Ancient Barbecue Tales – The First Roast Ever

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In 3..2..1! DA DA TA DA [dramatic music]

The story continues..
Welcome to the adventures of Boba and Hoba, our two pre-Haiti Haitian amigos who have recently discovered Barabicooooo!!!

And we got BARBEQUE!!

Yeah yeah.. I know you are thinking what about the guy who discovered fire?
Well, that’s Akiyu, their pen pal from a tribe of Kenya, who is quite doing pretty well for himself, considering he didn’t burn his house down.

discovered fire, from kenya

*But Boba and Hoba are the ones who are about to embark on a journey of deliciousness and misfires(literally).*

As you all know, smoking of meat and fish is an age-old practice. And it all started with Boba and Hoba. (The Ancient Story of Barbeque)

boba and hoba talking about barbecue

The day, Boba used fire in his home at night, Hoba had been having a bad experience of his own. He lived near a marshy area and was being driven nuts by mosquitos! The night of the smoke, when Boba came running to him to ask for a place to sleep, he and Boba spent most of the night chasing away mosquitos. When they went back and saw what happened to the meat by chance, they decided to deliberately smoke the meat.

talking about smoking meat, going to beach, cavemen

So after breakfast, they went down to the beach and dug a pit. Boba lined it with dry branches and twigs and built up a fire, while Hoba sawed some more wood. Then together they tied up the wood pieces to build a kind of rack.

Boba put up one piece of meat on the rack, while Hoba sat down to sharpen his spear and talked about weather, and how the mosquitos were a nightmare!
Boba listened and yet was keenly watching the meat. The flames were directly beneath and was licking it often. It smelled a little off. Was it burning? Then why did the burn smell make him hungry? Boba picked up the meat but immediately let go as it was too hot. Hoba instantly jumped up and pierced the Meat with the sharp end. They put it on a palm leaf and waited for it to cool down a bit.

Boba again tried to check the meat and broke off a small piece for them to taste. It was juicy and succulent! Hoba felt it could be put on the rack a little more as it was only cooked from one side. After a while, they had put up an assortment of meat and fish on the rack and were cooking away to glory. But they had to be careful. They realized that too much time on heat could ruin the meat, make it shrink excessively, buckle or split.

boba and hoba talking at the beach

By late evening when it was almost dark, they had enough meat for dinner. So they dismantled their rack, put out the fire and turned back home. But Hoba did not wanna go back to his place. He dreaded the mosquitos! Boba remarked that the mosquitos were nowhere to be seen while they were cooking.

Another light bulb and Boba dragged Hoba back. This time, he built a very small fire near the window. That night, Hoba and Boba feasted on their roasted meat and slept peacefully with new ideas for tomorrow.

boba sleeping peacefully, no mosquitoes

See, if you don’t have a job and are running wild, you can do practically anything! Like re imagine a time from million years ago and let your imagination have at it!

Happy Holidays!

 

Here’s more pictures of Barbeque to tide you over this festive season!!

Asado - Argentina barbecue
Asado - Argentina
Braai - South Africa
Kalua pork - Hawai
Kalua Pork - Hawaii
Lechon - Philippines
Gogigui - Korea
Lamb Souvlaki - Greece
Shish Kebob - Lebanon
Barbeque Ribs - USA