While it is undeniably an American tradition, its greatness can also be seen in the many styles across the world: the hearty and rustic Italian cucina Campestre, the refined French grillade, the hearty British barbie, and the fun and playful Korean BBQ (bob).
Join us as we take a culinary tour of the world’s barbecue styles and learn more about the foods and techniques behind them.
Here’s a taster of what’s coming up!
- Cucina Campestre (Valley cuisine) If you’re in Italy, it’s time to head for the valley. This style originated amid the great volcanos but traced back to the Etruscans, who revered the pig. The key idea is that meat must be smoked to be worthy. It might not look much on its own next to a log fire, but the flavours make up for it.
In Sardinia, cecina or pane carasau is a flatbread made simply with flour and water, split and used as an edible napkin. As for the meats you’ll find on the smoker, they are familiar: sausages and chicken and more exotic racks of boar and wild rabbit.
- Grillade (Grilling) The French do a lot right. They pride themselves on their delicacy, yet they master many a rough technique, such as salting a steak or roughing a lobster. This is where grilling (le grillade) comes in, in which we turn up to 11 and embrace the heat.
If you’ve been to the right places in France – the Paris roadhouses or the evening aperitifs (apéritifs) that light up the sky in Dijon and Nancy – you might have already had a taste. For example, French grilled meats are usually thin: boudin sausages or beefsteak tartare. As for butter, of course, you’ll find some.
- The Barbie (British): You can’t get much heartier than a Barbie – the British equivalent of a garden barbecue. It is mainly a mix of hearty genres such as bangers and sausages, buttery crab broods and succulent salt beef.
We’ll save Korean BBQ as a bonus to give you a taste of Asia. Let’s start by seeing what these different cultures offer on the BBQ scene.
Italian BBQ Style
Italian barbecue, or ‘grigliata,’ is about simplicity and quality ingredients. While typical Italian barbecues take place over wood or charcoal, they won’t have the same distinctive smoky flavour as traditional BBQ due to how the fire is managed.
For some, this is why Italian-style barbecue catering services are trending in Italy and globally. Conversely, you will rarely see French or British BBQ catering services outside their countries, but you will see Korean BBQ services in some places.
The star of any Italian BBQ (or most Italian meals, for that matter) is meat. Though favourites vary regionally and seasonally, sausages (salsiccia), pork ribs (costine di maiale) and beef steaks (bistecca) are most likely to make an appearance. Equally important are vegetables, mostly bell peppers, zucchini and eggplant, grilled alongside or separately and flavoured only with olive oil, garlic and fresh herbs (most often rosemary and thyme).
Alongside the barbecued beef, sausages, and chicken thighs, inevitably, there are copious portions of the freshest seafood—shrimp, squid, and various thick fish fillets doused in grated lemon juice, olive oil, and fresh herbs and then chucked onto the coals to blacken. Each ingredient is simply cooked, retaining the integrity of its flavour and providence. In Italy, it’s always about origin.
French BBQ Style
French barbecue (barbecue à la française) is a bit more sophisticated than its American equivalent, befitting the country’s culinary pretensions. Like its US counterpart, the French prefer to grill foods over a wood or charcoal fire, but their meat is selected with much greater care, and they prefer to marinate and sauce their meats.
One favourite is duck breast (magret de canard) marinated in red wine, garlic, and dried herbs such as tarragon and thyme. Lamb chops (côtelettes d’agneau) are also popular, particularly the grilled chops served with garlicky aïoli, which are available in many restaurants.
A more French element than brioche on a BBQ is that vegetables are necessary – mushrooms and tomatoes are often grilled, and asparagus is splendidly served with vinaigrette and a sprinkle of sea salt.
Seafood, especially oysters, scallops, and langoustines, is a huge element, often with an accompanying garlic butter or aioli. You should hear the odd plip plop of the garlic melting in my butter. The thoroughness of the French barbecue chef can be witnessed in the utmost care taken to ensure that each element is cooked right and presented well.
British BBQ Style
British barbecue is deeply Ecumenical, involving all sorts of cross-fertilised styles. Where the British excel, of course, is in a hearty meat-and-two-veg kind of approach: popular favourites are ribs and sausages, of which there’s a plethora of local and regional varieties (I’ve always been partial to either Cumberland or Lincolnshire pork sausages myself), and beef burgers (very thin, best grilled on a cast-iron special) and lamb chops.
Many British BBQ fans favour gas-fuelled grills, and petrol-powered BBQs help ensure the weather stays as unpredictable as ever.
Grilled vegetables are the most common – corn on the cob makes an appearance, as well as mushrooms onions. Beef burgers and sausages are an obvious preference. Still, salt, pepper and butter (not always all together) are likewise applied to vegetables – onions, mushrooms – or meat and fish, such as mackerel or salmon, which might appear in a foil parcel with lemon and herbs.
British barbecuing is done for unaffected and shared enjoyment, and generally, that enjoyment is simple, meaty, heaving and wholesome food.
Korean BBQ Style
Korean BBQ, or locally known as ‘gogi-gui’, is a lively communal dining experience that often involves patrons cooking their food at the table.
The undisputed essence of Korean BBQ revolves around marinated meats—particularly beef short ribs (galbi) and pork belly sliced thinly (samgyeopsal). The composite marinades are sweet-savoury and largely consist of soy sauce, garlic, sugar, and sesame oil.
Besides meat, Korean BBQ includes different side dishes (banchan) – kimchi, pickled vegetables and fresh lettuce leaves for wrapping grilled meat. Seafood is also a popular choice – usually shrimp and squid, which, along with the other protein options, can be marinated in a spicy sauce before grilling.
The style of Korean BBQ, involving social interaction and playful wrapping of food with lettuce leaves, along with its bold flavours and variety of ingredients, makes the culinary experience one of a kind.
A Flavorful Comparison
While Italian, French, British, and Korean BBQ traditions are worlds unto themselves, they also share some similarities: a strong focus on grilling, an emphasis on quality ingredients, and a commitment to flavour.
They have charred meats and vegetables on a grill, Italian style.
A good Italian BBQ will be full of fresh herbs and aromatic marinades to complement the natural qualities of their meats and vegetables. At the same time, many French BBQs rely on fresh herbs and the luxury of time and preparation to create robust stocks and reduction-based sauces.
Classically, British BBQs are much more hardy, simple, and filling. They bring a strong tradition of cooking sticks of meat over an open fire in a more homestyle way, not to say that the experience isn’t delicious. Korean BBQs are a whole other experience, based around bold, spicy flavours and the interaction of the diners as they all cook their meats and vegetables around a big sizzling plate.
An Italian BBQ will be more refined and elegant than the UK’s pub cookout compared to some of its peer styles. The French will inject a bit of every classic quality of French cuisine on its own. British BBQ is truly unique in its charming no-fussness.
The Korean barbecue will likely have the biggest interactive aspect for the diners, as they cook their food at the table, accompanied by an impressive set of banchan snacks. The universalistic aspect that ties all these styles is that they are all fundamentally social. Whatever the setup or ingredients, these four barbecue styles all celebrate the simple pleasure of getting together with family or friends to enjoy delicious food.
So, by exploring these world barbecue styles, we can widen our taste buds and gain a more culturally sympathetic understanding of the human grill around the world.
