What'd He Say?

Today's post is on barbecue slang or lingo. It's been a long time since I've put up dictionary about some of the terms used by today's barbecuers. I've touched on this subject before, here, here and here, but there's always room for more.

So today, there's another glossary to check out. This first appeared in 1998 in The Passion of Barbeque by the Kansas City Barbeque Society. Don't worry if some of these definitions contradict other glossaries you've seen. Barbecue slang is fluid. Enjoy.

• Baby Back Ribs - the 13 smallest loin end ribs of a slab of pork ribs, the most tender ribs
• Bamboo Skewers - long pins of wood soaked in water prior to using for kebabs on the grill
• Banking Coals - stacking charcoal briquettes against the wall of the grill to one side in order to grill using the indirect method of cooking
• Barbeque - to slowly cook meat/food over coals with aromatic woods in a covered cooker imparting smoke flavor (Boy, could this be argued!)
• Baste - to pour liquids such as stock, juice, oils or marinades over meats while cooking retain moisture and/or impart flavor
• Charcoal Chimney - a cylindrical metal container used to start charcoal fires without the use of petroleum products
• Closed Pit - a covered barbeque grill
• Dry Rub - a mixture of dry seasonings rubbed into meats prior to grilling or barbequeing
• Glaze - a finishing sauce applied to meats during the final 15 minutes of cooking
• Green Wood - usually refers to unseasoned hickory
• Grilling - cooking over a hot open fire
• Hardwood Charcoal Briquettes - most commonly made from hardwoods such as oak or hickory
• Hoi Sin Sauce - also known as Chinese bean sauce, it is sweet and hot, primarily made from black beans
• Indirect Heat - to cook meat away form the source of heat, i.e., the opposite side of the grill away from the hot coals
• Indoor Barbequeing - cooking in the oven by broiling under red hot heating unit or slow covered cooking in the oven using barbeque sauce or liquid smoke to imitate outdoor barbecqueing (I think this may by my definition of crap or a travesty!)
• Injecting Marinades - using a syringe with a needle to insert marinade into meats prior to cooking
• KCBS Sanctioned Contests - contests that apply for and follow the Kansas City Barbeque Society's criteria, rules and regulations
• Mad Dog - insane canine .. moniker for the co-founder of the KCBS
• Marinate - to place food in an oil-acid mixture to tenderize or add flavor
• Mop - to use a mop or large brush to apply baste to meat while cooking
• Nom de Grills - imaginative names used by individuals or teams who compete in barbeque contests, i.e., The Rib Doctor, Baron of Barbeque, Sir Loin, Girll of my Dreams, to name a few. (Hey! They left out WhiteTrash BBQ and BrooklynQ)
• Pit Barbeque - a large structure for barbequeing large pieces of meat or whole animals that can be closed for smoking. The pit can be a hold dug in the ground or a free standing cement or brick "oven" or a heavy metal structure such as a metal drum
• Pit Boss - person in charge of the barbeque unit
• Sear - to brown quickly over a very hot charcoal fire to seal in meat juices
• Skewer - a long pin of wood or metal on which food is threaded/placed and held in place while cooking. To fasten meat with skewers to keep in shape while cooking
• Slab of Ribs - most commonly refers to pork ribs (a side or slab of ribs)
• Waterpan - a vessel for water placed inside covered barbeque units to provide moisture while cooking
• Water Smoker - commercially manufactured cooking unit where the fire is separated from the meat by a water tray
• Wood - large chunks of non-resinous wood used as a fuel a source as well as a smoke-flavoring agent. Varieties of woods used for barbequeing include apple, cherry, grape, hickory, mesquite, oak and pecan. (For more information on wood, click here.)
• Wood Chips - small chips of hardwood or fruit wood added to barbeque fire to impart smoke flavor to meats.
  

Wow, so many terms there. I'd like to rewrite this list as so many seem to be out of date or confusing to say the least. I guess it's a project for a cold wintry weekend. Talk to you soon.