Virginia Indians Smoking Fish on a Boucan, Theodor DeBry, 1590

How the World Cooked ‘Cue in 1878

Dave DeWitt Eyewitness Historical Barbecue Leave a Comment

By Sir Edward Tylor Editor’s Note: Here is a solid—if short—attempt to summarize what was known about outdoor cooking around the world in 1878. This is an early example of food history writing that resonates with me because the author is comparing and contrasting cooking styles from around the world. Tylor is actually debunking claims that Americans invented barbecue. Roasting …

Wedding BBq

A Barbecue Wedding-Feast in the Southwest

Dave DeWitt State-By-State Barbecue History Leave a Comment

Editor’s Note: For some unknown reason, the author did not specify precisely in what part of the Southwest the events were held. The barbecue was an established institution in the Southwest. It had in no other part of the country so many devotees. There was a charm in the name that would at any time call together a large concourse …

Barbecue Stand Near Ft. Benning, Georgia, 1940

Georgia: Home of U.S. BBQ?

Dave DeWitt State-By-State Barbecue History Leave a Comment

Georgia is probably the native home of the barbecue, but it spread thence to most of the Southern and Southwestern States, and has even invaded some of the Northern ones. Georgia, however, still retains its supremacy as the Barbecue State. “The barbecue is to Georgia,” says D. Allen Willey, in the Home-Maker’s Magazine for December, 1896, ” what the clambake …

Barbecuing Fish, Virginia, 1705

The Origins of Southern Barbecue

Dave DeWitt State-By-State Barbecue History Leave a Comment

“Their cookery has nothing commendable in it, but that it is performed with little trouble. They have no other sauce but a good stomach, which they seldom want. They boil, broil, or toast all the meat they eat, and it is very common with them to boil fish as well as flesh with their hominy; this is Indian corn soaked, …

Boar Hunt, Jamaica, c. 1870

Jamaica: A Brief History of Jerk Pork

Dave DeWitt BBQ Around the World, BBQ, Grilling & Smoking, Caribbean, Caribbean and South America Leave a Comment

Edited by Dave DeWitt Editor’s Note: Mostly using the incredible resource of Google Books, I’ve compiled a chronological history of jerk pork from primary sources. Also, in early Jamaica, a “barbecue” was also a flat surface, usually made of stone or paved, where coffee beans, ginger root, and pimento berries were air-dried. “Jamaican pigs were far better tasting, more nourishing, …