Coming from a land down under, I was under the impression there was only one way to barbeque food.
Ever since I was old enough to prepare 'hot knives' and 'spots' and singe my eyebrows in stoned gas explosions, the only method of barbeque I knew was via propane on my parents back porch. In New Zealand and Australia, the deluxe king size top of the range Gas barbeque takes pride of place on the back patio (all yours for NZ$129.99) Before embarking to Old Blighty I was entirely comfortable in my knowledge that the gas BBQ was superior in every way to the English charcoal model and it was just another example of the colonised outdoing the coloniser (cricket, rugby, netball etc). 'Look maaate, they're faster, less hassle, ya get more Barbie for ya meat, whats this hassle of having to light it then wait an hour till the coals are ready? Etc'………………………………… Standing around a barbeque one day I was bragging about these facts, I was hit with the statement that 'look, the food just tastes better, its more authentic'. Something I had denied considering whilst I was laughing at my friend furiously blowing on the coals that weren't lighting………so I thought I would do a bit of my own research and give a few opinions to try and answer the question. Which is better?
(and the history of the Barbeque)
Man has been cooking food over an open
fire since he managed to tame it (and undoubtedly beforehand with varying
degrees of success and burns). Men are drawn to standing around the barbeques,
like Moths to flame and its all good fun until the 18th can. The barbeque
has been a marker of civilized society, since man and woman was cave dwelling
and there was no greater occasion in the Neolithic mans life than the
hunting and killing of a woolly mammoth, followed by a juicy steak with
his mates over an open fire.
The barbeque really came into its own, in those heady days of the American
expansion westwards. During cattle drives the men would have to be fed,
and whilst the boss wasn't too keen to give away the best cuts of meat,
he was more than happy to hand over the disposable off cuts to his hard
working cowboys. The foremost choice was Brisket,
which is a long stringy piece of meat. The smoking and of meat would take
place over several hours at about 200 degrees Fahrenheit, and the cowboys
would have themselves a tasty meal with beans. They also liked to barbeque
goat, venison, pork ribs and butt.
Barbeques are loved world over, and variations are regional. In the USA, the southern states have a propensity for pork, chicken and catfish, all with Cajun or Creole flavouring. In Texas the home of intensive cattle farming, beef is the main grilling meat. While on the fad conscious west coast you could be served up lean chicken, marinated swordfish or tofu burgers.
South Africa is the home of the 'braai' and proud of it. It derives its own uniqueness from the fact that the meat is cooked directly over flame.
In the 'Rainbow Nation' whether you are on the high veldt or the coast, you can Braai in the comfort of your living room. So you don't have to even leave your living room to eat your meat. Lacquer bru!
The phrase 'throw another shrimp on the barbie' was coined as a tourism promotion and voiced by none other than Paul 'Crocodile Dundee' Hogan in the early 70s. Blessed with a magnanimous climate, outdoor grilling is a national pastime like cricket, boozing and underarm bowling. Australians tend to barbeque on gas grills (which purists will swear black and blue are not 'barbeques') and you'll find them in not only in most suburban homes, but coin operated varieties at parks, holiday camps, beaches and any spot where ockers gather to quaff tooheys, VB and XXXX. Favourite staples an aussie likes to sizzle, are 'sangers' or 'snags' (sausages of all variety), King prawns, banana prawns, tiger prawns, Barramundi, Balmain bugs, and if you're outback, Skippy.
In New Zealand the barbeque takes a similar pride of place in the home of any NZer worth his salt. The skills of a New Zealand male at the barbeque are similarly quantifiable to his aptitude in holding a lucid conversation about the all blacks, shearing a sheep, pashing a Sheila, and an appreciation of arts and crafts with number eight fencing wire. Not that the female takes a back seat in these proceedings, she'll be in the kitchen preparing the potato salad and getting slowly pissed on Sauvignon Blanc. The tucker Kiwis really love to wrap their laughing gears around are (owing to their proximity to the sea) scallops, paua, snapper, kawhai, marlin, lamb, and the old favourites, steak, pork and sausages; a unique summer twist on the national meat and three vege dish — three meat and vege.
Gas vs Barbeque — Test, taste and toast.
Gas aficionados claim that the flavour of a bbq stems from food juices hitting a hot surface and therefore it doesn't matter whether the surface is lava rock or traditional charcoal. Also they argue the speed of which a gas grill cooks is a clear advantage, leaving time to get on with the 'raison detre' of the summer evening; the eating and the drinking. The efficiency of gas means a bbq your food any night of the week, after work without having to spend time preparing the coals to a perfect temperature. Cooking with propane is as easy as flicking a switch.
On the other hand there are many reasons for cooking with wood/charcoal.
As my English friend pointed out 'it just tastes better!' Well, does it
now? A study was done recently where punters were presented with hamburgers
and steak cooked on gas and charcoal. No one could tell the difference
between the charcoal and gas when it can to the hamburgers, but they could
tell the difference with the steak. The charcoal grilled steak apparently
had a more distinct smoke flavour. I'm a big believer in slow food, the
longer and more gently you cook something the more flavour you will coax
out.
It's a movement, it's also against
those multinational fast food bastards who have consigned nutrition and
sustenance to the production line, hoping to deny the population subtlety
and taste. They like to get us young as well equating happiness and fast
food, which sets us up brilliantly for the future, when you are 400 pound
and unhappy, but can't stop yourself quaffing down that next double cheese,
triple meat burger, and don't forget the bun (carbs) ain't bread, its
confectionary. They do put in though dried oinions and, the gherkin, which
used to ending up sliding down the inside window.
Karl Marx would have chosen a charcoal barbeque……..
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