Barbecue, also spelled barbeque, is meat that is cooked over a fire at a low temperature. Unlike meat grilled over high heat, barbecued meat cooks for a longer time. The meat becomes tender and absorbs much smoky flavor from the grill. The term barbecue originally referred to the roasting of a whole hog, ox, or other large animal.
Cooks often coat meat with a dry rub (mixture of spices) before barbecuing it. They may also use a liquid barbecue sauce, marinade, wet rub, or mop to moisten and flavor meat. Barbecue sauces are typically applied at the end of cooking. The flavors of barbecue vary based on regional cooking styles. Near Kansas City, Missouri, cooks cover barbecued meats with thick, sweet, ketchup-based sauces. North Carolina is famous for its thin, tangy vinegar-based barbecue sauces. Chinese cooks make a sweet, charred barbecued pork dish called char siu.
