Barbecue is an all-American food. We call it that because it is something that all Americans love and agree upon universally. “Pass me the sauce,” we say, while being passed sauce to put on our meat and accompanying sides. “I love this barbecue,” we shout at each other over the sounds of our own ingestion of barbecue. We love the stuff, and we can’t get enough!
And while we may bicker across regions over things like hot dog toppings and the proper consistency of pizza dough, we Americans can and do, without controversy, understand several fundamental truths with regards to our nation’s most beloved gastronomic expression.