Andy Crouch asks some interesting questions about the barbecue grill. What he's really getting at is an exploration of how technology shapes culture. As Neil Postman has written, in our culture we tend to assume that technology is neutral, but it really isn't. Andy Crouch gets that (I can't wait to find the time to read his new book about culture-making). Here's my attempt to answer his questions:
1 What does the barbecue grill assume about the world?That there are people who like to eat meat cooked over open coals, and who possess both the liberty, in law and in custom, to prepare food in a public manner -- a manner that creates a small but detectable amount of pollution. That there is meat to cook. That eating meat is normal.
2 What does the barbecue grill assume about the way the world should be?
That the world should be a place where meat can be grilled outdoors, and that people should have enough space where they live to prepare food in this traditional way.
3 What does the barbecue grill make possible?
Gastronomic pleasure. Communal and familial bonding around a meal prepared and enjoyed in common. Greater consumption of meat.
4 What does the barbecue grill make impossible (or at least a lot more difficult)?
Reducing meat consumption (because it makes meat taste so great, and encourages socializing around the consumption of meat).
5 What new culture is created in response to the barbecue grill?
The culture of backyard barbecues, which provides for pleasure and social bonding in an outdoor setting, usually in a rural or suburban locales. The barbecue grill is the hearth in a backyard home. It makes possible a culture based on outdoor leisure activities.
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As someone mentioned above, not everyone grills just meat. A lot of people grill vegetables and fish. And what is this "thing" about meat, like, "Oh, no, it increases the consumption of meat." So?
I think what Crouch is forgetting is that BBQing took off in popularity in the 1950s - when many houses were not air-conditioned. BBQing thus was a suburban substitute for the old "summer kitchen." It allowed you to cook meat without roasting it in an oven or for long hours on a stovetop (i.e. a potroast.)
In the words of Homer Simpson, "You can't make friends with salad!"
Let's add to point 3:
What does the barbecue grill make possible?
The development of finely honed skills that directly contribute to the pleasure of one's self, one's family, and one's neighbors.
The passing on of those skills from parents to children, especially from fathers to sons, in a shared tradition.
Participation in a method of cooking that, while certainly technological, is more in continuum with premodern methods of food preparation than most of our typical American methods of food preparation.
Terrific comments, Rod et al. (And the title on this post is brilliant!) Yes indeed, what I'm doing is very much about how technology shapes culture. These questions—especially about what a cultural artifact makes possible and impossible—were first formulated in response to reading Albert Borgmann's supremely important book Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life.
We'll be discussing a new cultural artifact every week or so . . . not always a technological artifact. I believe the topic next week is the Elgin Marbles. :) So bookmark www.culture-making.com/five_questions and join us.
Maybe I'm just being female here, but grilling is also the superior way to prepare vegetables. My personal favorites:
sweet potatoes cooked in foil for a very long time. Add sugar cinammon once they are very soft. Or brown sugar...
sliced eggplants, onions, and squash, cut lengthwise, basted with olive oil, white pepper, and maybe a touch of lemon juice. grill these and you have achieved vegetable perfection.
Oh, and just take a clove of garlic, cut off its top tip if you want, wrap that in foil and let it grill for a long time. It will turn into a gooey monstrosity which is absolutely incredible to mix with butter into the best garlic butter possible. Or more to the spirit of backyard/camp barbecue, just scrape it on bread, then add butter.
Grilling is also the perfect way to cook fish, but that's meat, too in my book, so don't think it broadens my point any. You can do breakfast, too, but again, that's not really barbecuing.
My point is, don't stop at meat, though it is wonderful on a grill. Expand into the vegetable realm if you want to impress a female.
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