As I learn about festivals around the country I will post them.

International Bar-B-Q Festival: Owensboro, Kentucky

I thought this looked like a fun festival. Here is the link if you want to check it out. The spring is coming soon and you will want to pick your favorite destination.

technorati tags:festival, barbeque, beef, beer, pork, sauce

Can't you just picture the celebration back then?

Being from the South, (Texas that is) I have enough childhood memories to be able to draw a picture in my mind's eye of the type of celebration they describe here. I would have loved to taste these Barbeques!

History

The American South In the Southern United States, barbecue initially revolved around the cooking of pork. During the 19th century, pigs were a low-maintenance food source that could be released to forage for themselves in forests and woodlands. When food or meat supplies were low, these semi-wild pigs could then be caught and eaten.[4] According to estimates, prior to the American Civil War Southerners ate around five pounds of pork for every one pound of beef they consumed.[5] Because of the poverty of the southern United States at this time, every part of the pig was eaten immediately or saved for later (including the ears, feet and other organs). Because of the effort to capture and cook these wild hogs, "pig slaughtering became a time for celebration, and the neighborhood would be invited to share in the largesse. These feasts are sometimes called "pig-pickin's." The traditional Southern barbecue grew out of these gatherings."[6] In the rural south, slaves were given the less desirable parts of the pig, (such as the ribs and shoulders) which they would cook by either smoking or pit barbecue.

Barbecue - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

technorati tags:barbeque, south, sauce, pigs, pork, beef, ribs

From A Sacred Fire Pit to Bar, Beer and Cues !

I found this at Wikipedia and am fascinated by the image and the history. "Bar, Beer and Cues" would be my kind of place!

Barbecue - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The origin of both the barbecue cooking activity and term are somewhat obscure. The word itself varies in spelling; variations include barbeque, BBQ, and Bar-B-Q. Most etymologists believe that the word barbeque ultimately derives from the language of the Taíno people of the Caribbean"barabicu", which translates as "sacred fire pit".[1] In one form, barabicoa or barbicoa indicates a wooden grill or a mesh of sticks; in another, barabicu, it is a sacred fire pit. Traditional barbicoa implies digging a hole in the ground putting some meat (goat is the best, usually the whole animal) on it with a pot underneath (to catch the concentrated juices, it makes a hearty broth), cover all with maguey leaves then cover with coal and set on fire. A few hours later it is ready. There is ample evidence that the word and technique migrated out of the Caribbean and into and through other cultures and languages (with the word itself moving from Caribean dialects into Spanish, then French, then English in the Americas). This would mean that the word "slowly evolved from barbacoa to barbecue and barbeque and bar-b-que and bar-b-q and bbq."[2] In the Southern United States, the word "barbecue" is used predominantly as a noun which specifically refers to roast pork (which is then chopped, pulled, or sliced, depending on region, and served with a tomato, vinegar or mustard-based sauce). A folk etymology states that the term BBQ resulted from when roadhouses and beer joints with pool tables advertised "Bar, Beer, and Cues." According to the tale, this phrase was shortened over time to BBCue, then BBQ.[3]

Barbecue - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

technorati tags:barbeque, origin, sauce, beef, beer, pork, grill