Basics for BeginnersHistory & CultureScience & Education

What Is Barbecue, Really? The Definition, the History, and What USDA Actually Says

September 15, 2026

Barbecue is meat cooked slowly by wood or charcoal heat and smoke - but no US authority defines it by temperature. The one federal rule, 9 CFR 319.80, regulates fuel and yield. Plus the primary-source attestations showing the word originally named a rack, not a recipe.

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Basics for Beginners

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