This was almost a trick question. Ford receives credit for inventing the charcoal briquette, but did he really invent it? Nope, the patent preceded the Ford plant by 20 years and the patent belonged to Zwoyer. Ford had Kingsford acquire the land for the plant, and the most famous charcoal still bears his name. So really, any of these could be argued as the father or inventor of charcoal briquettes.
So the obvious follow up question is, who created the first widely accepted grill? And do you know the roots of the Big Green Egg, and Primo Ceramic grills?
What are the differences in the regional barbecue styles? What region uses mustard based sauces? Where did barbecue originate? Low and slow or fast and hot, which method to use and what meats work best with the different methods? What is the proper way to light charcoal and avoid a lighter fluid taste?
Later this week, I will give you a tip given to me by a competitive BBQer on how to take left over barbecue and serve it later, without it drying out from commonly used methods.
I do like the old marketing campaign Ford used.
