Barbecue is not crockpot my Manifesto

Welcome to my barbecue manifesto. I decided to sit down and type this while i’m on fire. Why you ask? I have heard the word barbecue and crockpot used in the same sentence twice in two days, I honestly wasn’t so shocked since the time I heard is chuck roast healthy. After this travesty to the food world I must sit down (with beer in hand of course) and write my thoughts on this subject.

It all started on Twitter today. Someone posted a link to a “gourmet barbecue” crockpot recipe. Maybe I’ve had a rough week or just not enough caffeine but I sort of…well…got pissed off! That’s o.k. right? I really was surprised at myself as I’m usually a pretty level headed person. Today I realized what I am…

My name is Robert King and I’m a barbecue snob.

Why was I pissed? It is the bastardization of american food. We have had a great history of food in our own right and I think too many people are “settling” for something that is substandard. That substandard ends up becoming the norm and before you know it we all lose a little bit of tasty history. It’s not just BBQ that this is happening but many other food traditions as well.

When you bite into a bratwurst sausage from a German meat market that has been making the same things from scratch for 30 plus years then compare it to a “beer” flavored brat packaged in the store I feel cheated! Does anybody care anymore about quality? What are we going to do when these people pass on?

To do barbecue takes time. It cannot be rushed. It cannot be done in a microwave or a crockpot. It requires passion and true love for what you are doing to make it proper. We as an American people cannot sit idly by and lose our food traditions.

Barbecue is not grilling. Barbecue is not sauce. Barbecue is not crockpot.