BBQ Glossary

Barbecue has a language all its own. From bark to burnt ends, here are the terms you will hear around pits, smokers and barbecue joints, with links to our guides for more.

Bark: The dark, flavorful crust that forms on smoked meat as the rub, rendered fat and smoke cook together on a drying surface. Prized on brisket and pork shoulder.
Barbacoa: A Mexican and South Texas tradition of slow-cooking meat, historically in an underground pit. In South Texas, often beef head meat served in tacos. See Texas barbecue.
Baby back ribs: Pork ribs cut from the top of the rib cage near the backbone, below the loin. Shorter, curved and leaner than spare ribs.
Binder: A thin coating, such as mustard or oil, used to help a rub stick to meat.
Boston butt: The upper part of the pork shoulder, despite its name. The classic cut for pulled pork. See pulled pork.
Brisket: A beef cut from the lower chest, made up of the flat and the point. The centerpiece of Texas barbecue. See how to smoke a brisket.
Burn barrel: A steel drum used to burn wood down to coals that are then shoveled under meat in a pit.
Burnt ends: Cubes cut from the fatty, crusty brisket point, often sauced and smoked again until caramelized. A Kansas City specialty. See Kansas City barbecue.
Burping (a kamado): Lifting a hot kamado lid slightly for a moment before opening it fully, to avoid a flash of flame. See kamado smokers.
Butcher paper: Unwaxed paper, often pink or peach, used to wrap brisket and pork during or after cooking.
Chateaubriand: A thick roast cut from the center of the beef tenderloin. See tenderloin.
Chimney starter: A metal cylinder for lighting charcoal without lighter fluid.
Clean smoke: Thin, pale blue or nearly invisible smoke from a well-burning fire. The goal of every pitmaster.
Danger Zone: The range from 40 to 140 °F, where USDA FSIS says bacteria grow most rapidly. See temperatures.
Dip: The Lexington, North Carolina name for its thin vinegar sauce with a little tomato. See Carolina vinegar sauce.
Direct heat: Cooking with the meat directly above the fire or coals.
Dry ribs: Memphis-style ribs seasoned with a dry rub and served without sauce brushed on. See Memphis barbecue.
Fat cap: The layer of fat on one side of a brisket or pork shoulder.
Firebox: The chamber where the fire burns in an offset smoker. See offset smokers.
Flat: The long, lean muscle of a brisket, used for neat slices.
Green wood: Freshly cut wood that has not been dried. Smokes heavily and burns poorly. See wood and fuel.
Heat deflector: A plate placed between the fire and the meat in a kamado or similar cooker for indirect cooking.
Hushpuppies: Deep-fried balls of cornmeal batter, a classic Carolina barbecue side.
Indirect heat: Cooking with the meat to the side of or away from the fire, using hot air and smoke.
Kamado: A thick-walled, egg-shaped charcoal cooker. The word is Japanese for stove.
Lump charcoal: Charcoal made from pieces of hardwood, without binders. Burns hot with little ash.
Mop: A thin basting liquid, or the small cotton mop used to apply it, during long cooks.
Offset smoker: A horizontal smoker with a firebox attached to one end of the cook chamber.
Outside brown: The dark, crusty exterior meat of a smoked pork shoulder, a favorite in Lexington-style barbecue.
Packer brisket: A whole, untrimmed brisket with both point and flat. See Angus brisket.
Pellet smoker: A smoker that feeds wood pellets into a fire pot automatically to hold a set temperature. See pellet smokers.
Picnic shoulder: The lower part of the pork shoulder, often sold skin-on.
Pig pickin': A Carolina party where a whole hog is cooked and guests pick the meat from the pig. See the pig pickin'.
Pit: Any enclosure that holds a fire and meat for barbecuing, from a hole in the ground to a brick structure. See pits.
Pitmaster: The person in charge of the pit and the cook.
Point: The thick, fatty muscle of a brisket, source of burnt ends.
Post oak: An oak species that is the traditional smoking wood of central Texas.
Probe tender: The point at which a thermometer probe slides into meat with almost no resistance; the usual test for brisket doneness.
Pulled pork: Smoked pork shoulder shredded into strands. See how to smoke pulled pork.
Red slaw: Lexington-style coleslaw dressed with vinegar and ketchup instead of mayonnaise.
Rest: Letting meat sit after cooking so juices settle. FSIS includes a rest of at least three minutes in its minimums for steaks, chops and roasts.
Reverse flow: An offset design with a baffle plate that makes smoke travel under the meat and back over it before exiting.
Reverse sear: Cooking meat gently first and searing it at the end.
Rub: A dry mix of seasonings applied before cooking. See rubs.
Seasoned wood: Wood that has been dried until it burns cleanly.
Silverskin: A tough, silvery membrane on some cuts, such as tenderloin and brisket, usually trimmed off.
Smoke ring: A pink band just under the surface of smoked meat, caused by reactions between gases in the smoke and the meat. A color effect, not a sign of undercooking or of doneness.
Spare ribs: Pork ribs from the lower part of the rib cage, larger and meatier than baby backs. Trimmed square, they are called St. Louis-style.
Spritz: Spraying meat with a liquid, such as water, apple juice or vinegar, during cooking.
Stack: The chimney of a smoker.
Stall: A long period when a large cut's internal temperature stops rising during a cook, caused largely by evaporative cooling.
Texas crutch: Wrapping meat in foil or butcher paper partway through a cook to push through the stall.
Whole hog: Barbecue made by cooking an entire pig. See whole hog barbecue.
Wet ribs: Ribs brushed with sauce near the end of cooking, the counterpart to dry ribs in Memphis.

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