Ten Things You Didn't Know About the Barbecue

1.  The barbecue originated with pig-picking's held in the pre-Civil War American South where entire pigs were roasted and eaten.

2.  The practice of smoking meat was first used 6000 years ago to prevent bacteria from growing in the meat while it was stored.

3.  Australians often use the saying "I'll put another shrimp on the barbie for you."

4.  Barbecuing is the process of cooking meat for a long time at a low temperature (180-220 F) to tenderize it.  However, we usually broil meat on the barbecue by cooking it at a high temperature (475-700 F) for a relatively short time.

5.  Half of marshmallows eaten in the United States are grilled first.

6.  Weigh your gas tank on a bathroom scale to determine how much propane is left in the tank.

7.  There are at least two possible origins for the word barbecue:  it could come from the American-Indian word "barbacoa" a type of wood used to cook meat on; however, barbecue could also come from the French term "de barbe a queue" which means "from whiskers to tail".

8.  You can add a smokey flavour to your meat by adding a product called "liquid smoke".

9.  Brisket, a tough meat that comes from the cow's chest, takes one to two hours per pound to cook on the barbecue.

10.  Kansas City, Missouri and Lexington, North Carolina both claim to be the barbecue capital of the world.