1.4  Definition of terms

Bandwidth  

A term used to describe an undefined amount of traffic on the Internet. An example would be: "Posting pictures to the BBQ List is a waste of bandwidth."

Creosote

A chemical that forms during the burning of wood in an oxygen-starved environment. Creosotes are gases and will condense on cooler surfaces, like barbecue meat and the metal walls of smokers. Creosote on your meat will give it a bitter, nasty taste and is to be avoided.

ECB

El Cheapo Brinkmann smoking pit. Refers to a vertical water smoker made by several manufacturers that costs in the neighborhood of $30. Can produce, in the hands of a skilled pitmaster, prize-winning barbecue.

Hondo

A smoker made by New Braunfels and called the Hondo. It is a wood or charcoal burning off-set firebox type smoker. It is almost identical to the NB Black Diamond and is functionally equivalent to the Brinkmann SnP Pro.

IMHO  

In My Humble Opinion.

KCBS  

The Kansas City Barbecue Society. They sanction many barbecue competitions.

Larding  

A technique for use with very lean meats where slabs of fat are placed on the outside of the meat. This acts like a fatter piece of meat and the fat bastes the meat as it smokes. The slabs of fat can be 1/2 to 1" thick and can be held in place with cotton string, the kind you'd use to tie a rolled-roast. Discard the fat when the meat comes out of the pit.

Lazy-Que 

A somewhat-derogatory term used by wood-burning smoker traditionalists referring to those who choose to barbecue by using gas or electricity to fuel their pits and wood chips and or chunks for smoke. The Lazy-Q'ers thereby relieve themselves of the necessity to expend any but the most trivial effort in the act of barbecuing.

Lurking  

Reading the posts on a mailing list or newsgroup but not contributing to the discussion. This is what most newcomers do, read for awhile before they post anything.

MIM  

Memphis In May. A barbecue society and a barbecue competition held each May in Memphis, TN.

MD  

Mindless Drivel. Mindless Drivel. A term used for postings to the BBQ List that are utterly without any redeeming social merit. When you wish to post a non-barbecue message to the List, place the letters "MD" in the subject/title to identify the post as such.

Mr. Brown  

The crust that forms on the outside of barbecued meat. Also the trade name of a commercial barbecuespice rub.

NBBD  

A wood or charcoal burning smoker made by New Braunfels and called the Black Diamond. It is identical to the Hondo except it has a wooden front shelf instead of a metal shelf.

Pit  

A term originally used to describe an in-ground barbecue pit now used synonymously with the term 'smoker'.

Pseudo-Q  

or Faux-Q (don't say this one out loud). Meat that is boiled in water (parboiled) and then finished on the grill and served with a BBQ sauce containing liquid smoke product. Also used to refer to foods cooked in the oven that simulate real BBQ. These are taboo on the BBQ List.

SnP Pro  

A wood or charcoal burning smoker made by the Brinkmann Corporation called the Smoke'N Pit Professional. It is an off-set firebox type smoker, with a wooden front shelf.

SWOCS  

A barbecue pit made by Southwest Outdoor Cooking Systems. A vertical pit that uses gas for fuel and to heat and burn wood chips or pellets to produce the smoke. The company ceased operations in early 1997.

Thread  

On Internet mailing lists or on newsgroups, a discussion on a particular topic that goes on for days, weeks, months, or in some cases years. An example could be a 'thread' on how to smoke chicken.

WSM  

Weber Smokey Mountain charcoal bullet water smoker. The Cadillac of bullet smokers manufactured by the Weber Grill Company.

URL  

Uniform Resource Locator. An Internet Web page or FTP address.