Mornin' all, first thing that comes to mind is it's a southern thing but that's probably too simple, so I'll be waiting for clues.

Annette.

I am thinking southern as well. Will be looking for clues to narrow it down.

Cynthia

Whoops - I was on the conversation side and this ended up here!! Sorry All - back to the conversation side!!

Nancy.

The word 'barbeque' comes from 'barbacoa' of Caribbean/South American derivation and refers to the "sacred fire pit". The idea of barbequing or grilling is not unique to the western hemisphere, however. Cooking meat over an open fire is pretty much a global practice (at last in warmer climes) and popular for eons.

In the US, 'barbeque' has come to mean something quite specific, more of a style of cooking rather than a device, involving low heat and slow roasting and usually in a closed oven and with diffused heat rather than over open flame. It some locations, it even refers to a specific type of meat.

Another neat fact is that BBQ has close ties to the pirates of the Caribbean. There were men who made their living by hunting wild boar and other game on the islands and then turning the meat into jerkey by smoking it on a wooden frame called a buccan. Later the Spanish decided that they didn't approve of the practice so they killed off the game animals and the disenfranchised men (called buccaneers because of their former profession) had to come up with a new way to make money... many turned to piracy. Isn't history fascinating?