Illustration of a 16th-century Barbacoa

The following is a discussion about a small portion of the chapter "Hernando's Barbacoa" in the book From Barbycu to Barbecue. The book is published by the University of South Carolina Press. It was peer reviewed for two years and cites over 2000 primary and secondary sources. It is available from online booksellers and from many of the best local bookstores.

The widely accepted tall tale of how barbecue was "discovered" begins with the ancient Taino people of what is today Haiti and the word the Spanish borrowed from them "barbacoa." Sixteenth-century Spanish explorers, we are told, soon adopted the Taino way of cooking, which is sometimes described as cooking pork low and slow with indirect heat. From there, English speakers adopted the word barbacoa with an Anglo spin pronouncing it as "barbecue." This theory of the origins of barbecue is entertaining, but it is far from the facts as they are recorded in historical records.

It is true that 16th-century Spanish explorers witnessed ancient Taino people using barbacoas. However, the word "barbacoa" was used only as a noun and it did not refer to the food on a barbacoa nor did it refer to the way of cooking. Records from the 1500s through the 1800s refer to barbacoas only as wooden grills suspended on three or four forked corner posts and, sometimes, as being attached to a tree trunk on one end and two forked posts on the other. At some point, people in Mexico adopted the word "barbacoa" to refer earthen ovens, which are holes dug into the ground and filled with hot rocks before wrapping food in leaves and placing it in the pit before covering it with leaves and soil. Even so, to this day, the word "barbacoa" is used in Mexico only as a noun to refer to the earthen oven and the food that is cooked in one.

The notion that word "barbacoa" refers to a way of cooking was invented in the United States after the end of World War II. Americans invented the verb "barbacoa" and promoted the idea that because Spanish explorers were the first to use the word "barbacoa," that must be how barbecue was created. Nevertheless, firsthand accounts from the 16th through 19th centuries do not support those assertions.

It is true that Spaniards who came to the Americas in the 16th and 17th centuries were fascinated by barbacoas, but it wasn't because they craved a delicious pork barbecue sandwich topped with a tangy, spicy sauce and coleslaw. The truth about the 16th-century Spanish love affair with barbacoas is far more fascinating than the modern myth about it.

Early records of Spanish exploits in the Americas occasionally mention barbacoas. The word is used to describe wooden grills on which foods were cooked, smoked, and dried. The word "barbacoa" was also used to describe porticos, bridges, and even tree houses inhabited by indigenous people. "So," you may ask, "just why were Spaniards so fascinated by barbacoas?" One reason was how indigenous people used barbacoas to store things like clothing skins, corn, and other foods. Warm animal skins and food was always in high demand among Spanish conquistadors and their armies. But, that's not the main reason Spaniards sought out barbacoas.

The Spanish conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa (1475–1519) was the first European to lead a quest across Panama’s Isthmus and to march to the Pacific Ocean. In the year 1513 he sent a secret communique to King Ferdinand II (1452–1516) that contained a closely guarded secret. The secret was so closely guarded, it escaped detection by people who study barbecue history since it was revealed to King Ferdinand until now. The top secret, highly classified information in that communique was this: Caciques, leaders of indigenous tribes, hid vast amounts of gold in barbacoas.

Because one of the main goals of a conquistador’s mission was to find treasure for the king, this discovery was significant. It is also why it was to be kept secret and only shared with those the king sent to the Americas. Indeed, to King Ferdinand and his conquistadors, the closely guarded secret message was clear. Find a barbacoa, and you will find treasures. From that point forward, one of the main missions of Spanish explorers was to seek out barbacoas. Barbacoas stored corn that could feed their army and gold that could feed their greed. That explains why records show that one of the first things Spanish explorers did when encountering a Native American village was to head straight to the barbacoas. It also explains why the indigenous people defended them with their lives.

When carefully reviewing credible historical records, it is easy to see that the modern American tale of the origin of barbecue just does not stand up to facts. Get a copy of From Barbycu to Barbecue for a fresh look at barbecue history and how history tells us that southern barbecuing in the United States is an original style of barbecuing that was born in the southern United States and was not imported from the Caribbean.

 

 

Barbecued brisket with a low and slow bark cooked using the hot and fast method.

Many people struggle with the appearance of their backyard barbecue. It's either way too dark, sometimes burned, or it ends up looking pale with little appetizing color. If your barbecued chicken is always too dark in color or the bark on your pork barbecue isn't as well-developed as you would like, read on. Here is a very-little known secret to making your barbecue look appetizing with the perfect color and bark.

The appetizing color and bark on barbecue is the result of several things going on during the cooking process but one of the most important things is known as the Maillard Reaction. This is where the natural sugars and proteins in meat begin to brown while cooking. There are several things that influence this reaction: sugar, protein, heat, and the pH level of the surface of the meat are a few. Sugar is often used to create a faux bark. Rather than a natural, delicious bark that is produced from only the interaction of heat, smoke and the natural sugars and proteins in the meat, the sugar on the surface caramelizes and becomes a crust. Too often, it burns and results in an unappetizing flavor and appearance.

One of the least-known aspects of how the Maillard Reaction produces bark on barbecue is the pH level of the surface of the meat. When meat has the proper pH level for the heat and length of time it is barbecued, the bark comes out perfect every time. So, to up your game as a pitmaster, I suggest that you dump the sugar in your barbecue rub and move to ingredients that balance the pH of the surface of the meat so that a natural bark is produced to your taste. If you have to have sugar, apply it late in the cooking process so that it can caramelize without burning or turning too dark.

There are several ways to influence the pH level of the surface of meat. Here are the essentials.

• The pH of a substance is an indication of its acidity
• The pH of pure water is 7. That means it's pH is neutral.
• The pH level of vinegar is between 2 and 3. 
• Natural cocoa powder has a pH of 5.3 to 5.8. IMPORTANT NOTE - Dutch process cocoa powder is not recommended because it's not acidic enough. The way it's processed makes its pH level neutral.
• Baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate, has a pH of 9.
• When the pH of a substance is below 7, it slows the Maillard Reaction.
• When the pH of a substance is above 7, it speeds up the Maillard Reaction.
• Lower pH in food means it will take longer to brown.
• Higher pH in food means it will brown faster.

So, if your barbecue is always coming out too dark or with a burned bark, use an ingredient that can slow the Maillard Reaction. If your barbecue is too pale and you want to increase the production of bark and browning, add an ingredient that speeds up the Maillard Reaction. Here is how I change the pH of the surface of meat.

Delicious appetizing Shenandoah Valley Barbecue Chicken cooked for several hours over direct heat.

When I cook Shenandoah Valley style barbecued chicken, I barbecue it old-school style directly over hot coals. The way I control the color of the meat and prevent it from becoming too brown and dark colored is with the vinegar-based Shenandoah Valley Virginia-style barbecue sauce. I start the chicken skin side down. When it starts to get a little color, I flip it over and baste it with the vinegar-based sauce. That not only adds flavor, it also lowers the pH of the surface of the meat. Once the other side gets a little color, I flip the meat again and baste it. I continue that process for several hours until the meat is perfectly done. The color always comes out a deep, rich, appetizing brown.

When I want to lower the pH of meat without using vinegar, I add about 1/2 teaspoon of natural cocoa to enough of my rub recipe for a single brisket or pork butt. It won't change the flavor of your rub but will help slow down the production of bark.

When I cook barbecue hot and fast, I like to speed up the production of bark because I don't have 8 hours for the bark to develop. In those cases, I add something to increase the pH level of the meat such as baking soda. I add about 1/2 teaspoon to the rub recipe for one brisket or pork butt, for example. It doesn't take much baking soda, so don't worry about making a perceptible change to the flavor of your barbecue.

For more examples, read my other posts:

How to get a Low and Slow Bark on a Hot and Fast Brisket

Shenandoah Valley Barbecue Chicken

Picnic Fries