meathead. "The history of barbecue". Retrieved 2015-12-12. 
  8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (2008). A dictionary of the English language. Oxford University. Retrieved 12 December 2015. 
  9. ^ "storySouth / southern barbecue BBQ culture and foodways". April 5, 2002. Retrieved September 6, 2012. 
  10. ^ "Barbeque". Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved September 6, 2012. 
  11. ^ "Definition of barbecue". Oxford Dictionaries (British & World English). June 24, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2013. 
  12. ^ "America searches for the perfect barbecue". Newsweek 103 (19-26). Retrieved 12 December 2015. 
  13. ^ Matthew Bell (2013-07-18). "Gaucho grill: How to cook the Argentinian way | Reviews | Lifestyle". The Independent. Retrieved 2015-12-12. 
  15. ^ [1] Archived September 29, 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ Raichlen, Steven (2000-06-28). "How to Say Barbecue in Baltimore -". Baltimore (Md): New York Times. Retrieved 2015-12-12. 
  17. ^ "Stalking the Barbecued Mutton". The New Yorker. 1977-02-07. Retrieved 2015-12-12. 
  18. ^ "Barbecue". NCpedia. Retrieved 2015-12-12. 

External links[edit]