Barbeque, it means different things to different people, to some it’s a couple of burgers on the gas grill in the backyard or at the lake, to some it’s ribs over charcoal, yet to others it’s the full on whole hog in the smoker all day long and having 20 or 30 people over to share. However you define barbeque, what really matters is getting people together, cooking outdoors, having fun, eating great food and enjoying the company of friends and family.
The term barbeque has many apparent origins coming from an extinct cannibalistic tribe in Guyana to the nineteenth century advertisement for a combination whiskey bar, beer hall, pool establishment and the purveyor of roast pig, the “Bar-Beer-Cue-Pig”. Even the French have staked a claim with the term “barbe a queue” translating to “from head to toe”. The most accepted version however is “barbacoa” coming from the West Indies, the term was used to describe slow-cooking meat over hot coals. Pigs are generally easy animals to raise and in the pre-civil war south, pigs were sometimes left on their own in the wild to fend for themselves and were simply hunted when needed. The entire animal was used, some parts cured for later consumption, some as a delicacy. As the pig provided a large amount of meat when a pig was slaughtered it was a time for celebration in which the neighbors participated. The traditional southern barbeque grew out of these gatherings. In the 1800’s, barbeque was a feature at church picnics, political rallies and private parties. As Barbeque was not a class specific food it was a way to bring people from all socio-economic classes together for a common purpose. The parish barbeque brought everyone together and everyone participated. The men roasted the pig and the women brought the “covered” dishes. This was a chance for everyone to visit, hear the latest news and to just catch up. For many, the parish picnic was “the” social event. To this day church picnics are still a vital part of local communities in the south. Jonathan Daniels a mid-twentieth century journalist wrote; “Barbeque is the dish which binds together the taste of both the people of the big house and the poorest occupants of the back end of the broken-down barn”. As things progressed some of the men that barbequed at the parish picnics set up road side barbeque pits and started selling take away. Usually these men worked weekdays elsewhere and only sold barbeque on weekends. As evolution would have it, a roof was put up here, a table and chairs there, soon a raised floor and there you have it, the barbeque restaurant was born. As the “secret recipe” is what set them apart and the pig required constant attention it was uncommon for someone to have more than one restaurant. Some barbequers like it dry others wet and neither is right nor wrong, it’s all just a matter of taste. We created our Parish Barbeque Rub to be used either way. To clarify this, cooking dry means cooking the meats without a sauce and cooking wet means to cook the meats with a sauce, or you can finish with a sauce or serve it with a sauce on the side. You will however need to season your meat prior to cooking even if you plan to use a sauce. Cooking dry is a bit different for most people but if you learn to cook your meats at low temperatures and keep them moist you’ll be a star. Be sure to cook with indirect heat, turn off the gas burners directly under the meat. If you are using charcoal, wood or coals push them off to the side. You are going to cook with a cover and at a lower temperature so be sure to use less fuel. Be patient, experiment with different fuels, try different cuts of meats and have fun Our Parish Barbeque Rub is the all purpose rub in our line up, you can cook straight up with it, you can use it as a base before your sauce or for a twist add new flavours to it. Try adding such things as; ground coffee beans, ground chili peppers, allspice to create your own signature rub, try adding some of our Jerry Lee’s Cajun Spice or St. Ann’s Jamaican Spice. Try keeping a barbeque journal and write down what flavours you added, the type and cut meat you cooked and anything else you need to remember in order to become the “Que Master”. If you’re proud of your “experiment” be sure post a note on our forum.
