Outdoor living and cooking may be au fait at the moment in a sophisticated modern way, but this is definitely primitive living. But it is primitive only as modern furniture is primitive—in a functional way. We habitually sit smugly in an artistically landscaped garden and watch elaborate morsels being prepared for us on a barbecue unit perfectly appointed with all the gadgets of modern living. We are prone to be quite amused by such a performance and to feel that we are really roughing it and enjoying a novelty in modern life.
Not at all. Any form of outdoor eating follows the century-old customs and traditions of all peoples. Our forebears perfected techniques and designs which have never been surpassed. We are merely placing these things in modern settings and making the few additions due to natural evolution and progress. Modernizing ancient customs is the order of the day in many fields, and outdoor living is not the exception.
A brief consideration of the historical background of our patio and garden living might be in order. Primitive man, learning that flavor could be enhanced by cooking after he had discovered and tamed fire, is undoubtedly the earliest advocate of today's vogue. Then the romantic history of the caravaneers on the road to Samarkand and Cathay added to the record. These hardy adventurers were of necessity great outdoor cooks and eaters. With camel dung for fuel and with only limited supplies, these early ambassadors of civilization brought to us in the Western world priceless food secrets which are still the basis of our menus and diets. The Polynesians as well have for unrecorded eons roasted animals in rock-lined pits. Their procedure and their ideas of enhancing flavor with herbs and leaves hold a fascination for us. Cooking in great kettles hung over a fire on a tripod was common usage in central Europe and is still done by a great number of the peoples who inhabit that continent.
Our pioneer ancestors in this country cooked over simple campfires with only the crudest type of equipment to aid them. It was they who discovered many of our native foods. To be sure, domestication has perfected these foods, but our debt to the outdoor cooks who built this country is tremendous. But from all these primitive methods and difficult beginnings have come fine dishes and a sturdy history of simple, hearty food that was, often as not, memorable.
Today, if we wander the length and breadth of the Western hemisphere, we can find many techniques of alfresco cookery and numerous styles of equipment. In the lonely prairie wastes of the pampas the widely publicized Gauchos are enthusiastic and hearty diners in the open air. With their open fires and forked sticks or metal supports, they prepare some of the finest foods of the country, a few of which have become national dishes. Asado con cuero, beef roasted in the hide over slow fire, and cordero al asador, a whole lamb spitted and roasted over glowing coals until crisp and flavorful, are two Gaucho specialties which have become nationally popular. Earth ovens, built into the ground so that they may be covered with hot coals for roasting and baking, are common to the Argentine as well.
Uruguay and Brazil are partial to roasts and birds cooked on spits over the coals and to practically any form of outdoor cookery. In Brazil, the churrasco, originally a thick steak spitted over the coals, has developed into such a popular favorite that an adaptation of it may be found in many restaurants in the cities. There are several unique inns which make a feature of their own barbecue trench with various types of meat cooking over the coals in the center of the room or patio. Here one may choose the particular type of meat he desires and watch it cut from the spit and served in a second or two. Each restaurant also specializes in a certain variation of what we would call a barbecue sauce, that accompanies the meat. Throughout all the tropical Americas and in our own Southwest, the simple and functional method of coals, spit, and forked sticks or irons for support is continually prevalent and has been for several centuries. It is difficult to equal or surpass this method for sheer flavor and efficiency. One of our pleasantest memories is lechon asado as it is prepared in the Caribbean Islands. A whole pig, spitted and partially filled with hot rocks, is roasted over gentle coals of guayaba wood and brushed continually with a nose-tickling and flavorful sauce that contains sour oranges and herbs as well as oil and other seasonings. Perfectly cooked it is, with crisp skin and juicy meat, a treat for any appetite.
It is easy to build a simple cooking unit of this type in the garden or patio and add a few modern touches to make it more efficient. A long, low trench for fire and stainless steel spit may be the most perfect type of equipment for your needs. You may even find a motor that will turn the spit in ideal rhythm, thus saving a great deal of labor. You can also use flat grills in this arrangement for steaks and chops and smaller items, and if you wish to cook stews and chowders outdoors, you can hang kettles from the spit, too.
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