As an act, to barbeque means to slow cook meat at a low temperature for a long time over wood or charcoal. Culinary researchers believe that the barbeque (or BBQ for shorthand) originated in the late 1800s in America during western cattle drives. They noted that cowboys were fed the less than perfect cuts of meat—often brisket, a tough and stingy piece of meat that required five to seven hours of cooking to tenderize.

Of course barbeque meats are varied. Aside from beef ribs, pork butt, pork ribs, chicken, venison, seafood and goat are also barbequed. As mentioned, in the Philippines and other Asian Countries, offal (or animal organs) are also barbequed. Perhaps, we have also done more that our neighbors as we also barbeque coagulated animal blood!

With regards to the word “barbeque,” however, the jury is still out on how the word was coined. Some researchers believe that the word came  from Taino Indian word “barbacoa” which meant meat-smoking apparatus, while others contend that it came from the French word “barbe a queue” which means “whiskers to tail”. Nonetheless, no one is sure of the correct origins of the word.

Just to show how popular “barbeques” have became in society, even the great car manufacturer Henry Ford, deigned to invent along with Thomas Edison, the first charcoal briquette in 1920. It seems that Ford was aghast at how  much wood scrap and sawdust his car factories were producing that he decided to do something about it. He didn’t go into full-time production though, as the invention was bought by E.G. Kingsford who then commercially produced the briquette.

But enough about “barbeque history”! What great about a barbeque is that it’s tasty and fairly easy to cook. Moreover, it could even be a great group activity for summer.