SC - John Wayne (now how the heck did we get here?)

[margali]

Stefan li Rous wrote:
> 
> Adamantius,
> > Although, for the argumentative, I should
> > mention that the word barbecue appears to be of south-_east_ern origin,
> > Carib
> 
> Interesting. Where did you get this info?
> 
> I've always heard that the term came from a ranch in Texas named the:
> ---
> B Q , in otherwords, a cattle brand of a bar over the letters B and Q.

And the man wins an 8-ounce jar of Miracle Whip! But at least the
portions are small! (Sorry, I couldn't help myself, I'll be good now, honest!)

Courtesy of Noah Webster et al:

"barbecue, n., [Sp. barbacoa < Haitian barbacoa, framework of sticks],
1. originally, a raised framework for smoking, drying, or broiling
meat." [A more detailed etymology was posted recently, and should be
among your recent digests.]

It _is_ interesting, though, that of all the subsequent talk in the
dictionary having to do with cooking meat and saucing it, restaurants
which do this, and social occasions where this is done, there is no
reference at all to the pit barbecue (which, as we all know, etc.,
etc.). I guess, in the same way that a convection oven is just another
kind of oven, pit-style barbecueing is a subset of the class of barbecue
types, and not (according to this source, and, unfortunately, many
others) representative of Central Orthodoxy.

Hey, what do I care, I'm the UUY and have a Brinkmann grill on my
apartment balcony, much to the annoyance of my neighbors. It should be
noted, however, that Webster was also a Yankee, and I suppose that means
to some that both bias and competence issues need to be discussed.

Re Texas barbecue, I was fascinated to read, in, I _think_, "Joe Bob
Goes Back To The Drive-In", by John Bloom, a.k.a. Joe Bob Briggs, that
(according to Joe Bob) Texas barbecue has several very rigid criteria to
be followed if it is to be considered authentic. Other Texans' mileage
may vary, and it should be noted that any applicability of the following
criteria to any form of Southern barbecue is purely accidental. As I
recall (I can't find the book just now) style criteria include:

1) Texas BBQ is always beef, and no other meat.
2) Texas BBQ is always called BBQ or BB-Q, never Bar-B-Q and certainly
never barbecue.
3) Texas BBQ is always eaten off a paper plate (I think he says
something about bread or buns, but I forget what)
4) Proper Texas BBQ is always purchased from a counter after waiting on
line; if a waiter brings it to you it is disqualified as effete 

There may be others, but that's all I can remember. It also should be
noted that while Joe Bob is from Grapevine, Texas, John Bloom was born
in Arkansas.

Adamantius  
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com