Maybe you spell it "barbecue" or barbeque or BBQ.
And maybe you prefer a nice charred burger to a smoky steak and a sweet sauce over one that has more of a vinegar tang to it.
Regardless of how you take it, or spell it, barbecue as we know it has the same origins — stretching back to before Europeans set foot in the U.S.
Now technically, the method of cooking outside on an open flame has likely been around since man discovered fire. Yet, it's an early encounter between Spanish conquerors and Indigenous Caribbeans that brought us the actual word "barbecue."
Before you get ready to scrape off the grill for this July Fourth, learn more about the history of this quintessential American tradition.
Where did "barbecue" come from?
The word "barbecue" has its origins in the Caribbean where the Taínos, Indigenous people who inhabited the Caribbean islands lived before being largely wiped out by Spanish conquistadors during the 15th century, according to Smithsonian Magazine.
The word itself is believed to have stemmed from the Taíno word, "barabicu" which referred to the wooden frames they used to cook over a fire. When Spanish conquerors, like Christopher Columbus, gazed upon the Native population in the Caribbean and saw them using this method for cooking meats they took "barabicu" and turned it into "barbacoa," according to Merriam Webster.
Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés, a Spanish explorer, is widely credited with first using the word "barbacoa" in print in 1526, to describe the Taíno's cooking style.
Historical images and descriptions of the wood frame used by Taínos show that usually four wooden posts would be lined up and additional wooden posts would be tied across the top — "quite literally like a grill or rack of sorts," explained Michelle J. LeFebvre, an associate curator of archeology at the Florida Museum of Natural History who oversees the Caribbean archeology collection.
So who were the Taíno?
"The Taíno were a really formative group of people that were on that front line when the Europeans arrived," around the 15th century, said LeFebvre.
"From an archeological and ethnohistoric perspective, they've kind of been classified as sort of the pinnacle of indigenous societies and peoples in the Caribbean," she said. "At the time … they had social stratification, they had leaders, they had really complex kinship systems, but they were also quite diverse across the islands and environments and communities that they lived in. And not surprisingly, you know, they enjoyed some really good food."
And the food was a diverse array of mammals that lived in the Caribbean, like Hutia (squirrel-looking rodents) that were skinned and tied together over the fire, fish, birds, iguanas and snakes, said LeFebvre.
"We have all sorts of descriptions that would lead us to believe that their version of barbecue was probably pretty tasty," she said.
But, barbecuing was not just a Taíno style of cooking. The Taínos originated among the Arawak tribes that had gradually spread from Venezuela across the Antilles during waves of migration beginning around 400 B.C. and had continued for millennia, according to LeFebvre and to Smithsonian Magazine.
"We know the same kind of roasting was happening elsewhere," LeFebvre said. These years of migration meant traditions and cultures were shared and other Indigenous communities had their own versions of barbecuing food.
"Maybe the type of animal one person ate would have been different than what another person ate," she explained.
How has it transformed?
And the cuisine of barbecue has transformed time and time again, region by region, becoming an American tradition especially during summer holidays like Memorial Day, July Fourth and Labor Day.
As it was spread by the Spaniards, "the word started to transform, and also the cooking methods and the cooking styles started to transform," said chef Alexandra Strong, with Restaurant Associates at the National Museum of the American Indian. Strong is the executive chef of the museum's Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe and is of Taíno descent.
Of course, other countries like Jamaica, Korea and Australia have their own famous versions of barbecue. But the U.S. is unique given "that there's so many different styles of barbecue," said Strong. And so much of that variety is thanks to immigrants and the unique locations from where the barbecue originates, she said.
In South Carolina, where French and German immigrants arrived with mustards in hand, they influenced the state's traditional mustard-based barbecue sauces, Strong said.
And in Memphis, Strong pointed to the city's proximity to the Mississippi River. Early residents had easy access to ingredients like molasses as they came off ships — which adds a hint of sweetness to Memphis' tomato-based barbecue sauces.
(For the record, Strong says she prefers her barbecue with sauce on the side to really enjoy the charred, smoky flavor of the meats.
LeFebvre said she's partial to the sweet barbecue sauce variety.)
Why does barbecue matter today?
These days "barbecue" (or barbeque or BBQ) is used as both a noun and a verb — to describe the act of cooking over a grill or to describe a group of people gathering to (traditionally) chow down on hot dogs and hamburgers.
Strong said it's valuable to know what goes into the cuisine's rich history before taking a bite of food.
"I think when you know the history behind what you're getting ready to eat or serve, it just makes it more interesting to your guests" she said. "As a Taíno, as a Caribbean, we ate around stories. And we talked about our history. And it always just made the food taste even better. Because it's like, wow, all of these hands, all of these efforts, went into creating this dish."
And it's incredibly important for holidays like the Fourth of July, LeFebvre said.
"When I think of the Fourth of July … do I think about independence? Yes. Do I think about the United States? Yes. But honestly, [when contacted for this story] the first thing I thought about was, I better get on and figure out what we're going to eat."
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