Barbecue Worldwide — a 5 Hat Racks Approach

By David R. Hankes

Overview

In 1990, this concept was originally presented by Richard Saul Wurman.  In his book “Information Anxiety,” the Five Hat Racks principle claims there are a limited number of organizational strategies. He presented these organizational strategies through the acronym L.A.T.C.H.

Here is each strategy and how it describes organization by:

  • Location: geographic or spatial reference 
  • Alphabet: alphabetical sequence
  • Time: chronological sequence
  • Category: similarity or relatedness
  • Continuum: orders of magnitude

Project

A class project that utilizes the universal design principle of five hat racks (LATCH). We were instructed to choose a subject, organize the subject using at least three of the five racks, consider combining one or more of the racks in the same graphic, and organize the subject in the best way possible.

Process

To begin this project I had to investigate the origin of BBQ and how it evolved over time, what were some key milestones in the evolutionary process, and where it is located throughout the world. I set out by investigating some key information at the library on the topic of BBQ.  From my findings I was able to create this table of information.

  • 1 Million BC - Homo erectus on Earth started with an open fire with boar or pork
  • 200,000 BC - Early humans in Carmel, Israel used wooden fork and spit beef
  • 3000 BC - China roasting pork
  • 3000 BC - Japan used the Kamado to cook
  • 13-1500 BCE - Israel used open fire with a grate to cook beef
  • 4th-6th BCE - Greece used a gridiron over wood to smoke all types of meat
  • 100s - Pompeii used small grills
  • 1248 - Chaine des Rotisseurs from France used a roasting spit to cook all types of meat
  • 1400s - Leonardo da Vinci while in Europe learned to rotate food, specifically beef
  • 1492 - Christopher Columbus while in the Caribbean used the cooking method of barbacoa on iguana
  • 1521 - Ponce de Leon in Ft Myers, FL used the cooking method of barbacoa
  • 1528 - Panfilo de Narvaez while visiting the Southeastern, US; used a a grill for cannibalism
  • 1531 - Europeans, specifically in Bologna, Italy used a spit roasting for oxen.
  • 1539 - DeSoto Bradenton while in Florida, learned to cook barbacoa style pork, turkey, and venison
  • 1547 - Hans Stade in Brazil, used the style of barbacoa to cook beef and fish
  • 1576 - Europeans in England began rotisserie beef
  • 1598 - Juan de Onate in Texas, US learned by using a roasting spit for all types of meat
  • 1600s - German/Czech people use smokehouses for pork/sausage
  • 1600s - Flemish grill vegetables
  • 1600s - Arawak Tribes in moderna day Florida, US began grilling fish
  • 1700s - Europeans near Wiltshire, England used a turnspit for beef and poultry
  • 1765 - Europeans in Washington, DC used a rotisserie/side oven with wood to cook beef
  • 1769 - George Washington while at Mt Vernon, Va used a smokehouse for pork/beef
  • 1775 - hand forged cast iron grill
  • 1826 - John Walker in England invented the friction-match
  • 1829 - Andrew Jackson in Nashville, TN used a smokehouse
  • 1844 - Daily Picayuce in Columbus, OH started the first outdoor gathering of BBQ
  • 1863 - J.C. Milligan in New Jersey patented the portable mess kettle
  • 1867 - Mrs A.P. Hill in Georgia, US wrote the first recipe for barbecue reference
  • 1871 - Dr. JH Larwill in Tennessee, US wrote about the first sauce for barbecue
  • 1882 - William J Moon of Elgin, TX made the first BBQ delivery to the home
  • 1888 - Katz’s Deli in New York, NY was the first BBQ restaurant
  • 1887 - Harpers Weekly wrote about a pit with sticks and pitmaster using pork
  • 1907 - Henry Perry of Memphis, TN opened the first BBQ stand & entrepreneur
  • 1909 - Georgian Barbecue Sauce of Atlanta, GA was first commercial sauce
  • 1913 - Martha McCullogh-Williams was first account of smoking meat for 12 hours
  • 1920 - Henry Ford, T Edison were the first to create charcoal briquets
  • 1948 - H.J. Heinz was the first nationally distributed sauce
  • 1948 - Grant Hastings created the Hasty-Bake grill oven which became the deisgn of the modern day grill
  • 1952 - George Stephen, Weber Brothers created the first Weber grill
  • 1959 - Chicago Combustion Corp created the portable gas grill
  • 1968 - Herbert Oyler of Mesquite, TX created the first wood smoker w/ shelves
  • 1976 - M & B Robertson created the first rotating smoker
  • 1982 - Traeger Heating of Oregon, US invented the first wood pellet grill

Once I was able to get a good idea of the history of BBQ noted that in present day there was distiguishable varations of barbecue by region, with the four main styles: Memphis, Tenn., North Carolina, Kansas City, and Texas.

  • Memphis is renowned for pulled pork-shoulder doused in sweet tomato-based sauce (eaten on its own or as a sandwich).
  • North Carolina smokes the whole hog in a vinegar-based sauce.
  • Kansas City natives prefers ribs cooked in a dry rub, and
  • Texas - beef. Eastern Texas’ pulled-pork camp,western mesquite-grilled “cowboy-style” brisket.

Design

I now took on the design of the data that I had in my pocession and start defining the Location by highlighting all countries that follow the typical definition of barbecue.

Figure 1. Creation of Location of the 5 hat rack approach.

Second, I looked at the Alpha (Alphabetic) listing of all countries that follow the typical definition of barbecue and created a list of them in decending sort.

Figure 2. Creation of Alpha (Alphabetic) of the 5 hat rack approach.

Third, I observed the duration of time. Time shows the progression of barbecue throughout history from homo erectus 1 million years ago to present day barbecue grills.

Figure 3. Creation of Time using the 5 hat rack approach.

Fourth, using Category shows the list of countries and the popular types of barbecue: beef, pork, and poultry.

Figure 4. Creation of Category using the 5 hat rack approach.

Documentation

Final design of the project.