what is the difference between northern american and southern american barbecue?

Question

The difference between techniques of cooking, the different sauces used, the bases of the sauces, meats used, etc.

The difference between techniques of cooking, the different sauces used, the bases of the sauces, meats used, rubs,etc.?

rubs? sorry I'm new to this so please forgive me if parts of the question are re-typed

Answer 1

This is a good article:

Central Texas BBQ Dynasties

What Becomes a Legend Most?

BY VIRGINIA B. WOOD

Barbecue is everyman's chance for culinary greatness, where cheap cuts of meat like pork butts, beef briskets, and ribs can magically be turned into everyday haute cuisine with the application of spices and smoke. Most geographic regions in the American South boast a time-honored barbecue tradition. In eastern North Carolina, it's not barbecue unless it's pulled pork, served with Brunswick stew and hush puppies. In the Tennessee/ Arkansas/Mississippi area around Memphis, pork ribs are a must. As far north as Kansas City, where they actually hold annual barbecue championship cookoffs, sweet, smoky sauce concoctions play an important role. Definitions of barbecue vary with geography, ethnic heritage, regional culinary traditions, and the availability of agricultural products. The subject is known to evoke passionate controversy among the regions.
Central Texas barbecue traditions evolved from a confluence of events in the second half of the 19th century. Refugees from the Civil War, both black and white, came to Texas looking for new land and a new start, bringing their recipes and cooking styles along. German and Czech settlers arrived with centuries of experience making sausage and smoking meats. The Chisholm Trail, a route for driving big Texas cattle herds to stockyards and railheads, passed through the area, bringing cattle in abundance. With over 100 years of refinement, the result of this culinary congregation is a reputation for world-class brisket and sausage, plus pork, chicken, mutton, and even cabrito that can hold their own with any man's pit work. Whether it's smoked over oak, pecan, mesquite or hickory, served on butcher paper in a historic family meat market, out the window of an aromatic roadside shack, or in a comfortable sit-down restaurant with a wine list, Central Texas barbecue is cause for pride and celebration.

It comes as no surprise to regular Chronicle readers that we take this hallowed barbecue tradition very seriously here at the paper. We embrace it heartily and jump at the chance to promote it to barbecue lovers such as ourselves as well as new and recent converts. This year, we're spotlighting the legendary Central Texas barbecue dynasties, eight families who've dedicated themselves to the pit master's art for generations. These folks have fed everyone from cotton pickers to presidents, deer hunters to diplomats, building solid family businesses with fiercely loyal clienteles.

The food staff (Mick Vann, Wes Marshall, MM Pack, and myself) spent some time this fall visiting with these humble, hard-working folks, sampling a bit of their family history along with their barbecue. In case you're only familiar with their great meats, we'd like to introduce you to the Mikeskas, the Muellers, the Bracewells, the Meyers, the Schmidts, the Blacks, the Coopers, and the Inmans, the rural royal families of Central Texas barbecue.

Answer 2

First off do you mean "northern american" as in the U.S. and Mexico vs. say "southern american" of Brazil, etc. since I know they have it down there too or do you mean the U.S. northern vs. southern states? I know nothing about the BBQ of South America and little about Mexican style but in the U.S. the BBQ is mostly Southern with a little bit in the Midwest/West. In fact many in the North have said they've never had BBQ whereas the South usually has several BBQ joints even in the smallest towns. Like others have pointed out barbeque as a noun is mostly a type of traditional Southern fast food whereas in most of the northern parts the word barbeque is a verb that means to grill- as we would say it.

I agree with most of the replies above about the standard places being Texas, Carolina, Memphis, and Kansas City and this is all over the Internet but you can get much more specific than that like the Alabama white sauce or the fact that in some parts of North Carolina they eat hush puppies with it while most of the South features a BBQ plate with cole slaw, potato salad, and such. It's a long story but a lot of it is based on recipes handed down for generations and race isn't a factor since you have white, black, hispanic all doing it. Also most of the South uses pork while Texas uses beef. A lot of this is based on Indigenous Americans so it's no surprise you get this with other peoples in the Americas like Mexico.

Answer 3

As I understand it (and I admit I am not an expert here) In the more northern states "Barbeque" or "BBQ" is something we DO to our food. We take whole pieces of quick cooking meat and cook them outside generally (as bbq goes) and we put a red, sweetish, tomato based sauce on the meat while we're cooking it.

It'll take a true southerner to tell you how they do their BBQ but I lived a while in the south and it was more like a vinegar-based sauce, not so sweet and thick as the north, and the meat was shredded and super tender and off the bone and dang good if you ask me. It was eaten on a sandwich sometimes or just on a plate with other BBQ related foods.

Answer 4

Traditional N. American BBQ (USA) can be broken down to 4 regions/styles - Carolina, Memphis, Kansas City and Texas

BBQ in the USA implies meat that is slowly cooked at 200F to 250F over indirect heat with some type of wood to give it a smokiness. Cooking times are a minimum of 8 hours.

The meat of choice is pork (Carolina, Memphis and KC) and beef (Texas).

1) Carolina BBQ - is typically pulled (shredded) pork shoulder with a vinegary sauce. Also, the pulled pork sandwich is topped with cole slaw. (very good!)

2) Memphis BBQ - is typically pork spare ribs cut St. Louis style cooked with a dry rub. Depending upon who you ask, some say the ribs should be served dry (no sauce) while others like them wet.

3) Kansas City BBQ - is mainly about the sauce (For example, KC Masterpiece). The sauce is tomato based and tends to be on the sweet side.

4) Texas BBQ - becuase of it's cattle history, Beef is the choice of meat. More specifically, Beef Brisket. The brisket is coated with a dry rub before bbq'ing. Again, some people like it dry others like it wet.

5) South American BBQ
Based upon local restaurants (barbacoa) that serve in the USA.

The meat is more of a rotisserie style cooking with meat cooked over flames on a rotating skewer. This is difference where the heat is higher than USA bbq where the heat is lower. Also, no wood is used to smoke the meat.

The meats is more diverse - beef, goat and pork.


Personally, I like the vinegary sauce of Carolina bbq. The other sauces are too sweet and mask the flavor of the meat.

Answer 5

The Southern African Americans live in the south.

Answer 6

Northern BBQ uses ketchup as an ingredient in the sauce. Southern BBQ does not use ketchup at all. Southern uses molasses and brown sugar or sorghum in the sauce.

Thank you very much.

Answer 7

dave c is right! i was going to say the same thing! it's not about "north" and "south"...it's about the 4 different regions that the best BBQ comes from: Carolina, Memphis, Kansas City and Texas!

i'm from Carolina, but i tend to like more of a Kansas City-type BBQ.

Answer 8

Gas vs Charcoal