A Brief Barbeque History

Barbeque as we have come to know it in America has come into being over a period of a couple hundred years. Born from adversity and necessity, BBQ got its earliest beginnings as a way to make otherwise inedible meats edible. The throw away parts of the animal were often gathered up by the poor and slaves for extra food. Once the meat was gathered, the next step was to devise a method of cooking the meat that would tenderize the meat without extracting all of the moisture. The method best suited for tenderization was to cook the meat at a low temperature with indirect heat for an extended period of time (Smoking). And since propane was not readily available back then, wood was the logical choice.

They would first dig out a hole in the ground (Pit) with two indirect compartments, one for the meat and the other for the wood. They later discovered that certain woods like Hickory and mesquite also added a distinct flavor to the meat.

The first BBQ sauce was molasses (burnt sugar) was used to keep the moisture left in the meat from the smoking process from evaporating while the meat was being cooked for the second time, over and open flame with direct heat. The reason the meat was cooked again was that the smoking process alone did not cook the meat "well" enough. So in order to complete the cooking of the meat, the open flame, direct heat (grilling) method was used.

This is the process we here at Grandpa Fred's BBQ use to cook all of our Que. We do not boil our BBQ, nor do we throw uncooked meat directly on a grill. We do our barbeque one way, and that is the way my Grandpa taught me -- a five step process. My family is from Blythe, Georgia and Falcon, Arkansas, and the cooking we do here is what has been done in my family for generations. We make our own deserts, side dishes and sauces.

It is my sincere hope that you enjoy our food, we promise that our heart and soul is in every tender morsel served.

God Bless

The "Grandson"