What does barbecued mean?
Barbecued describes food — most characteristically meat — that has been cooked over an open flame, charcoal, or wood smoke, typically outdoors and often slowly at low temperature so that it absorbs a smoky flavor. It functions both as the past form of the verb 'to barbecue' and as an adjective describing the resulting dish, as in barbecued chicken or barbecued ribs. The word carries warm, convivial connotations of summer cookouts, backyard gatherings, and regional culinary traditions, particularly in the American South and Southwest, where styles like Texas brisket and Carolina pulled pork are points of pride. Because everyday speakers sometimes use 'barbecued' interchangeably with 'grilled', it is worth noting that traditional barbecue involves longer, slower, indirect-heat cooking, which produces deeper smokiness and tenderness. The word's lineage traces back through Spanish 'barbacoa' to the Taíno people of the Caribbean.
Past tense and past participle of 'barbecue': to have cooked (food, especially meat) slowly over coals, wood smoke, or an open fire, typically outdoors.
"They barbecued a whole hog for the family reunion."
Most common in American English; the simple past 'barbecued' and participle appear freely in both spoken and written contexts.
Describing food that has been cooked by barbecuing, often coated in a characteristic smoky or tangy sauce.
"She ordered the barbecued salmon with a side of cornbread."
The word 'barbecue' comes straight from the Taíno people of the Caribbean — Spanish explorers borrowed their word 'barbacoa' for a wooden smoking rack, making every barbecued meal a taste of Indigenous American ingenuity.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of barbecued
The verb 'barbecue', from which 'barbecued' derives, entered English in the late 17th century from Spanish 'barbacoa', which itself was borrowed from the Taíno language of the Caribbean, where 'barbakoa' referred to a framework of sticks used for drying or smoking meat over a fire. English writers initially used the term for the wooden platform or frame itself before it came to denote both the act of cooking meat this way and the social event built around it. The related Spanish word 'barbacoa' survives today as a cognate still used for traditional Mexican pit-cooked dishes.
Related word forms
How barbecued is actually used
Informal to neutral register; strongly associated with outdoor cooking, summer gatherings, and regional American styles such as Texas, Carolina, and Kansas City barbecue. In American usage 'barbecued' often connotes slow-smoked meat; in casual speech it is sometimes applied loosely to anything grilled.
Easily confused with barbecued
Grilling cooks food quickly over direct high heat, while barbecued traditionally implies slower cooking over indirect heat, often with wood smoke.
Griddled food is cooked flat on a hot pan or griddle indoors, whereas barbecued food is cooked over an open flame or coals, usually outdoors.