Memphis is equal parts music and food–the products of a community marked with grit and resiliency. The city’s blues and soul music have lifted spirits, while barbecue has been a serious business ever since pork first entered the culinary landscape of Memphis with Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto, who brought the New World its first herd of pigs. Succulent pulled pork and ribs have become part of the fabric of life in the River City, and today they are cooked up in kitchens ranging from the internationally acclaimed, like Corky’s, to the humblest of roadside dives. Told through the history of its barbecue is the story of the city of Memphis, from legendary joints like Leonard’s Barbecue, where Elvis Presley hosted private parties, to lesser-known places like William’s Bar-B-Q in the West Memphis, Arkansas neighborhood where wild, late-night blues juke joints served as a red-light district across the river from Beale Street in the 1950s and ’60s. Sink your teeth into this rich history chock-full of interviews and insights from the city’s finest pitmasters and ‘cue gurus who continue the long tradition of creating art with meat and flame.
Tag Archives: History
Texas BBQ (Jack and Doris Smothers series in Texas history, life, and culture)
To Texans, barbecue is elemental. Succulent, savory, perfumed with smoke and spice, it transcends the term “comfort food.” It’s downright heavenly, and it’s also a staff of Texas life. Like a dust storm or a downpour, barbecue is a force of Texas nature, a stalwart tie to the state’s cultural and culinary history. Though the word is often shortened to “BBQ,” the tradition of barbecue stands Texas-tall.
Photographer Wyatt McSpadden has spent some twenty years documenting barbecue—specifically, the authentic family-owned cafes that are small-town mainstays. Traveling tens of thousands of miles, McSpadden has crisscrossed the state to visit scores of barbecue purveyors, from fabled sites like Kreuz’s in Lockhart to remote spots like the Lazy H Smokehouse in Kirbyville. Color or black-and-white, wide angle or close up, his pictures convey the tradition and charm of barbecue. They allow the viewer to experience each place through all five senses. The shots of cooking meat and spiraling smoke make taste and smell almost tangible. McSpadden also captures the shabby appeal of the joints themselves, from huge, concrete-floored dining halls to tiny, un-air-conditioned shacks. Most of all, McSpadden conveys the primal physicality of barbecue—the heat of fire, the heft of meat, the slickness of juices—and also records ubiquitous touches such as ancient scarred carving blocks, torn screen doors and peeling linoleum, and toothpicks in a recycled pepper sauce jar.
Virginia Barbecue: A History (American Palate)
With more than four hundred years of history, Virginians lay claim to the invention of southern barbecue. Native Virginian Powhatan tribes slow roasted meat on wooden hurdles or grills. James Madison hosted grand barbecue parties during the colonial and federal eras. The unique combination of vinegar, salt, pepper, oils and various spices forms the mouthwatering barbecue sauce that was first used by colonists in Virginia and then spread throughout the country. Today, authentic Virginia barbecue is regionally diverse and remains culturally vital. Drawing on hundreds of historical and contemporary sources, author, competition barbecue judge and award-winning barbecue cook Joe Haynes documents the delectable history of barbecue in the Old Dominion.
Virginia Barbecue: A History
With more than four hundred years of history, Virginians lay claim to the invention of southern barbecue. Native Virginian Powhatan tribes slow roasted meat on wooden hurdles or grills. James Madison hosted grand barbecue parties during the colonial and federal eras. The unique combination of vinegar, salt, pepper, oils and various spices forms the mouthwatering barbecue sauce that was first used by colonists in Virginia and then spread throughout the country. Today, authentic Virginia barbecue is regionally diverse and remains culturally vital. Drawing on hundreds of historical and contemporary sources, author, competition barbecue judge and award-winning barbecue cook Joe Haynes documents the delectable history of barbecue in the Old Dominion.
Barbecue: The History of an American Institution
Americans enjoy reading about barbecue almost as much as they love eating it. Books on the subject cover almost every aspect of the topic: recipes, grilling tips, restaurant guides, pit-building instructions, and catalogs of exotic variants such as Mongolian barbecue and Indian tandoor cooking. Despite this coverage, the history of barbecue in the United States has until now remained virtually untold.