The different regions of the United States all feature flavorful and delicious recipes that are representative of the area. Influenced by local livestock, agriculture and culture and predominant ethnicity, each general location takes on its own unique flair. BBQ in Detroit, Michigan is largely a mixture of various style from the south.
Barbecue cooking is a favorite throughout the world, but it has several dozens of personal style variations in the United States. Chefs take great pride in putting their own twists on recipes, often guarding the specific of their blends as prized secrets. While the details of each sauce may vary from one to the other, practically all of them are based on a few basic regional favorites.
In Memphis, pork is the meat of choice, primarily the butt, ribs and shoulders, that are cooked over Hickory, Oak, Pecan, Apple or Cherry wood. This style features a dry style, which is where the meat is rubbed down with seasonings and then placed in the smoker, and a wet, which is where the cuts are slathered with a marinade throughout and after the cooking. Their sauce of choice is a tomato and vinegar base that is both sweet and spicy.
As one might expect, the Texas preference is beef. They tend to have a preference for their briskets, ribs and roasts being cooked over Oak with a dry rub and sauces being served as sides. They like those condiments to be tangy and spicy, tomato based and thinned with Worcestershire or vinegar making them the least sweet of all the regional tastes.
Kansas City is the most versatile style, using turkey, chicken, pork, beef and mutton with equal enthusiasm. The sauces in this region are tomato based but have a thick consistency with a tangy sweet taste that comes from adding Molasses to the recipe along with other spices. They like the meat cooked in a pit, slowly, while being regularly coated in generous layers of savory rubs and smothered in delicious marinades.
The flavorings of the Carolina regions may be some of the most distinctive of all. Their sauces are based on three very different things but all areas are intensely partial to pork that is smoked slowly in a pit filled with Hickory or Oak, allowing that smoky flavor to infuse itself deeply into the meat. The area's tendency to cook an entire pig and utilize all parts of it is where the term "going whole hog" was coined.
In the Eastern region of The Carolinas the sauces tend to be vinegar based, while tomato is favored in the West. These will all vary greatly as the individual areas within each section will have their own secret spice blends adding heavy doses of salt, black, red and cayenne pepper, garlic, onion powder, nutmeg, brown sugar, molasses and even whiskey. The South has a unique mustard mix that shows their strong German influence.
Though largely based on the Kansas City style, BBQ in Detroit also has a bit of Texas, Memphis and The Carolinas mixed in their recipes. These unique combinations are known to result in a taste experience that is catered to this area. Regardless of one's preferred flavor, it is possible to find it in this Michigan region.
Barbecue cooking is a favorite throughout the world, but it has several dozens of personal style variations in the United States. Chefs take great pride in putting their own twists on recipes, often guarding the specific of their blends as prized secrets. While the details of each sauce may vary from one to the other, practically all of them are based on a few basic regional favorites.
In Memphis, pork is the meat of choice, primarily the butt, ribs and shoulders, that are cooked over Hickory, Oak, Pecan, Apple or Cherry wood. This style features a dry style, which is where the meat is rubbed down with seasonings and then placed in the smoker, and a wet, which is where the cuts are slathered with a marinade throughout and after the cooking. Their sauce of choice is a tomato and vinegar base that is both sweet and spicy.
As one might expect, the Texas preference is beef. They tend to have a preference for their briskets, ribs and roasts being cooked over Oak with a dry rub and sauces being served as sides. They like those condiments to be tangy and spicy, tomato based and thinned with Worcestershire or vinegar making them the least sweet of all the regional tastes.
Kansas City is the most versatile style, using turkey, chicken, pork, beef and mutton with equal enthusiasm. The sauces in this region are tomato based but have a thick consistency with a tangy sweet taste that comes from adding Molasses to the recipe along with other spices. They like the meat cooked in a pit, slowly, while being regularly coated in generous layers of savory rubs and smothered in delicious marinades.
The flavorings of the Carolina regions may be some of the most distinctive of all. Their sauces are based on three very different things but all areas are intensely partial to pork that is smoked slowly in a pit filled with Hickory or Oak, allowing that smoky flavor to infuse itself deeply into the meat. The area's tendency to cook an entire pig and utilize all parts of it is where the term "going whole hog" was coined.
In the Eastern region of The Carolinas the sauces tend to be vinegar based, while tomato is favored in the West. These will all vary greatly as the individual areas within each section will have their own secret spice blends adding heavy doses of salt, black, red and cayenne pepper, garlic, onion powder, nutmeg, brown sugar, molasses and even whiskey. The South has a unique mustard mix that shows their strong German influence.
Though largely based on the Kansas City style, BBQ in Detroit also has a bit of Texas, Memphis and The Carolinas mixed in their recipes. These unique combinations are known to result in a taste experience that is catered to this area. Regardless of one's preferred flavor, it is possible to find it in this Michigan region.
