Barbecue

“ So in green shade, at some springside they built an arbor of green boughs, leveled the earth underneath, pounded it hard and smooth, then covered it an inch deep with clean wheat bran, put up seats roundabout it, also a fiddlers' stand, got the fiddlers, printed invitations which went far and wide to women young and old, saw to a sufficiency of barbecue, depended on the Lord and the ladies for other things—and prepared to dance, dance from nine in the morning until two next morning. ”

“ A RIVER barbecue is where the shantyboaters laugh, dance, and sing, but more than anything else, they exchange ideas, duel for the sweethearts, and sometimes succeed in trading for other men's wives. The trades are not all ill-natured, at that, for it is a matter of authentic tradition that such a swap was made mutually satisfactory all around by the addition of a side of bacon as "boot," when one river lady was regarded as slightly fairer than the other. ”

“ In the 1950s, when backyard grills became widely available, and outdoor cooking really began to take off. The combination of outdoor grills and the charcoal briquets made barbecuing so easy and reliable, that today, according to a Barbecue Industry Association survey, seven out of ten American households own a barbecue grill, and we use them about 1.5 billion times a year total. ”

“ If 95 the barbecue is given at the expense of half a dozen gentlemen, you may safely calculate that at least thirty servants will be employed in bringing together the good things. Those belonging to one of the entertainers will probably make their appearance on the ground with a wagon load of fine young pigs: others will bring two or three lambs, others some fine old whisky and a supply of wine, others the necessary table-cloths, plates, knives, and forks, others an abundance of bread, and others will make their appearance in the capacity of musicians. ”

“ Add sauce and herbs; stir and simmer 5 minutes. Preheat oven to 350oF. Place one frank in each roll, spoon equal amounts of sauce mixture over franks. Close roll and wrap securely in foil. Heat for 20 minutes, turning packages after 10 minutes.
CHAPTER FIVE: CHICKEN FOR BARBECUING: America's Love Affair with an Old Flame is Heating Up! PHOTO: We have four good barbecue photos that might go with this chapter. They're paperclipped in section labeled page 223.
Are you about to barbecue something? Then you're part of an ancient tradition. Barbecuing is actually man's oldest form of cooking ”

“ Barbecue ovens are rather expensive unless for community use. Outdoor fireplaces, without or with spits for roasting, are frequently called barbecues in some sections of the country. For occasional barbecuing parties, a hole in the ground will serve. Dig a hole several feet deep and several feet larger each way than the size of the carcass to be roasted; then place stones in the bottom to retain the heat. A trench 30 inches deep, 36 inches wide, and about 10 feet long will accommodate about 400 pounds of beef. ”

“ A barbecue, we call it,” said Henry. “We have one at the Grove ev'ry year. This time the two Sunday Schools is goin' to join and have a big time. You and Sister don't want to miss it. That Mr. Bronson's goin' to give a whole side o' beef, they tell me, to roast over the fires.”
“A big banquet is in prospect, is it?” asked Hiram, smiling.
“And a stew! Gee! you never eat one o' these barbecue stews, did ye? Some of us will go huntin' the day before, and there'll be birds, and squirrels, as well as chickens in that stew—and lima beans, and corn, and everything good you can think of!” ”

“ For purposes of business or pleasure, the people found it necessary, or advisable, to meet together in masses, at stated periods; and as these meetings were made a kind of rural festival, and as the animals served up on such occasions were commonly roasted entire, it was not unnatural that the feast should eventually have become known as a barbecue. ”

“ Special Hint ... Here’s how to bring out the flavor of your favorite barbecue meat—ribs, steak, roast, or chicken. Each time the meat is turned, baste liberally with 7-Up. It provides a special taste treat—and helps to tenderize the meat. Use 7-Up barbecue sauce as desired, when basting.
8 Add “Punch” to your Party! 7-UP SHERBET PUNCH
This popular punch—good the year ’round—is easily and quickly prepared.
2 qts. sherbet
24 7-oz. bottles of 7-Up
(Raspberry, pineapple, lemon, lime, orange or cranberry sherbet can 6 used. Try using one qt. lemon sherbet with one qt. of any other flavor.) ”

“ The other guests were sleeping, or crowded into the kitchen, where were put out for refreshment huge platters of barbecued beef, calves' heads roasted whole under live coals in the ground for a whole night, and bread and pickles and cheese. ”

“ It will be seen that it is the simplest possible manner of preparing a dinner for a large concourse of people. It requires neither building, stove, oven, range, nor baking-pans. It involves no house-cleaning after the feast. It soils and spoils no carpets or furniture. And in the mild, bountiful region where the ox and all that is eaten are raised with so little care, the cost of feeding hundreds, or even thousands, in this manner is merely nominal. Hence barbecues have been for a long time so common and popular in the Southwest. ”

“ Next build a big fire at each end of the pit (Fig. 114) , not right under the body of the animal, but so arranged that when the melted fat drops from the carcass it will not fall on the hot coals to blaze up and spoil your barbecue. Build big fires with plenty of small sticks so as to make good red hot coals before you put the meat on to cook.
First bake the inside of the barbecued beast, then turn it over and bake the outside. To be well done, an animal the [96] size of a sheep should be cooking at least seven or eight hours over a charcoal fire. ”

“ The most popular forms of outdoor recreation are the community barbecues, frontier days and pow-wows. Only those who live this free, healthy life in the heart of nature have appetites worthy of a barbecue. At noon the delicious beef, roasted all night over a deep trough of coals, and basted with real butter, is a social meal that many of us envy. There are frontier field [Pg 53] days with sports belonging to ranch life, such as horse racing and broncho busting. The day usually ends with a big dance. ”

“ On the other hand, you will want to arrange to have greater convenience than the open fire on the surface of the ground that served your ancestors long ago. The outdoor grill, or an outdoor fireplace with a grill built in, provides the comfort and facilities that the modern generation demands.
This barbecue grill and fireplace built in the stump of a great redwood looks as if the tree had actually grown around it. ”

“ Crumble beef into saucepan and brown lightly. Drain off excess fat. Mix in onion and celery. Combine tomato sauce, catsup, brown sugar, vinegar, barbecue sauce, and seasonings. Pour over meat, cover pan, and simmer barbecue 11⁄2 to 2 hours, or until flavors are well blended.
Spoon beef mixture over buns.
Fish-cheeseburgers 6 servings
6 frozen fried fish portions or 12 frozen fried fish sticks
6 buttered hamburger buns
6 tablespoons chili sauce
6 slices (1 ounce each) cheese
Place frozen fried fish portions or fish sticks in a single layer on a well-greased baking sheet. ”

“ As soon as I get rid of that little bunch of cattle I'm going to give a barbecue and festival to the countryside in honor of my guests. We'll eat a half dozen fat two-year-old steers and about a thousand loaves of bread and a couple of barrels of claret and a huge mess of chilli sauce. When I announce in the El Toro Sentinel that I'm going to give a fiesta and that everybody is welcome, all my friends and their friends and relatives will come and I'll be spared the trouble of visiting them individually. ”

“ It's a time for family and fun, for games and fireworks and backyard barbecues. Tonight smoke will curl over homes on nearly every block as millions of families gather around the grill for the most American of meals, hamburgers and hotdogs and barbecued chicken. ”

“ Cut into small pieces enough pork to fill a baking dish. Season it with salt, pepper and mace. Use no water. Cover the meat with a thick pastry crust and bake in a slow oven for two hours. Make a gravy of the bones and scraps of the pork, well seasoned, and pour into the pie after it is baked.
* * * * *
To Barbecue a Pig (very old dish)
Dress a pig of ten weeks old as if to roast. Make a stuffing of the liver, two anchovies, and sage leaves all chopped small; bread crumbs, four ounces of butter, salt, cayenne and a half pint of red wine. Stuff and sew the pig up. Roast at an open fire. ”

“ Of the genus barbecue, as it exists at the present time, we believe there are only two varieties known to the people of Virginia, and these may be denominated as social and political. The social barbecue is sometimes given at the expense of a single individual, but more commonly by a party of gentleman, who desire to gratify their friends and neighbors by a social entertainment. At times, the ceremony of issuing written invitations is attended to ”

“ Tak de meat an' say, 'Brar, gi' me you pot?" Man no 'peak to him. Say, "Brar, mus' put on yo' pot go get meat." Man no 'peak. Put on de pot an' go on de barbecue fetch meat. When he cook done, tak him bag, load up, say, "Brar, me gwine now." ”

“ There is a circle round each improvized kitchen: some dry and break up the small branches rifled from the trees of the fort; some tend the refractory fire, for the wood will not flame; some agitate the contents of the mess-tins—fragments of stolen meat, choice morsels of vegetable peelings, coffee dregs begged from the kitchen, potatoes pocketed when the dinner was being prepared, edible snails found on the grass on rainy mornings and kept fasting in an old cigar-box, cheese-rind, plum mushrooms, wild chicory. ”

“ Put a shoulder of salt pork in a pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, and then allow to become cool. Then put the pork in a pot with five pounds of brisket of beef, cover with water, add a little salt, a bouquet garni, three whole turnips, three beets, three carrots and a small head of cabbage. Cook until the vegetables are soft, then remove, and continue cooking the meat until well done. Place the meat on a platter, slice, and place the vegetables around the meat; add some plain boiled potatoes, pour a little of the broth over all, and serve hot. ”

“ However artistic the arrangement of the dinner-table, however immaculate the table-cloth and faultless the dinner-service, the disagreeable thought must surely sometimes occur to the artistic mind that the beef was once an ox, the mutton was once a sheep, the veal was once a calf, and the pork was once a pig. We may scrupulously make clean the outside of the cup and platter, but the recollection of the state of their interior will nevertheless cause some disquietude to our aesthetic repose. ”

“ With the duff bubbling fiercely, and the beef on the other side of the stove keeping in tune with it, the men's dinner needs no more thought on his part except to keep the fire going; so that he will be able to do a bit of cleaning up, if he has a weakness in that direction, or he may sit and smoke and meditate. The steward is preparing the cabin dinner [Pg 216] aft in his pantry: a fruit pie, some tasty combination of tinned meat and potatoes, or even a fowl, if they are carried. In any case, as a rule the cook has only to see the food for the cabin through the actual cooking. ”

“ The grill must always be placed over the glowing fuel in advance, and it should be very hot when the objects to be grilled are placed upon it, otherwise they would stick to the bars, and would probably be spoiled when turned.
Grills Classified.
Grills may be divided into four classes, of which each demands particular care. They are: (1) Red-meat grills (beef and mutton) ; (2) White-meat grills (veal, lamb, poultry) ; (3) Fish; (4) Grills coated with butter and bread-crumbs. ”

“ It is none of my business if a man wants to make a salmi of his woodcock: I simply deplore his taste or ignorance.
I shall commence with what has probably been brought in when the party arrived, so the cook will not have to hunt far to know how to cook supper. Beef, pork, lamb, ham, bacon, sausage, etc.
Broiled Steaks:—Camp is a poor place for tough meat; so when you buy, get something so that you can, at least, stick a fork in the gravy when it is cooked. Have a good bed of hardwood coals, if possible. At any rate, have no smoke. Put the broiler over the hot coals and get it hissing hot. ”

“ No bathing conveniences whatever, and often not a wash dish about the house, is the rule. The most inveterate eaters in the world, yet these people have no idea of cooking outside of hog, hominy, corn bread, and coffee. Yes, there is one more dish, it is the negro’s sun-flower in the South, cabbages.
It is usual to see a woman coming from the market about five o’clock in the evening, with a basket under her shawl, and in it a piece of pork, bacon, or half a hog’s head, and one or two large heads of cabbage, and some sweet potatoes. ”

“ So through a large passage we pass, and he ushers us into the lodging-house kitchen. As the door opens a babel of many voices greets us, a rush of warm air comes at us, and the evidence of our noses proclaims that bloaters and bacon, liver and onions, sausages and fresh fish are being cooked. We look and see, we see and taste! Strange eyes are turned upon us just for a moment, but we are not "'tecs," so the eyes are turned back to the different frying-pans or roasting-forks, as the case may be. ”