Barbecue traditions around the world

culinary cultures — By Bob Riel on May 18, 2010 at 3:20 pm

Did you know that some of the best barbecue traditions in the world are found in countries close to the equator? Or that some Moroccans like to put garlic and parsely into sheep spleen before grilling? Or that Columbians may encrust a tenderloin with a pound of salt? These are just a few of the tidbits of information picked up by Steven Raichlen in his world travels in search of great barbecue. The author of Planet Barbecue talked about his culinary advemtures in a recent interview:

On one memorable barbecue crawl, I witnessed eight grill sessions in three countries in 24 hours. My trek began in Buenos Aires, where in a single evening I feasted on grass-fed beef at three landmark steakhouses. The next morning, I grabbed a 35-minute flight for a trip across the Plata River to Montevideo, where I lunched on mollejas (wood-grilled sweetbreads), colita de cuardril (salt-crusted tri-tip, the triangular end piece of a sirloin), and the half dozen or so other meats that constitute a typical Saturday afternoon barbecue at a Uruguayan home. Then I caught another flight to Porto Alegre, Brazil, where I hit four churrascarias (Brazilian rotisserie restaurants) before collapsing in my bed.

At last count, I’ve researched live-fire cooking in 53 countries on six continents.

As for some of his more interesting meals:

I’m game to try most anything. The weirdest thing I probably ever ate was kokoretsi in Greece. It’s a dish that consists of lamb organ meats, like brains, lungs, livers and testicles, spit-roasted on the rotisserie. It’s kind of like haggis on a stick, and it tastes better than it sounds.

I never developed a taste for a Moroccan dish made with sheep spleen stuffed with garlic and parsley. But I did like the barbecued chicken feet I had in Philippines.

Photo credit: Seha bs via Wikimedia Commons