Black BBQ: The Pitmasters and the Sacred Fire
I
Origin
American BBQ — the slow, low-temperature smoking of large meat cuts over wood coals — is the most direct continuation of the African tradition of cooking over open fire. Adrian Miller's Black Smoke (2021) documents what culinary history has long obscured: that the pitmasters who built American BBQ culture, who developed the specific techniques of regional styles, who maintained the tradition through the 20th century, were overwhelmingly African American men. The barbecue competition circuit, the chain restaurant industry, and the celebrity chef world have benefited from this tradition while frequently erasing the Black men who created it.
II
Description
The Black BBQ tradition — its techniques and its specific history.
III
The Thread
—Argentine asado (same long-fire communal cooking tradition — European Argentine expression), South African braai (same fire-is-social tradition — parallel development), Korean BBQ (same communal fire
IV
Flavour Context
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