Uploaded July 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In the 1950s, a barbecue boom swept across the United States, creating a multi-million dollar industry for grilling tools, equipment, and cookbooks. In this video, I’m jumping into the history of backyard barbecues with the help of the 1959 Better Homes & Gardens Barbecue Book, “the complete how-to for new outdoor and indoor cooking fun.” So, let’s take a look back at the exciting world of mid-twentieth-century barbecues and the tools we need to grill like it’s 1959.
Sources:
Barbecue Book, Better Homes & Gardens, 1959
Barbecue: A History, Tim Miller, 2014 (archive.org/details/barbecuehistory0000mill/mode/2up)
Fashionable Food: Seven Decades of Food Fads, Sylvia Lovegren, 1995 (archive.org/details/fashionablefoods0000love/mode/2up)
“History of the Barbecue,” Alexander Lee, History Today, Aug 2019 (historytoday.com/archive/historians-cookbook/history-barbecue)
“The Evolution of the American Barbecue,” Natasha Geiling, Smithsonian Magazine, July 18, 2013 (smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-evolution-of-american-barbecue-13770775/)
“2020 State of the Barbecue Industry,” Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association, Apr 23, 2020 (hpba.org/Resources/PressRoom/ID/1911/2020-State-of-the-Barbecue-Industry)
In the 1950s, a barbecue boom swept across the United States, creating a multi-million dollar industry for grilling tools, equipment, and cookbooks. In this video, I’m jumping into the history of backyard barbecues with the help of the 1959 Better Homes & Gardens Barbecue Book, “the complete how-to for new outdoor and indoor cooking fun.” So, let’s take a look back at the exciting world of mid-twentieth-century barbecues and the tools we need to grill like it’s 1959.
Sources:
Barbecue Book, Better Homes & Gardens, 1959
Barbecue: A History, Tim Miller, 2014 (archive.org/details/barbecuehistory0000mill/mode/2up)
Fashionable Food: Seven Decades of Food Fads, Sylvia Lovegren, 1995 (archive.org/details/fashionablefoods0000love/mode/2up)
“History of the Barbecue,” Alexander Lee, History Today, Aug 2019 (historytoday.com/archive/historians-cookbook/history-barbecue)
“The Evolution of the American Barbecue,” Natasha Geiling, Smithsonian Magazine, July 18, 2013 (smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-evolution-of-american-barbecue-13770775/)
“2020 State of the Barbecue Industry,” Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association, Apr 23, 2020 (hpba.org/Resources/PressRoom/ID/1911/2020-State-of-the-Barbecue-Industry)
