The origins of American barbecue date back to colonial times, with the first recorded mention in 1610, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington - George Washington mentions attending a "barbicue" in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria,_Virginia - Alexandria, VA in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1769 - 1769 . As the country expanded westwards along the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Mexico - Gulf of Mexico and north along the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_River - Mississippi River , barbecue went with it. ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbecue_in_the_United_States#cite_note-sociology-0 -}

The core region for barbecue is the southeastern region of the United States, an area bordered on the west by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas - Texas and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma - Oklahoma , on the north by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri - Missouri , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky - Kentucky , and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia - Virginia , on the south by the Gulf of Mexico, and on the east by the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Ocean - Atlantic Ocean . While barbecue is found outside of this region, the fourteen core barbecue states contain 70 of the top 100 barbecue restaurants, and most top barbecue restaurants outside the region have their roots there. ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbecue_in_the_United_States#cite_note-sociology-0 -}

Barbecue in its current form grew up in the poor South, where both black and white cooks learned to slow roast tough cuts of meat over fire pits to make them tender. This slow cooking over smoke leaves a distinctive line of red just under the surface, where the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myoglobin - myoglobin in the meat reacts with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_monoxide - carbon monoxide from the smoke, and the smoky taste essential to barbecue. ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbecue_in_the_United_States#cite_note-wsj-1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbecue_in_the_United_States#cite_note-bbq-2 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbecue_in_the_United_States#cite_note-3 -}

These humble beginnings are still reflected in the many barbecue restaurants that are operated out of hole-in-the-wall locations, by individualists with shady reputations; the rib joint is the purest expression of this. Many of these will have irregular hours, and remain open only until all of a day's ribs are sold; they may shut down for a month at a time as the proprietor goes on vacation. Despite these unusual traits, rib joints will have a fiercely loyal clientèle. ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbecue_in_the_United_States#cite_note-sociology-0 -}

The origins of barbecue tradition

The first ingredient in the barbecue tradition was the meat. Pigs came to the Americas with the Spanish explorers, and quickly turned http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral - feral . This provided the most widely used http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein - protein used in most barbecue, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pork_ribs - pork ribs , as well as the pork shoulder for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulled_pork - pulled pork . ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbecue_in_the_United_States#cite_note-sociology-0 -} The techniques used in barbecue are hot smoking and smoke cooking. Hot smoking is where the meat is cooked with a wood fire, over indirect heat, at temperatures between 120 and 180 F (49 and 82 C), and smoke cooking is cooking over indirect fire at higher temperatures. Unlike cold smoking, which preserves meat and takes days of exposure to the smoke, hot smoking and smoke cooking are cooking processes. While much faster than cold smoking, the cooking process still takes hours, as many as 18. The long, slow cooking process leaves the meat tender and juicy. ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbecue_in_the_United_States#cite_note-wsj-1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbecue_in_the_United_States#cite_note-4 -}

The next ingredient in barbecue is the wood. Since the wood smoke flavors the food, not just any wood will do; different woods impart different flavors, so availability of various woods for smoking influences the taste of the barbecue in different regions.

• Hard woods such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hickory - hickory , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesquite - mesquite , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pecan - pecan and the different varieties of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak - oak impart a strong smoke flavor.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple - Maple , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alder - alder , and fruit woods such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple - apple , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pear - pear , and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry - cherry impart a milder, sweeter taste.

Stronger flavored woods are used for pork and beef, while the lighter flavored woods are used for fish and poultry. More exotic smoke generating ingredients can be found in some recipes; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grape - grapevine adds a sweet flavor, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sassafras - sassafras , a major flavor in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_beer - root beer adds its distinctive taste to the smoke. ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbecue_in_the_United_States#cite_note-5 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbecue_in_the_United_States#cite_note-realpit-6 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbecue_in_the_United_States#cite_note-7 -}

The last, and in many cases optional, ingredient is the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbecue_sauce - barbecue sauce . There are no constants, with sauces running the gamut from clear, peppered vinegars to thick, sweet, tomato and molasses sauces, from mild to painfully spicy. The sauce may be used as a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marinade - marinade before cooking, applied during cooking, after cooking, or used as a table sauce. An alternate form of barbecue sauce is the dry rub, a mixture of salt and spices applied to the meat before cooking. ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbecue_in_the_United_States#cite_note-sauce-8 -}