Why I love barbecue.
People tell me I'm a barbecue maniac. Over the top. That I'm waaaaaay too into it. And then comes the inevitable question: "Why do you love it so much?"
Hm. Well...
... First and foremost, it's very primal. It's, to me, a connection with the entire long line of humanity. You're cooking over a wood fire. It's obvious that when cooking was invented, this was how it was done. Even three hundred years ago, all food was cooked on a wood fire. But with the modern mechanization of society, we have moved away from wood-fired to "taste-neutral" methods of cooking. My tendency to rebel manifests itself, in this case, in a return to wood-cooked meals. And wood-cooked meals rule because...
... Wood tastes fantastic. Not all wood -- pine tastes like ass -- but for the most part, wood smoke just tastes wonderful.* Oak, hickory, apple, maple, it's all great and has its place. You can't forget that wood smoke is one of the spices you're working with. If you go into very high-end restaurants, you'll see they cook their steaks over a wood fire.
... Boys love fire. See "primal" discussions.
... It's a very slow way to cook, which forces you to go about your day in a slow manner. I tend to run a million miles a minute. I've always got a dozen things going. When one of them is the smoker, it tends to slow my day down, which is what I ought to be doing (ie. resting.) So in that sense, in the slowing-me-down sense, it's very healthy for me.
... It's a positive activity that always makes people smile. No one hates the barbecue man, if he does it right. In fact, people will laud the man who makes excellent 'cue. Which means you always get invited back, you always get free beer, you get introduced to all the hotties etc. Unless the hotties are vegetarians, which has happened once or twice in my life. I really want a vegetarian to balance me, but they get a little turned off by the massive bloody slabs of animal I like to work with. Oh well. I smoke potatoes and onions and stuff.
*: I believe that this is a deep racial memory: When we smell wood smoke, we immediately associate "warmth" and "food". With good reason: Again looking back fifty thousand years, a fire DID mean warmth and food.
Hm. Well...
... First and foremost, it's very primal. It's, to me, a connection with the entire long line of humanity. You're cooking over a wood fire. It's obvious that when cooking was invented, this was how it was done. Even three hundred years ago, all food was cooked on a wood fire. But with the modern mechanization of society, we have moved away from wood-fired to "taste-neutral" methods of cooking. My tendency to rebel manifests itself, in this case, in a return to wood-cooked meals. And wood-cooked meals rule because...
... Wood tastes fantastic. Not all wood -- pine tastes like ass -- but for the most part, wood smoke just tastes wonderful.* Oak, hickory, apple, maple, it's all great and has its place. You can't forget that wood smoke is one of the spices you're working with. If you go into very high-end restaurants, you'll see they cook their steaks over a wood fire.
... Boys love fire. See "primal" discussions.
... It's a very slow way to cook, which forces you to go about your day in a slow manner. I tend to run a million miles a minute. I've always got a dozen things going. When one of them is the smoker, it tends to slow my day down, which is what I ought to be doing (ie. resting.) So in that sense, in the slowing-me-down sense, it's very healthy for me.
... It's a positive activity that always makes people smile. No one hates the barbecue man, if he does it right. In fact, people will laud the man who makes excellent 'cue. Which means you always get invited back, you always get free beer, you get introduced to all the hotties etc. Unless the hotties are vegetarians, which has happened once or twice in my life. I really want a vegetarian to balance me, but they get a little turned off by the massive bloody slabs of animal I like to work with. Oh well. I smoke potatoes and onions and stuff.
*: I believe that this is a deep racial memory: When we smell wood smoke, we immediately associate "warmth" and "food". With good reason: Again looking back fifty thousand years, a fire DID mean warmth and food.
posted by Steve at 11:06 PM
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