The meat used can range from beef or pork through turkey or catfish. The barbecue renders even difficult meats flavorful and exceedingly tender. Second, there is WOOD . The finest woods for barbecue are slow burning with a mild, flavorful smoke. Barbecue is often confused with grilling, where meats are cooked directly over hot coals or gas.
Real barbecue is cooked at a lower temperature by using smoke.
The gentle heat of the smoke rather than the blazing heat of the coals works wonders with the tenderness and juiciness of meats while imparting the distinctive flavor found in all real barbecue. Fourth, it takes TIME . Since real barbecue is cooked at a lower temperature, it takes a lot of time for it to cook and to be transformed. We're talking about a long time. Like 12-16 hours for beef brisket or pork shoulder.