BBQ, or barbecue, is a uniquely American cuisine. It consists of the basic idea of meat cooked over an open flame. Of course, the execution is key, as anyone who has had a dry or flavorless BBQ sandwich knows. While barbecue as we know it may be perfected in the South of the United States, this simple concept has its origins in a different part of America.
But first, back to the word. The English barbecue comes to us from Spanish. Disciples of Chipotle can likely guess the ancestry of barbecue from the choice of meat grilled in this fashion. That’s right, barbacoa was the etymological parent of barbecue. But where did this word originate? Not in Spain.