5 things you didn’t know about barbecuing
Of course you know how to grill the perfect hamburger and why you should avoid sweet marinades on the barbecue. But hey, did you know this?
You can get rich from barbecuing
There are barbecue competitions all over the world, but the most fun one is in Memphis, Tennessee. The World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest has been held there since 1978. The prize money has now risen to around 15,000 dollars (but the costs of participating are also far from insignificant). Participants prepare ribs, a shoulder or ‘whole hog’ to claim the prize money. An entire pig, in other words. Extra fun: the Ms. Piggie contest, in which teams dress up as pigs and then perform. Classy!
Barbecuing 365 days a year makes you lose weight
American Johnny Fugitt travelled through every state in his country and ate at a different barbecue restaurant every day. From Alabama to Wisconsin, he visited 365 smokehouses, Bar-B-Qs, roadhouses, joints, shacks and markets, and compiled the best 100 in a book. That is all interesting enough, but apparently he lost weight during that year. Based on the photos in his book, we label this rumour as brisket mac n cheese…
There is ‘a lot’ in meat
Yes, think about that for a moment. Barbecuing is a social occasion. You don’t light a fire just for yourself. So invite all your friends when you feel like having a meat fest. All 45,252 of them. That’s how many people came to the barbecue on that beautiful summer day in August 2013, in the Estado de Nuevo Leon in Mexico. They promptly made it into the Guinness Book of Records.
Barbecuing is for wild men
At least, that is what the English thought in the seventeenth century. That was when the word barbecue first entered their vocabulary. It probably derives from the word barabicu, which the Arawak people of the Caribbean used to refer to their ‘sacred fire bed’. The noble art of barbecuing still carries a rugged image. Do we hear someone calling out Jord Althuizen?
The BBQ has a national holiday
You bet! On 24 September, all South Africans celebrate their beloved Braai Day. Because every South African will agree: tjop & dop* is top! So Heritage Day was promptly renamed National Braai Day, with none other than Archbishop Desmond Tutu as its patron. You read that right: in South Africa, the barbecue blessing comes from above.
*Afrikaans for barbecue party. Tjop comes from lamb chop, and dop (loosely translated: cap) refers to an alcoholic drink.
Read also:
