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 MORE BARBECUE INFO
Barbecue has come a long way from its beginnings as only a slow-cooking process. Today, consumers and foodservice professionals are using barbecue-based flavors as an enhancement in everything from sauces to rubs. As a result, it is firing up a full skewer of new flavor favorites.
“The popular smoked flavor and grilled taste of barbecue is truly a convenient and versatile way to add flavor and punch to otherwise ordinary culinary fare,” explains Mike Chapter, Corporate Chef, Kraft Foodservice. “We are seeing more and more restaurants featuring grilled entrees, dishes with a smoked twist and a host of sassy sauces.”
Everything from chicken to fish, prime cuts of beef to seafood, and even vegetables and fruit, can benefit from the barbecue method and/or addition of sweet, smoked or spicy sauces. You can take a traditional dish like chili and give it a tasty tang with the addition of barbecue sauce and chopped bacon --- Barbecue Bacon Chili. Or a Pulled BBQ Turkey Sandwich can easily be mastered with the addition of a sweet barbecue sauce.
Whether its casual or upscale cuisine, the addition of barbecued or smoked items on the menu will fit right in with the tastes of your patrons today. According to John Willingham’s World Champion BBQ, approximately 80 percent of winners in barbecue competitions use a combination of marinade (or vinegar) or dry rub when preparing their entrees.
Although people have been marinating fire-roasted meats with sauces to tenderize and enhance flavor since ancient times, the first marinades featured vinegars, fermented fish extracts and soya sauce compared to more recent tomato base varieties.1 The traditional tomato-based barbecue sauce contained five main ingredients (tomatoes, onion, mustard, garlic and brown sugar), yet consumers today are open to new flavors with a “kick” or extra pizzazz.
“Operators are taking ethnic culinary trends and diffusing them into the traditional barbecue,” explains Chapter. “With hot trends like Asian and Latin cuisine, these same popular tastes can be incorporated into grilled or smoked entrees such as a Latin barbecue sauce featuring lime juice and chilies atop a nice cut of pork.”
Since 1836 when the barbecue became popular in Texas, regional distinctions and preferences for various types of sauces have been prevalent across the United States.2 The original barbecue styles of Kansas City, Memphis, St. Louis and other regions known for their grillin’ have evolved into multiple flavors of sauces that foodservice operators are spotlighting on their menus.3
“We are still seeing the influence of Mexican spices, such as chipotle and red chile featured in southwestern-style dry rubs and basting sauces added to entrees like ribs and brisket,” comments Harry Crane, Executive Chef and Culinary Group Manager, Kraft Foodservice. “In the Midwest, you’re more likely to see dry rubs with onion powder, coarse ground black pepper and garlic.”
With the different regional barbecue preferences across the nation, you can seize the opportunity to feature signature menu entrees specific to your area or spotlight favorites to satisfy your patrons no matter what state they’re from. Try a southeastern-style grilled entrée of pork chops accented with a Creole tomato-based sauce or a Californian grilled salmon that boasts a sweet ‘n sour, fruit juice-based sauce.
You can even fire up an entrée like pizza by adding barbecue sauce, pineapple chunks and chopped ham for a spectacular Smokey Hawaiian Pizza. Thanks to the addition of many new smoked barbecue sauces on the market, it’s easier than ever to create a signature smoked flavor dish without having to slowly cook it over special wood chips on a charcoal grill. So whether you cook the meats, fish, fruits or vegetables on premise or just add the “burning” flavor of the barbecue by pouring on a smoky sauce, you can create a menu full of favorites your patrons will enjoy all year long!
Sources:
1 The Food Timeline, www.foodtimeline.org
2 The Encyclopedia of American Food, John Mariani, Lebhar-Friedman: New York, 1999
3 Prepared Foods, November, 2003 |