the science | Barbecology

barbecology...yes, the study of barbecue!!

No, Barbecology is not in the dictionary, but does that mean that it's not a thing? No, of course it doesn't! Quite simply Barbecology is the study of barbecue. Whilst doing my Masters in Business Administration (MBA) I found I was coming across a lot of literature, articles and information of interest, much of which hasn't made it into any of my written work. I should say at this point that for my MBA I focused on the UK barbecue food industry, as such my supervisor was about to award me a Masters in Barbecue (rather than Business!) Administration instead!

One piece of work I completed was a short essay examining the growth of barbecue cuisine alongside UK casual dining industry, and why they make good bedfellows, the essay is linked below.

My dissertation was on the sustainability of the UK Barbecue Food Industry, and examined sustainability (in economic, social and environmental terms). Barbecue can be a really sustainable method of cooking, it is after all how we humans have cooked many thousands of years. Click on the links for pages on livestock and agriculture, fuel sources, barbecue as a cooking method, nutrition, health & food security, local food and SFSCs, and food waste. The full dissertation and essay on the rise of barbecue cuisine in the UK fast casual dining industry are linked below.

Sustainability - UK BBQ Mag Article

I wrote an article for UK BBQ Mag in the Winter 2017 Edition on sustainability in the UK BBQ Industry. Click the magazine cover to take you there (p.74).

Barbecue and Evolution - UK BBQ Mag Article

I wrote an article for UK BBQ Mag in the Spring 2018 Edition on how barbecue was responsible for driving human evolution. Click the magazine cover to take you there (p.40).

Trends in barbecue cuisine in the UK

This report from Horizons, a market research company, dated April 2016, has actually articulated and evidenced the growth of barbecues style food in the UK dining industry. Some might argue that this means our home cooked barbecue is being over-commercialised, and there is possibly a case for that, especially the poor standard of so-called 'barbecue' style food served in some outlets. However, the good news as I see it is the rise of proper barbecue joints such as Red's True Barbecue, Manchester Smokehouse and Cellar, Grillstock, Blue's Smokehouse and SmokeBBQ. Anyway, the important detail in the report below:

-'Low'n'Slow: New Wave Americana' as a developing trend (look at pages 20 and 21!).

- The science of barbecuing and 'pit smoked' terminology (rubs, marinades, cures and smoke time).

- 800% increase in brisket on the menu on the previous year!

- 300% increase in appearance of short ribs on the menu.

- Micro-regionality communicated through dish naming (Tennessee, Carolina, Louisiana)

This neat infographic from 'The Food People' has a number of barbecue related trends for 2017:

- Fire Cooking

- American cuisine (which barbecue will come under as a subset) is one of two cuisines with the most 'hype and buzz' in terms of mass appeal and trend setting influence.

- Smoke features as a 'Big Flavour Marker' in the savoury kitchen section.