The origin of both the activity of barbeque cooking and the word itself are somewhat obscure. Most etymologists believe that barbecue derives ultimately from the word barbecoe found in the language of the Taino people from the Caribbean. The word translates as “sacred fire pit.” The word described a grill for cooking meat, consisting of a wooden platform resting on sticks.

Traditional barbacoa involves digging a hole in the ground and placing some meat (usually a whole goat) with a pot underneath it, so that the juices can make a hearty broth. It is then covered with maguey leaves and coal and set alight. The cooking process takes a few hours.

There is ample evidence that both the word and cooking   technique migrated out of the Caribbean and into other languages and cultures, with the word moving from Caribbean dialects into Spanish, then French and English. The Oxford English Dictionary cites the first recorded use of the word in the English language in 1697 by the British buccaneer William Dampier.

While the standard modern English spelling of the word is barbecue local variations like barbeque and truncations such as bar-b-q or bbq may also be found in the southeastern United States, the word barbecue is used predominantly as a noun referring to roast pork, while in the  southwestern states, cuts of beef are often cooked.

The  word barbecue has attracted several inaccurate origins from folk etymology. An often repeated claim is that the word is derived from the French language, The story goes that French visitors to the Caribbean saw a pig being cooked whole and described the method as barbe a queue, meaning ”from bears to tall”. The French word for barbecue is also barbecue, and the “beard to tall” explanation is regarded as false by most language experts. The only merit is that it relies on the similar sound of the words,a feature common folk etymology explanation. Another claim states that the word BBQ came from  the time when roadhouses and beer joints with pool table advertised “Bar,Beer and Cues”. According to this tale, the phrase was shortend over time to BBCue, then BBQ.

When it comes to most topics involving BBQ, there are strong opinions that can vary greatly from one person to the next. Whether it’s the type of wood to use, what temperature to cook at, or even what exactly makes something worthy of being called barbecue, there are nearly endless areas for people to debate. I wonder though if the majority of people can agree that Blues is the best style of music to be associated with BBQ. Of course there are other types of music that could be considered “BBQ music” but in a general, overall sense, I think Blues should be considered the king. Growing up in Kansas City, I definitely associate Blues with BBQ. I would guess the same is true in the Memphis and St. Louis areas. Other regions of the country may associate Country music with BBQ more than Blues and I think that works too (as long as it’s not new pop-country). Gospel music is another fitting genre along with some Jazz and maybe some R&B. I suppose there are many people that would think rock and roll should be on the list as well. There could be some debate there depending on the type of rock it is but there’s surely some that would be fitting (especially since most rock is almost entirely based on blues).
It doesn’t have to be slow and low like the cooking of BBQ itself, but it does need to have some heart, some soul, and substance to it to be considered BBQ music.

This BBQ contest began back in 1982 and a couple years later it became recognized as the official state championship BBQ competition for Kansas.  The contest has continued to grow over the years and has almost 200 competitors and around 240 judges.  BBQ teams from all all over the country show up to participate at this big event to try to become the Kansas State Champion.

The BBQ competition this year begins on Friday, June 26th and the judging starts on Saturday.  There are seven different categories for the competition: brisket, chicken, pork, sausage, ribs, whole animal and miscellaneous.