Where there's smoke there's fire … and flavor as chefs come up with saucy variations for barbecue

Nation's Restaurant News, Oct 21, 2002 by Paul Frumkin

Southern food authority Louis Osteen laughs when asked how many types of barbecue there are in the United States.

"How many types are there?" repeats Osteen with a low whistle. "How many people are there?"

The chef-owner of Louis's at Pawleys on Pawleys Island, S.C., isn't the only one who is amused by the seemingly innocent inquiry. Other practitioners of the art of pit barbecue tend to be equally entertained when the question comes up in conversation.

"Barbecue types?" echoes Steve Uliss, chef-owner of Firefly's Bodacious Barb-B-Que and Beyond in Marlborough, Mass. "There are probably hundreds of different styles of barbecue. Every region in the South seems to have its own barbecue. It just goes on.

In fact, it's hard to find more than a handful of individuals at any given time or place who can agree on precisely what is required for this uniquely American art form. In "The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink," John Mariani notes that "in the South barbecue is akin to a religion, and from county to county the preferences ... are myriad."

"Barbecue is like politics," Osteen says. "People are always arguing about it."

Experts can't even agree on the proper spelling. Reference books variously list the word as "barbecue," "barbeque," "bar-b-q" and "BBQ." And among those hardcore users, a single, reverent syllable--"cue"--says it all.

But while individual variations on a theme apparently are legion, at least some "cue" connoisseurs are willing to limit the parameters of Southern barbecue to four fundamental types. The Qarolinas' style features pit-cooked pork--notably chopped--flavored with a vinegar- or a mustard-based sauce. Memphis, Tenn.,-style pork barbecue is served either dry or with a sweet, tomato-based sauce. Texas specializes in beef--particularly brisket--flavored with a sweet, smoky tomato sauce, while Kansas City offers both beef and pork with a sweet-and-sour sauce.

Additional points of conflict touch on wood or charcoal usage and whether the meat should be flavored first with a dry spice rub or basted with sauce during the cooking process.

Nevertheless, one point is irrefutable, Osteen insists: "You have to cook it real slow and keep the heat regulated. If you can cook it slow enough, you can cook meat beyond well done, and it will still be juicy and succulent."

Michael Romano, chef-partner in Blue Smoke, Union Square Restaurant Group's New York barbecue restaurant, says he and executive chef Kenny Callaghan ran into just such a problem. After enduring some "not very glowing" reviews of the 175-seat restaurant's Memphis-style barbecue, Romano and Callaghan examined the cooking process and decided that the meat coming out of the pit was too dry. They tried altering the meat specifications--size and fat content--but those changes had no effect. Then, one day, Romano says, it occurred to him to investigate the pit itself and its towering exhaust system that vents wood smoke 15 stories up the back of the East 27th Street building.

"We called the company that makes the pits, and they said because of the huge amount of draw, a lot of air was being pulled over the fire," Romano explains. "We were going through more wood than we should have been, altering the balance of heat and humidity in the pit. It was drying out the meat."

Consequently, dampers had to be installed in the flues. "That has helped tremendously," Romano says. "Now people are coming in and telling us that the meat has gotten a lot better."

With the cooking process under control, the Blue Smoke chefs now are planning to broaden the menu. Romano says they will add a new sauce "with broad appeal" as well as some Texas-style beef brisket. A Carolina-style pulled pork sandwich also is being contemplated. "It will be more mustard-and-vinegary," Romano says. "We'll also fold some cracklings into it."

Romano and Callaghan recently took their recipes on the road, winning fourth place in the ribs competition in the 15th annual Murfreesboro Barbecue Cook Off in Tennessee. "It was our first time competing and beat the second-best team in the nation," he says. "A real David and Goliath story."

John Radcliff, executive chef of Darden's Smokey Bones BBQ Sports Bar, is another barbecue aficionado who spends time on the competition circuit. The 21-unit chain's barbecue selections, in fact, are based on Radcliff's competitive recipes. "Every protein [at Smoky Bones] has won an award with a recipe that is one step away from, if not identical to, the recipes we serve here," Raddiff says. "Our baby back ribs are kissing cousins to our competitive recipe. We use the same rubs and basically the same philosophy."

Radcliff says his recipes, while regional in origin, have been customized. He explains: "Our St. Louis ribs have an entirely different flavor profile from our baby back ribs. We use the levels of smoke like a recipe component. Our baby backs have a lighter level of smoke, and it's very evident. When you see them side by side [with the St. Louis ribs], the colors are different."