Parisians Don't Understand BBQ

Other than my daughter Autumn the thing I miss most about the United States is cooking outside over fire and smoke. Americans didn't invent BBQ but you could certainly argue that we perfected the art.

Before I continue I have to explain something that even a lot of folks in the U.S. don't understand. When you take a nice piece of steak and cook it directly over hot coals, you are NOT barbecuing, you are "grilling".  And that piece of cookware you find in almost every backyard is not a BBQ it's a GRILL. (It's sometimes referred to as a "Barbecue Grill" which is probably okay because it's possible to cook barbecue on a grill. You just have to put your coals on one side and your meat on the other...)

This steak is being grilled on a charcoal grill (not being BBQed on a BBQ)

So if cooking steak, chicken, and other meats and vegetables over direct heat is grilling, you ask, then what is barbecuing?  Basically, it's taking a big hunk of tough meat and cooking it over indirect heat for many hours until it gets tender and juicy.  If you've never had real barbecue you don't know what you are missing!

It's unclear where the term "barbecue" originated, but it is generally believed that when the Spanish landed in the Caribbean back in the 1400's they used the word "barbacoa" to describe the native's method of slow-cooking meat hung over wood platforms.

Some believe that southern U.S. slaves perfected barbecue because they were only given the worst/toughest cuts of meat by their masters.  The slaves discovered that slow cooking these cuts of meat over wood fires not only made it tender, the meat took on a delicious smoky flavor.

When you cook a brisket for 16 to 18 hours it will almost fall apart in your hands.

Recently, we took my parents to a restaurant called "Terroir Parisian" for dinner.  While we were there we noticed that, on sunny days, customers can choose a "BBQ" option where they get to cook their meat outside at special tables.  Like any annoying "expert", who is always way too eager to show everyone how much he knows about some obscure subject, I just shook my head and said knowingly, "That's GRILLING and not BBQing... but whatever."

It was beautiful here on Friday so Melanie and I decided to give French BBQ a try.  We anticipated something like this:

A table with a charcoal grill built into it

Instead, we were seated at a small round table with a... well... a big electric hot plate in the middle. We assumed we'd be cooking our food on the hot plate, but no.  The waiter brought out a metal frying pan to put on the hot plate.

So not only was it not BBQing... it wasn't even grilling.  It was more like... outdoor frying.

French BBQ

Melanie and I sort of laughed about the whole thing, but honestly it was hard to complain too much. It was a beautiful night and the duck, chicken and steak were seasoned perfectly, and so tender we could cut everything with our forks.  Was it grilled?  No.  Was it smoky?  No.  Was it delicious?  Absolutely!

NOTE:  My buddy Steve told me that Paris has a very good BBQ joint called "The Beast". We're going to check it out later this summer and I'll report back!