| Barbeque, in the southern and Midwest parts of the | | | | barbeque from something lathered with barbeque |
| United States, consists of slow-cooking meat over | | | | sauce and put in the oven for a few hours. |
| indirect heat. Chicken, beef, pork, sausage, ham, and | | | | In Missouri, there are not one, but two predominant |
| ribs can all be barbequed - even mutton is sometimes | | | | styles of barbeque, both of which favor beef, which |
| barbequed, at least in Kentucky. | | | | is not surprising given the history of both Kansas City |
| With so many ways to make so many dishes, the | | | | and St. Louis as "cattle towns." They share a |
| perfect way to make barbequed meat can be a | | | | tomato-based sauce that is added after cooking, and |
| regional "bone" of contention. In Memphis, | | | | can be replicated by mixing ketchup, brown sugar, |
| Tennessee, barbeque is almost a religion. Barbeque | | | | mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Interestingly, |
| ribs - most often pork, are cooked for long hours, | | | | Missouri's Ozarks are the source of almost half of the |
| until the meat is so tender that it is ready to fall off | | | | charcoal briquettes produced in the United States. |
| the bone. | | | | Kansas City, like Memphis, has a large number of |
| The city bills itself as the pork barbeque capital of | | | | barbeque restaurants and hosts several annual |
| the world, and has over one hundred barbeque | | | | competitions. |
| restraints to back up that claim, many of whom | | | | However, it is particularly famous for its sauces, |
| participate in the annual pork cook off that is listen | | | | which are thick, rich, tangy, and spicy. The sauce is |
| the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest | | | | based on during the last few moments of cooking, |
| pork barbeque contest anywhere. | | | | and more can be added thereafter. Dry rub, too, is |
| The contest, part of the celebration called "Memphis | | | | common on Kansas City style barbeque. In St. Louis |
| in May", draws some 90,000 cooks and spectators. | | | | style barbeque, ribs are the flagship dish. |
| Competitors come from fifty smaller cook offs | | | | These famous spare ribs are a rack of ribs with the |
| sponsored by the main contest. It even runs a series | | | | chine bone and brisket bone removed. They are |
| of training seminars for potential barbeque judges. | | | | cooked with a sauce that is less vinegary, tangier and |
| Good barbeque, they say, is all about being tender, | | | | thinner than its cross-state equivalent, closer, in fact, |
| without being too mushy, and being smoky, without | | | | to that served in Memphis. |
| being overpowering. | | | | Whether sweet or spicy, dry or wet, slow cooked or |
| Ribs commonly come "wet," that is, with barbeque | | | | grilled over an open flame, barbeque is one of the |
| sauce of some kind, usually mild and sweet in | | | | most diverse of all American foods, and one to which |
| Memphis and basted on before and after cooking, or | | | | many cities lay claim. Each has its own unique |
| "dry," with a dry rub of herbs and spices that is | | | | character, so get some bread and crackers, or some |
| applied during or right after cooking. Regardless of | | | | Cole slaw, or even beans, (all traditional barbeque side |
| which style is favored, the taste of the meat should | | | | dishes) and give them a try. |
| come through - this is what separates good | | | | |