What is REAL BBQ?

This is just semantics, I know, but when I speak of barbeque, I’m speaking a language foreign to most Californians. Growing up, BBQ was slapping some burgers, dogs or even steaks on a gas grill. Don’t get me wrong, one can cook up some mighty tasty grub on a gas grill. But think about it for a moment. How is a gas grill any different than your oven? It is just a broiler turned upside down (or right side up, depending on your perspective). I have yet to hear of anyone raving about that fragrant propane flavor. It’s the smoke from heavenly hardwood that is the heart beat of All-American BBQ! The humble ranch hands of yesterday’s legendary cattle drives turning a cheap hunk of meat into something succulent over some desert mesquite. I remember my first experience with true wood smoked BBQ. It was as if my eyes were opened to a whole new world of truth (almost like getting saved!). Silly, I know, but we really are talking about two different worlds here: 1) ribs boiled in a pot of water then slathered with sauce and charred on a gas grill; 2) ribs gently smoked in a wood pit for 6-7 hours. And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of brisket, pork butt, tri-tip… (my BBQ ode to Hebrews 11).

Don’t get me wrong, I can enjoy a char-grilled burger or 1,800 degree broiled steak as much as the next guy.  Probably more, actually.  But, hey, when it comes to ‘que, I’ll pass on the gas.