3 Surprising BBQ Myths You Shouldn't Believe

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True barbecue lovers know that good grilling and meat smoking is both an art and a science. It takes a careful blend of flavor, skill, and good equipment to create the perfect barbecued meal.

However, like any cuisine, many misunderstandings surround grilling and barbecuing as a cooking style and passion. Here are just a few common myths about barbecuing that simply aren't true:

1. Cooking Hot Dogs in the Backyard is Barbecuing

Americans commonly use the terms "grilling" and "barbecuing" interchangeably, but there are actually several key differences between these two cooking methods. Grilling is a high-heat cooking technique that creates a sear on the outside of meat, vegetables, and fruit. Grilling aims to preserve tenderness while also producing food in a relatively short period of time.

Barbecuing, however, aims to create tender texture by cooking meats at a low heat over a longer period of time, from several hours to a whole day or more. For true barbecue, cooks need to find pit smokers or offset smokers for sale, and spend hours maintaining a low heat that breaks down the meat's tissue for ultimate tenderness.

2. Barbecue Can't Be Fast Food

Because barbecued foods take so long to cook, our notion of fast food today means that brisket will never be on a drive-through menu. However, back in the day, barbecue was a road trip favorite before burgers took over the market. Once the barbecued meat was cooked, almost no prep work was needed for dinner to be served. All an entrepreneur needed was to find offset smokers for sale, and set up a 24 hour slow-cooking schedule. If this type of barbecue was as cheap as today's fast food burgers, perhaps it would still be the dominant roadside cuisine.

3. Soaking Wood Chips Produces Better Smoke

Finally, too many barbecue cooks still soak their wood chips in water for an hour before throwing it in the smoker. It's a common myth that soaking chips helps release wood flavor or produces thicker smoke, but in reality, wood chips don't absorb the water. Throwing wet wood chips on hot charcoal only reduces the temperature. Skip this unnecessary step for equally delicious smoked meats.

According to the Hearth, Patio, and Barbecue Association (HPBA), about seven in 10 U.S. adults own a grill or smoker. However, now you know that owning a grill does not mean you've made barbecue. For the tastiest cooked meats and to increase your grilling and barbecuing knowledge, don't believe these three myths. Happy cooking!

If you're looking for barbecuing equipment, grilling supplies, or offset smokers for sale, contact Lone Star Grillz today!