In the Mid-West, the term “barbecue” is used most often as a verb. As in, “Come over tonight! We are going to barbecue!”. And if you accepted this invitation, you’d most likely have a meal of burgers and sausages that were put on a barbecue…a gas or coal grill.

But in the Southeastern United States, barbecue is a treasured cuisine of its own. From Wikipedia:

It was the Spanish who first introduced the pig into the Americas and to the American Indians. The Indians, in turn, introduced the Spanish to the concept of true slow cooking with smoke. The Spanish colonists came to South Carolina in the early 16th century and settled at Santa Elena. It was in that early American colony that Europeans first learned to prepare and to eat “real” barbecue. So, people were eating barbecue in South Carolina even before that name had been applied to the area by the English.

It’s a big deal where I’m from. Growing up in the South, you have a favorite BBQ restaurant, one that deserved your loyalty. People are always trying to send you to their favorite, too. And then you have to decide what kind of barbecue you like. Usually depending on what part of the country you’re born, there are lots of regional varieties:

Each Southern locale has its own particular variety of barbecue, particularly concerning the sauce. North Carolina sauces vary by region; eastern North Carolina uses a vinegar-based sauce, the center of the state enjoys Lexington-style barbecue which uses a combination of ketchup and vinegar as their base, and western North Carolina uses a heavier ketchup base.

The barbecue of Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee is almost always pork served with a sweet tomato-based sauce. However, several regional variations exist as well. Alabama is particularly known for its distinctive white sauce, a mayonnaise- and vinegar-based sauce, originating in northern Alabama, used predominantly on chicken and pork. A popular item in North Carolina and Memphis is the pulled pork sandwich served on a bun and often topped with coleslaw. Pulled pork is prepared by shredding the pork after it has been barbecued.

Vinegar, tomato, mustard sauces; brisket, smoked, and braised pork, chicken, or beef…the world of barbecue is a large one. I love it all, to be perfectly honest.

Obviously, the folk at Smoque Barbecue, in Chicago, IL, do too. Former IT guys turned smoked-meat connoisseurs, they have been lovingly providing BBQ to Chicago’s Northwest and beyond for about 5 years. We’re really excited that they’re bringing their upscale-downhome cooking to our wedding, and we know you’ll be excited too!