A BBQ is perhaps the most primitive method of cooking food. Our ancestors must have come across this method as a result of some experiment to prepare a wild animal for a meal. By chances or choice, the barbeque became so successful that it is loved and used even today by millions of people across the world.

The art of the BBQ has been broadly divided into three categories. To begin with, the traditional and most popular mode of BBQ is grilling. As most of us know, food is cooked on a grill over a layer of coals in this method. Secondly, using a dry-cooking BBQ, done via heat from smoke, is another method. Lastly, the method of cooking that is loved by many is where meat or some other food is cooked close to a fire using coals, gas or wood. Even though you can use gas barbeques, traditionalists feel that the taste of the meat on gas barbecues is not as good as on charcoal BBQs.

A barbecue is prepared in a pit. This is the traditional barbecuing method, in which a hole is dug in the ground to hold a fire and a grate or grill is placed over it, to put the food on top of to cook.

Traditional BBQ lovers assert that the heat in the pit should be equal to the temperature of boiling water (100 degrees Celsius). This is important, as when the heat remains equal to the boiling point, the meat and food will not lose its natural flavour and juices. Barbecuing is rather a slow method of cooking, which normally takes several hours to cook your food. However, you may cook it at a higher temperature, as long as you do not burn the outer layer of the food and the food also does not remain uncooked in the middle. Meats of all sorts get very hard to eat if you overcook them.

Some people also like to smoke the meat for an hour or so. Later they wrap it firmly in foil to raise the heat and lessen the time of cooking. It is an effective method of barbeque cooking; however, sometimes it may take away the smoke flavour from your meat.

BBQ sauces are also an imperative ingredient in your barbeque cooking. Basting sauce adds great flavor and particularly, with regard to barbecue terms, it is called a mop sauce. This sauce should not have tomato or sugar in it. This is because tomato and sugar gets burned quickly at a low temperature and becomes bitter as well. Once your BBQ is ready, add finishing sauces to it as a final touch. You can put your favorite homemade or bottled sauce on it.

The choice of meat and the sauces also depend on your personal choice. The vegetables or spices that you would like to add to the BBQ, along with the meat, are also your personal preference. You can opt for beef, baby goats' meat, chicken or pork; as all are delicious on a BBQ.