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Grilling has become a part of our everyday life, but how did this alternative (or rather, initial) form of cooking become so popular?
Let’s take a look!
History of Grilling
We can’t really talk about grilling before we talk about fire. It wasn’t until about 500,000 years ago that humans domesticated fire, and then shortly after, began using fire to cook food. But it wasn’t until much later, the 17th century in fact, that we first heard of the cooking method, Barbacoa.
Coined by the Arawak tribe in the Caribbean and South America, Barbacoa was a method of cooking where sticks created a flame over a fire and place meat on them.
In the 18th Century, early American settlers, and those who adopted this form of cooking from Spain, also began using this method to cook and created their own twists, or rather styles of what we now know as barbecue.
Those four styles include:
Carolina Style: The main difference with the Carolina styles is the sauce. South Carolina uses a mustard base, Western Carolina uses a sweeter vinegar and tomato style sauce.
Memphis Style: Pork ribs with a sticky sweet-and-sour tomato-based sauce.
Texas Style: Known for their choice of beef, typically brisket, and dry-rubbed and smoked with mesquite chips and covered in a tomato-based sauce.
Kansas City Style: A combination or crossroads of all BBQ where you’ll find both pork and beef, sweet and sour, but typically tomato-based sauces.
Charcoal Briquettes
What does Henry Ford have to do with grilling? Well, did you know he was the man behind developing, or rather, creating the product for, Kingsford company? As an avid outdoorsmen, strategic businessman, and also concerned about waste, Ford recycled his sawmill scraps and sawdust and pressed them together with tar and cornstarch to create an effective source of kindling for outdoor cooking.
He sold these charcoal briquettes in picnic packs and eventually sold Ford’s charcoal briquette division to investors who renamed it Kingsford Charcoal.
But to add a twist, Ellsworth B. A. Zwoyer was the first person to actually patent a design for charcoal briquettes in 1897. Ford just had better marketing and resources!
Charcoal and Gas Grills
Grilling didn’t really start to take off until the 40’s. After World War II, the middle class began moving outside the city and into suburban neighborhoods where they had more room to grill and enjoy the outdoors.
While there were grills in the 40’s they were not efficient or effective, oftentimes burning meat and causing more ash mess than enjoyable food as most were flat and open-style designs.
Frustrated with the design, in 1952, a welder from suburban Chicago by the name of George Stephen decided to design his own. He worked for Weber Bros. Metal Spinning Co. who produced harbor buoys. One day he decided to make some modifications and took a buoy, cut alongside the middle, added a grate and cut vents for temperature control. He used the top as a lid and we now have Weber grills to enjoy flavorful food on!
The next decade brought about the advancement of grilling with the development of gas grills. People were wanting more natural gas options so Melton Lancaster and William G. Wepfer developed a grill that used propane instead of charcoal. This increased the cost of grilling, but provided a more convenient and clean grilling method, which quickly gained popularity.
What’s the Difference?
A final history lesson is the difference between grilling and barbecue. While these words are often interchanged, there is a difference.
Grilling is the method of cooking food directly over an open flame or high heat source. Grilling is best for cooking foods fast, like hot dogs and hamburgers, chicken breast, veggies, and seafood.
Barbecue on the other hand is the method of low and slow cooking over indirect heat. Barbecue is best for big or tougher cuts of meat like brisket, ribs, pork butts, and such.
For all your outdoor grill and accessories, from charcoal and gas, to pellet and even brick ovens, stop by or call Watson’s to find the perfect set-up to add to your backyard oasis for fun and flavorful food!
Sources: https://historydaily.org/henry-ford-and-the-invention-of-kingsford-charcoal
