Barbecue (BBQ) as a cooking method was originally developed by the indigenous Taíno people of the Caribbean, who cooked meat over a wooden framework called a "barbacoa" resting above a fire. This technique was observed by Spanish explorers after Columbus arrived in the Americas in 1492
. The word "barbecue" itself derives from the Spanish term "barbacoa," which referred to this framework. The practice of barbacoa involved slow-cooking meat over indirect heat, often in pits dug into the ground, a method that was also used by various indigenous peoples in the Americas, including tribes like the Chicksaw in what is now the southern United States
. The Spanish introduced pigs to the Americas, and barbecue methods evolved in the American South, particularly among African American communities, where it became a distinct culinary tradition by the early 20th century
. South Carolina is often claimed as the birthplace of American barbecue due to early Spanish and Native American interactions there, where the first pigs were barbecued using pit cooking methods
. The technique spread throughout the southern United States and became a hallmark of American cuisine. In summary:
- BBQ originated with the Taíno people of the Caribbean, who used the barbacoa method of cooking meat over a wooden frame above fire
- Spanish explorers brought the concept to the Americas in the late 15th and early 16th centuries
- The American South, especially South Carolina, is considered the birthplace of American-style barbecue, where indigenous, Spanish, and African American influences combined to develop the tradition further
Thus, barbecue was invented in the Caribbean by indigenous peoples and then adapted and popularized in what is now the southern United States.
