Curly's Talks About True Barbecue
Get prepared for National Barbecue Month
With Interesting Tips and a New Recipe from Curly's
Edina, MN (May 6, 2008) /PRNewswire/ – In honor of National Barbecue Month, Curly's is celebrating all things barbecue with some interesting facts about barbecue history and preparation, how people in different regions enjoy their barbecue, and a unique barbecue recipe.
There are three prevailing assumptions as to the roots of the word barbecue (sometimes spelled barbeque, BBQ or bar-b-que). A study at the University of Virginia found that most likely, "barbecue" came from the West Indian Tiano terms "barabicu" or "barbacoa." The first translates to "sacred fire pit" and the second denotes a method of slow-cooking meat over hot coals. An alternative guess is the French phrase "barbe a queue", meaning "from head to tail," which refers to the practice of roasting the entire hog. A third and less supported claim is that the word BBQ came from the time when roadhouses and beer joints with pool tables advertised Bar, Beer and Cues. The phrase was shortened over time to BBCue, then BBQ.
"Although there is disagreement on the origins of the word barbecue, almost everyone agrees that real barbecue is cooked slowly over a low smoky fire until the meat is tender and juicy," said Jim Hamilton, of Curly's marketing. For those wanting to attempt barbecue on their own, Curly's has a few tips:
- Only buy fresh, not frozen, meat. Pork can only be frozen once, before it becomes dry. If you buy it fresh, you can be assured it is only being frozen once, at most.
- Carefully season the meat with your favorite rubs, marinades, or sauces, and slowly smoke over hickory wood. This process can take from 12 to 14 hours on some meat.
- Use a thermometer, not your eyes, to test for doneness. When the thermometer says it's done, remove it immediately since it can continue to cook for several minutes after removal from the grill.
After slowly smoking their meat, many barbecue aficionados make pulled pork by pulling it by hand into succulent threads of meat, then dousing it with sauce. Depending on the region, this sauce can vary greatly. According to www.bbqinfo.com, in the East, the sauce is thin, vinegary, and peppery with a little brown sugar and mustard for taste. The Midwest prefers a sweet and spicy tomato-based sauce flavored with molasses. And in the Southwest, where beef brisket is more popular, they use a spicy BBQ sauce with a little bit of chile.
You can pair your barbecue with some new Curly's Baked Beans for some great food with friends. And if you'd like a simpler way to eat great pulled pork, Curly's has barbecue beef, pork, and chicken in convenient family-size tubs. If you like grilling, but don't have a whole day to prepare your meal, try the new Grilled Salmon and Curly's Barbecue recipe (enclosed) for a tasty combination.
About Curly's
Curly's Foods is a division of John Morrell, a wholly owned subsidiary of Smithfield Foods. Curly's has been producing and supplying the food service industry with fully cooked, hickory smoked pork, beef and chicken entree items since 1988. Curly's products are made with fresh cuts of meat and no fillers, carefully trimmed and slow smoked in an authentic pit smoker over natural hardwoods for hours. The baby back ribs and pulled beef, chicken and pork are all pre-cooked and can be found in the fresh meat sections of supermarkets, delis and specialty stores. www.curlys.com
