Barbecue, barbeque, or BBQ is a term used to describe food prepared and eaten outdoors. Meat usually pork in the South, and beef in the Southwest is the main meal in a barbecue.
Other foods considered healthier include chicken, fowl, and lamb. Sausages and veggies also make up a big part of a barbecue.
An entire cuisine of barbecue is not complete without its signature barbecue sauce. Sweet and spicy barbecue sauce goes well with any BBQ.
Barbeque Nutrition Facts
BBQ Pork Ribs
A rack of ribs gives you the vibe of weekend barbecues in the backyard. There’s just something about getting messy as you savor every bite. But let’s admit it. Barbecue pork ribs don’t make the list of healthy foods.
BBQ Pork Ribs Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size – 1 Half Rack, six ribs, (12 ounces) |
Amount per serving | |
Calories 549 | |
Calories from fat 297 | |
Percent Daily Values | |
Total Fat 33g | 88% |
Saturated Fat 12g | 85% |
Trans Fat 0.4g | |
Sodium 357mg | 31% |
Potassium 618mg | 18% |
Cholesterol 194mg | 65% |
Protein 63g | |
Total Carbohydrates 23g | 8% |
Dietary Fiber 0.5g | 2% |
Sugars 16g | |
Vitamin A | 2% |
Vitamin C | 1% |
Calcium 87mg | 5% |
Iron 2.8mg | 17% |
A half rack of ribs is still a big portion, as you can see by the calories it packs. A fatty cut can pack as much as 762 calories, of which 516 calories are from fat.
Saturated Fat
Saturated fat from this meal covers a huge part of your daily intake.
While it’s essential to watch your daily intake of saturated fat, it’s also important to focus on the quality of food rather than the calories in food. This means cutting out processed food and complementing your BBQ meals with healthy combinations such as veggies while leaving out sugary BBQ sauces.
Barbecue Chicken
Grilled chicken is a staple food in a typical healthy diet. With a 3-ounce chicken breast containing as much as 25 grams of protein, it makes meeting your daily protein intake relatively easy.
So, how many calories are in grilled chicken?
Barbecue Chicken Breast Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size – 1 Chicken Breast (3.5 ounces, No Skin, With Sauce) |
Amount per serving | |
Calories 178 | |
Calories from fat 92.4 | |
Percent Daily Values | |
Total Fat 4.9g | 6% |
Saturated Fat 0.9g | 4% |
Sodium 473mg | 21% |
Potassium 328mg | 7% |
Cholesterol 78mg | 26% |
Protein 24g | 48% |
Total Carbohydrates 7.3g | 3% |
Dietary Fiber 0.2g | 1% |
Sugars 6g | |
Vitamin D 0.00mg | 0% |
Calcium 11mg | 1% |
Iron 0.48mg | 3% |
Barbecue Chicken Thigh Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size – 1 Chicken Thigh (3.5 ounces, No Skin, With Sauce) |
Amount per serving | |
Calories 190 | |
Calories from fat 97.7 | |
Percent Daily Values | |
Total Fat 8.6g | 11% |
Saturated Fat 2.1g | 10% |
Sodium 575mg | 25% |
Potassium 255mg | 5% |
Cholesterol 106mg | 35% |
Protein 20g | 40% |
Total Carbohydrates 7.3g | 3% |
Dietary Fiber 0.2g | 1% |
Sugars 5.9g | |
Vitamin D 0.20mg | 1% |
Calcium 13mg | 1% |
Iron 1.01mg | 6% |
Barbecue chicken is the perfect protein for making fit meals at home. Notice how a chicken thigh contains more calories than a chicken breast.
When looking for the best chicken BBQ recipe, you want an easy-on-the-grill recipe that doesn’t complicate things with comprehensive marinades or rubs.
Boneless vs. Bone-In Chicken
Boneless chicken with no skin can dry out quickly because it does not have the skin to retain moisture. But it cooks faster than bone-in chicken because there’s no bone to conduct heat.
The skin locks in moisture as of bone-in chicken, but it takes a long time to cook. This is because the bone absorbs heat.
Barbecue Beef Brisket
The brilliant beef brisket is cooked low and slow until it becomes fork-tender. It’s perhaps the most challenging yet easy recipe to master. This is because you only need the brisket cut, but you can spend years mastering the right combination of heat (low), smoke, and time.
Barbecue Beef Brisket Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size – 3 ounces) |
Amount per serving | |
Calories 246 | |
Calories from fat 141 | |
Percent Daily Values | |
Total Fat 6.2g | 25% |
Saturated Fat 6.2g | 31% |
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.6g | |
Monosaturated Fat 6.7g | |
Sodium 41mg | 2% |
Potassium 197mg | 6% |
Cholesterol 90mg | 30% |
Protein 28g | 51% |
Total Carbohydrates 0g | 0% |
Dietary Fiber 0g | 0% |
Sugars 0g | |
Vitamin A | 0% |
Vitamin C | 0% |
Calcium | 1% |
Beef brisket contains complete protein unlike what you get from plant sources. It has all the essential amino acids required to synthesize proteins by the body.
However, it would be best to choose lean beef cuts because beef can have high levels of saturated fat. According to the USDA, a lean cut should not have more than 10 grams of fat and 4.5 grams of saturated fat.
Beef is a good source of Vitamins B12, B6, and Riboflavin, and Niacin. It also contains high concentrations of zinc, iron, selenium, and phosphorus.
Percent Daily Values
The % Daily Values are based on a diet of 2000 calories a day. It is used only for general nutrition information.
Conclusion
Here’s is just but a short list of common Barbecue foods. I hope that you will use this information as a guide to your specific calorie diet. Remember that barbecue sauce adds a significant number of calories to your barbecue.
So, what are you waiting for? Go on and choose the perfect barbecue!
