 |
|
|||
Gardening > BarbequesThe Great British Barbecue is no more – in fact, the Great British Barbecue never really was. It was a misnomer. For the BBQs we all have stashed away in the dark corner of the back garden are not BBQs at all – they’re grills. Us British folk don’t know what we’re doing when it comes to BBQs, because none of us actually own one! How comforting is that? You would think wouldn’t you that when you go into B&Q or Homebase or some other garden centre of choice, and you see BBQ Sale screaming at you from every angle, that the thing that you purchased under said Sales Promotion would, in fact, be a BBQ? You just would wouldn’t you? Well they’re not! Apparently they’re GRILLS. What’s the difference? Well according to the British Barbecue Pit there is a world of difference between what we do here in Britain (which is grilling) and what the Americans are doing (barbecuing). Our barbecues (which are grills remember) cook food at a very high heat – usually at around 200-260C. We cook the meat directly over the coals, and pretty near to the coals  at that, and that results in us charring the outside of our grub and sealing the juices inside. Hey presto, everything’s done in relative minutes (aside from the obvious darting in and out of the gazebo to take cover from the rain!) Now an all-American barbecue doesn’t cook the food this way. It smokes it over a prolonged period of time (usually hours) and at a much lower heat – about 95-150C. Americans use charcoal and wood chunks to create the lower heat that generates smoke and it is the smoke that cooks the meat – hence the distinctive flavouring. The American barbecue doesn’t cook the meat over the heat source – there is often a separate ‘fire pit’ attached to the side of a cylinder that acts as a smoke chamber if you will, in which you place the meat. This is a perfect way apparently to cook a whole pig. Right. How many times in your whole life have you and/or your girlfriend bought a whole pig to cook? “Hmmm, it’s Sunday, I know, let’s buy a pig!” How many of us Brits have the entire population of ooh I don’t know, say your average local secondary school, over for a hog roast? It just doesn’t happen here unless you’re a girl guide or a boy scout or something as equally outdoorsy-en-masse-type. No, over here it’s a couple of sausages, maybe a pork chop, a chicken breast and if you’re feeling particularly creative maybe a lamb skewer with a couple of fast-wilting mushrooms jammed in between the chunks. Something tells me a two-hour smoke-cooking session just isn’t going to cut it with us Brits. Let’s face it with our summers we usually only get a twenty minute window to get the Barbie (sorry, Grill) out, lit, cooking and cleaned! Okay, so we’re sticking with our grills. Now we just need to tackle the term. Grilling, as a term just doesn’t do it for us does it? It doesn’t conjure up the great outdoors, the sunshine, the laid-back living that the term barbecue, (barbie, BBQ) does. ‘Grilling’ just doesn’t wash. “It’s a beautiful day darlin, shall we grill?” My girlfriend would not be impressed and neither would I. We like the idea of ‘barbecues’, it allows us to think we’re living the good life and we’re not ready to give it all up yet. The Americans may think we’re doing it all wrong, but it’s all about language and perception – and for a country whose women wear ‘bangs’ and not fringes across their forehead, they have very little room to talk. |
"We like the idea of ‘barbecues’, it allows us to think we’re living the good life and we’re not ready to give it all up yet..."
|
|||
|
||||
