Barbecue is the art of smoking and cooking meat directly over fire or smoldering charcoal. But it’s also a sauce, an event, a party, a season, a grill, an aroma, a technique, a cuisine, and a flavor. “Barbecue” includes a variety of preparation methods and regional preferences. And though styles vary from Memphis in May and Texas Roadhouse, to Route 66 and Kona BBQ, they each evoke authentic Americana. But while barbecue is often considered the true American cuisine, it has always played a major role in global cuisine. One thing is certain: from Yakitori in Japan to Barbacoa in Latin America, to Alabama’s famous white sauce, barbecue makes headlines, and menus, across the globe. And whether you’re eating barbecue in Kansas or Korea, one thing is certain: pork is king.
The demand for barbecue shows no sign of stopping. According to the Technomic, Inc.'s 2009 Flavor Report, barbecue is the third leading flavor on all entrees menued across a variety of categories and restaurants and the number one flavor when it comes to pork. When the Top 250 chains menu pork, the predominant flavor is barbecue – it appears on 42% of pork items at Full Service Restaurants and 25% of pork items at Limited Service Restaurants (QSR and Fast Casual) according to the Technomic 2010 study on Beef and Pork.
While barbecue pulled pork sliders are a fixture on most midscale and casual menus, pork ribs are still the best-seller in many top chains. In 2010, barbecue ribs was up 3% in servings – the only entrée that grew – while seafood, steak, beef and chicken declined, according to NPD. Ribs are one of the most important items menued at Applebee’s, Chili’s, TGI Friday’s and other casual restaurant chains. And last year, others got into the rib business. Country Kitchen featured a Barbecue Ribs Dinner, Golden Corral promoted ribs rubbed with barbecue seasoning and served with three sauces, and Elephant Bar added Char Siu Barbecue Wok-Fired Pork Ribs. But the biggest news was Burger King, which introduced Fire-Grilled Ribs, the first such product in QSR. With high praise, Time Magazine featured the item as an example of “real food” at QSR restaurants. QSR Magazine named the Fire-Grilled Rib one of the Five Top Products of 2010. McDonald’s followed suit with a first time, national offering of their cult-hit McRib. The LTO drove a 4.9 comp store sales increase for the chain according to Nation’s Restaurant News.
Differentiation is the name of the game and in the past year chains gave barbecue pork a number of new, exciting looks. Mimi’s menued a cross-cultural pulled pork quesadilla with Jack cheese and house made barbecue dipping sauce. Baker’s Square and Village Inn Restaurants put smoked pork in a pita. Chevy’s featured Pulled Pork Fajitas with barbecue sauce. Houlihan’s created a barbecue smoked pork flatbread pizza. Fatz Café promoted Sweet ‘n Saucy Barbecue Tacos, and Buffalo Wild Wings went beyond chicken to feature Barbecue Pulled Pork Nachos with Tortilla Chips, Honey Barbecue, Pico de Gallo, Jalapenos and Queso.
With unparalleled demand, where do we see barbecue pork trending in the future?
Sweet Hits The Meat
Expect to see more fruit-based barbecue sauces, a perfect complement to pork. Sweeter, fruit-based profiles appeal to a broader demographic, especially women. More specialty honey-based sauces will appear on menus, and tropical fruit-based sauces that “brighten” up barbecue and add a global influence. Already, Chevy’s menus Pineapple Jalapeno Barbecue sauce with Pork, Famous Dave’s recently introduced a new Citrus Grill menu section, Copeland’s Pulled Pork features an Apple BBQ Jus, and the Gage scores with 12-Hour Pork Belly with Spicy Orange BBQ and Pickled Jalapeno. Other fruit-based barbecue sauces that enhance the flavor of pork include mango, raspberry, pineapple, blueberry, cherry and plum as well as sweet-savory blends like raspberry-chipotle, apricot-habañero, orange-guajillo, and peach-bourbon. While sauces get sweeter, so is smoking, with new fruitwoods – from apple to cherry – emerging as a way to differentiate a restaurant’s “Que” Factor.
Global Flavors
Ethnic flavors are going mainstream as Americans continue to seek dining adventure. From fine dining to the dorm, emerging cuisines are more popular than ever. Led by the food truck movement, Asian barbecue, especially Korean, is finding its way on to more menus as customers crave its unique mix of sweet, spicy and savory flavors. At Continental Mid-Town in Philadelphia, guests are treated to Berkshire Farms Pork with Korean Barbecue. In Chicago, Saigon Sisters menus pork belly and pork meatball VBQ (Vietnamese barbecue) sandwiches with Thai basil and jalapeno. Roy Choi, who started the street food phenomenon with his Kogi BBQ trucks, uses Pork Bulgogi (Korean Barbecue) in tacos, sliders, quesadillas and tortas on his trucks and at his restaurant, Alibi. Now there are barbecue trucks in virtually every large metropolitan area – Along Came A Slider in Austin serves its popular WD (for Wired and Drunk) Pig and Cambodian Cuisine and LA’s Flying Pig has been featured on Oprah with its barbecue pork shoulder with green papaya, black sesame seeds, cilantro cream and barbecue sauce.
Latin flavors are also finding their way into barbecue, a trend born of the delicious pairing of spicy and sweet. At Boston’s Anthem Kitchen and Bar, you’ll find a Flatbread with Pulled Pork, Fontina Cheese and Beer-Braised Onions with Honey Chipotle Barbecue. Wally’s Tamales, the famous Mexican restaurant in Colorado Springs, features a Sweet & Spicy Chipotle Barbecue Pulled Pork Torpedo, and El Torito goes cross-cultural with its Pork with Chipotle-Raspberry-Tamarind Barbecue Sauce.
Migration to Other Menuparts and Segments
It’s not just barbecue pork tacos, quesadillas and flatbreads that are cropping up. The search for new ways to menu barbecue will continue as dim sum favorites like barbecue pork steamed buns and barbecue pork egg rolls with barbecue dipping sauce hit appetizer and small plate menus at casual theme restaurants and gastro pubs. Noodle bowls and noodle restaurants will continue to grow among Millennials. And, as the hand-held and sandwich trends grow, so will the use of barbecue pulled pork in pizzas, soups and salads.
Kuma’s Corner, Chicago’s legendary heavy metal burger joint, has already upped the ante in the bar food arena with Barbecue Pork Fries and Jack Cheese. Russell Street in Portland gets creative with new items like a Pork Shoulder Frito Pie appetizer, barbecue pork and beans, and a romaine and cabbage salad with barbecue pork topping.
And this is just the start. We’ll see more QSRs looking for new ways to get into barbecue. At the other end of the spectrum, upscale restaurants will follow Chicago, New York and LA as barbecue goes gourmet. Restaurants will also try new ways of smoking – with pork wrapped in tea leaves, banana leaves and corn husks for added flavor. Finally, barbecue will go beyond basic cuts to showcase everything from snout to tail. Brooklyn’s Fette Sau menus a wide range of pork cuts, from the ham, shoulder, ribs, and belly, to sausage, cheeks, chops, tails and, of course, the suckling pig.
As new trends, forms and flavors come to barbecue, one thing remains as true today as it was hundreds or thousands of years ago – barbecue is about passion. The passion that drives a James Beard-nominated restaurant like Zingerman’s Roadhouse in Ann Arbor to barbecue whole pigs for guests. The passion that leads the largest chains to menu barbecue. The passion that goes into developing irresistible dishes like the Pork Tasting at Jack’s on Halsted. Named one of Chicago’s top dishes, it includes Asian Barbecue Baby Back Ribs, Thyme- and Shallot-infused Pork Tenderloin and Memphis Pulled Pork on Focaccia.
Whether you’re barbecuing ribs or serving up a smoked pork tenderloin with a maple-chile rub, bring the passion – it’s what people want, no matter what type, style or cuisine you’re serving.