September 10, 2023 • 10 mins
Have you ever wondered why Black folks love to Barbecue? Join us when we talk about the Historical reasoning behind Black Barbecue.
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Sources:
Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue, by Adrian Miller https://www.amazon.com/Black-Smoke-African-Americans-Barbecue/dp/1469662809 https://destination-bbq.com/history-of-barbecue/
https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/why-barbecue-is-an-essential-part-of-black-history
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/one-mic-black-history--4557850/support.
Audio Onemichistory.com
Follow me on Instagram: @onemic_history
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/onemichistory
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Onemichistory
Please support our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=25697914
Buy me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Countryboi2m
Sources:
Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue, by Adrian Miller https://www.amazon.com/Black-Smoke-African-Americans-Barbecue/dp/1469662809 https://destination-bbq.com/history-of-barbecue/
https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/why-barbecue-is-an-essential-part-of-black-history
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/one-mic-black-history--4557850/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Have you ever wondered why black peoplelove barbecue so much? Well, there's
historical reason behind it. And ifyou're enjoy stories like this, you can
find more stories like this well mycaretreat dot com. Also, do you
like support the channel, You coulddo so my Boby Coffee on my Patreon
page. Interscription below give us fivestyles on Apple podcasts and support to YouTube
channel. But without further ado,let's get start it. The origins of
(00:26):
barbecue as we know it can betraced back to native tribes in the Caribbean
and their indigenous cooking methods. Thefirst Spanish cholottanizers embarked on their New World
voyages in the fifteenth century. Theywere fascinated by the techniques employed by the
indigenous t you know people. TheNative Americans would slow cooked their meat over
wooden structures over a pit of fire. This method was turned barbeca, and
(00:50):
this enthrawled colonizes so much that theyincorporated barbecoa into that Spanish lexicon, with
it eventually becoming the word barbecue.The story barbecue doesn't end with Spanish colonizers.
These explorers took the cooking method ofbarbecoa with them to North America,
where it was adopted by the localpeople and colonizers alike. The first known
(01:11):
written mention of pork barbecue was aroundMississippi. The book The Historical Roots of
the Yacht Knocktop Papa fifteen forty nineteensixty two authors Don Harrison Doyle wrote in
December of fifteen forty, near presentday Tupelo, Mississippi, the explorer Hernando
(01:32):
de DeSoto and the Chickasaw tribe hada feast of Spanish cook pork using the
barbecoa method. By the sixteenth andseventeenth centuries, barbecue had become an integral
part of everyday life in the southernpart of North America, where there's even
a painting from sixteenth century French explorerJacquis Lamoine that shows Native Americans in Florida
(01:55):
using a wooden frame over burning logscook a variety of foods like fish,
mammals, and reptiles. George Washington, who was once charged with beecuring meat
for his soldiers during the French andIndian Wars, even talked about barbecuing in
the Indian manner. With the arrivalof enslaved Africans to the Americans in the
(02:15):
sixteenth century. This caused a significantshift in the cultural and culinary landscape.
Forced to adapt to a strange newenvironment, these Africans learned to sustain themselves
through ingenious methods. They closely observedthe cooking methods of the Native Americans,
specifically the technique of barbecuing. Thisslow cooked method was ideal for larger cuts
(02:38):
of meat, which made it popularfor communal gatherings. It's around this time
that the groundwork was laid for theSouthern style of pit barbecuing. However,
the adaptation from the Native American techniquesof suspended racks to in pit barbecue it's
very murky. There is scant writtenreferences from the eighteenth century the Ship light
(03:00):
on this evolution, but despite thelack of documentation, it's plausible that this
moved into the ground was an inevitableprogression. Around the same time was the
introduction of unique African flavors and cookingtechniques into barbecue by the enslaved community.
Enslaved Africans didn't just learn Native Americantechniques of barbecuing, but they contributed their
(03:22):
own. Like the process of smokingmeat over a gentle flame, it was
a common practice and several African cultures, and was originally designed to preserve the
freshness of meat. This method eventuallyfused with the open pit cooking style.
They formed the basis for the barbecuestyle that we know today. Southern barbecue
(03:43):
would gain popularity around the mid seventeenhundreds on Virginia plantations and then slowly make
its weight south from there. However, it's important to know that barbecues were
not a regular event, but theywere organized around holidays, special events,
and political gas. Adrian Miller,the author of Black Smoke, a book
around the history of black barbecue,would state that by the eighteen thirties,
(04:06):
people believed that a proper barbecue requiredan African American cook and his team.
Barbecue was seen as a black experience. Furthermore, because African Americans popularized pit
cooking, they earned the title ofpit master. Originally, pitt masters were
the elderly slaves that were provisioned incooking who supervised the barbecue preparation. Later
(04:30):
on, the term pit master willbecome known more broadly. One of the
earliest known references to a pit masterwas published in September twenty second, nineteen
thirty nine, in the Daily TimesNews in Burlington, North Carolina. They
wrote that Jeter crush Field, pittmaster, will supervise the beginning of a roasting
pork for barbecue tonight at midnight.This is the first known user the word
(04:55):
pitmaster in print and now. JeterCrushfield was a white man, and it
was not uncommon for white men tobe the face of local barbecue, but
more often than not, the onesdoing the actual work were African Americans.
It also important to note that thearticle specifies that Jeter will supervise, but
regardless, it tells us that theterm pitmaster had become so wrapped into a
(05:19):
lexicon that has found its way intoa newspaper article by the nineteen thirties.
What makes enslaved africans adaptation to barbecueso ingenious was that it was built amongst
their limitations. Barbecue is a complexlaborers process that requires mastery and precision,
from building an adequate fire to keepin consistent temperature for hours to expertly handling
(05:43):
the meat to achieve a perfect blendof texture and flavor. They will often
provided the least favorable, tougher cutsof meat, and these skilled chefs used
as knowledges of seasoning and slow cookingto render these tough, overlooked cuts of
meat delicious. By the Civil War, Southerners had been barbecuing for almost two
(06:04):
centuries, and a great many ofthese cooks where African American slaves who tended
these pits and barbecues organized for thewhite community as well as events for their
own family and friends. Sunday wasoften a day of rest and church sessions.
This day became when enslaved people withbarbecue for themselves. Thus, barbecue
(06:26):
culture became an integral part of AfricanAmerican traditions. Today, celebrations like June
teenth often center around barbecue, underlyingthe importance of barbecue within Black culture.
After the Civil War, thousands oftalented cooks in rural areas and small towns
brought their barbecue tradition two hungry Southerners. Such examples was an African American cookbook
(06:49):
author by the name of Abbey Fisher, who was born in the slavery in
South Carolina in eighteen thirty two andshared her cooking skills wild on plantation kitchens
after she obtained her freedom. Shepublished a cookbook in eighteen eighty one named
What Miss Fisher knows about old Southerncooking. The cookbook does not contain any
(07:10):
barbecue recipes, which is understandable becausebarbecuing was traditionally done by men outside in
pits. However, one barbecue recipestands out. It is called game sauce.
The recipe calls for the student apeck of plums after they're moving the
stones with onions, vinegar, sugar, cayenne, black pepper, cinnamon,
and salt, simmering the mixture fora full day, and she states that
(07:33):
she will have the best barbecue saucein the world. In the years after
mascipation, black barbecue traditions continued.While the names did not make the newspaper
of other historical records, being apitmaster was at heigh demand skill and as
free to African Americans began they formedtheir own communities. They passed down this
(07:55):
craft to the younger generations, andthose traditions became integral into Black culture.
Over time, Black cuisine and barbecuetradition became an essential part of larger American
society, particularly in the southern UnitedStates, where it is now known as
Southern barbecue. However, this adoptioncame with issues like cultural appropriation and a
(08:16):
commodization. Today, barbecue has becomeincreasingly popular within mainstream American society. It's
considered an integral part of American cuisine. However, the widespread recognition often overlooks
and glosses over the origins within Blackculture. As a result, the origins
of barbecue is often changed or evencompletely forgotten. Also, barbecue has become
(08:43):
an increasingly profitable business, and withthis it's cultural significance it's washed away any
wave of commercial interests. Often,mainstream American barbecue business cherishes barbecue as purely
American while hiding the Black history behindits influence. Despite the appropriation, the
authorization, and economization, the traditionof barbecue still holds a special place within
(09:09):
Black culture. It represents unity,resistance, strength, and freedom. This
deep cultural meaning can be seen atBlack family reunions, church gatherings, and
other social events where barbecue is acrucial element. Moving from a survival strategy
and enslaved Black community to a popularAmerican tradition, barbecue shows the strength of
(09:33):
shared culinary traditions and how they influenceAmerica's cultural identity. Thank you, this
has been one Mike. I'm yourhost country Boy. You like stories like
that, you can find more storieslike this one Mike hisstory dot com.
Also support the channel YouTube Patreon ifyou like. Also, if you like
to support channel, you can doso YouTube or pick. If you'd like
(09:54):
to support Channey, you can doso it. Buy me coffee on my
patriar page. Give us five dotarson our podcast whatd YouTube Channel pace
Have you ever wondered why black peoplelove barbecue so much? Well, there's
historical reason behind it. And ifyou're enjoy stories like this, you can
find more stories like this well mycaretreat dot com. Also, do you
like support the channel, You coulddo so my Boby Coffee on my Patreon
page. Interscription below give us fivestyles on Apple podcasts and support to YouTube
channel. But without further ado,let's get start it. The origins of
(00:26):
barbecue as we know it can betraced back to native tribes in the Caribbean
and their indigenous cooking methods. Thefirst Spanish cholottanizers embarked on their New World
voyages in the fifteenth century. Theywere fascinated by the techniques employed by the
indigenous t you know people. TheNative Americans would slow cooked their meat over
wooden structures over a pit of fire. This method was turned barbeca, and
(00:50):
this enthrawled colonizes so much that theyincorporated barbecoa into that Spanish lexicon, with
it eventually becoming the word barbecue.The story barbecue doesn't end with Spanish colonizers.
These explorers took the cooking method ofbarbecoa with them to North America,
where it was adopted by the localpeople and colonizers alike. The first known
(01:11):
written mention of pork barbecue was aroundMississippi. The book The Historical Roots of
the Yacht Knocktop Papa fifteen forty nineteensixty two authors Don Harrison Doyle wrote in
December of fifteen forty, near presentday Tupelo, Mississippi, the explorer Hernando
(01:32):
de DeSoto and the Chickasaw tribe hada feast of Spanish cook pork using the
barbecoa method. By the sixteenth andseventeenth centuries, barbecue had become an integral
part of everyday life in the southernpart of North America, where there's even
a painting from sixteenth century French explorerJacquis Lamoine that shows Native Americans in Florida
(01:55):
using a wooden frame over burning logscook a variety of foods like fish,
mammals, and reptiles. George Washington, who was once charged with beecuring meat
for his soldiers during the French andIndian Wars, even talked about barbecuing in
the Indian manner. With the arrivalof enslaved Africans to the Americans in the
(02:15):
sixteenth century. This caused a significantshift in the cultural and culinary landscape.
Forced to adapt to a strange newenvironment, these Africans learned to sustain themselves
through ingenious methods. They closely observedthe cooking methods of the Native Americans,
specifically the technique of barbecuing. Thisslow cooked method was ideal for larger cuts
(02:38):
of meat, which made it popularfor communal gatherings. It's around this time
that the groundwork was laid for theSouthern style of pit barbecuing. However,
the adaptation from the Native American techniquesof suspended racks to in pit barbecue it's
very murky. There is scant writtenreferences from the eighteenth century the Ship light
(03:00):
on this evolution, but despite thelack of documentation, it's plausible that this
moved into the ground was an inevitableprogression. Around the same time was the
introduction of unique African flavors and cookingtechniques into barbecue by the enslaved community.
Enslaved Africans didn't just learn Native Americantechniques of barbecuing, but they contributed their
(03:22):
own. Like the process of smokingmeat over a gentle flame, it was
a common practice and several African cultures, and was originally designed to preserve the
freshness of meat. This method eventuallyfused with the open pit cooking style.
They formed the basis for the barbecuestyle that we know today. Southern barbecue
(03:43):
would gain popularity around the mid seventeenhundreds on Virginia plantations and then slowly make
its weight south from there. However, it's important to know that barbecues were
not a regular event, but theywere organized around holidays, special events,
and political gas. Adrian Miller,the author of Black Smoke, a book
around the history of black barbecue,would state that by the eighteen thirties,
(04:06):
people believed that a proper barbecue requiredan African American cook and his team.
Barbecue was seen as a black experience. Furthermore, because African Americans popularized pit
cooking, they earned the title ofpit master. Originally, pitt masters were
the elderly slaves that were provisioned incooking who supervised the barbecue preparation. Later
(04:30):
on, the term pit master willbecome known more broadly. One of the
earliest known references to a pit masterwas published in September twenty second, nineteen
thirty nine, in the Daily TimesNews in Burlington, North Carolina. They
wrote that Jeter crush Field, pittmaster, will supervise the beginning of a roasting
pork for barbecue tonight at midnight.This is the first known user the word
(04:55):
pitmaster in print and now. JeterCrushfield was a white man, and it
was not uncommon for white men tobe the face of local barbecue, but
more often than not, the onesdoing the actual work were African Americans.
It also important to note that thearticle specifies that Jeter will supervise, but
regardless, it tells us that theterm pitmaster had become so wrapped into a
(05:19):
lexicon that has found its way intoa newspaper article by the nineteen thirties.
What makes enslaved africans adaptation to barbecueso ingenious was that it was built amongst
their limitations. Barbecue is a complexlaborers process that requires mastery and precision,
from building an adequate fire to keepin consistent temperature for hours to expertly handling
(05:43):
the meat to achieve a perfect blendof texture and flavor. They will often
provided the least favorable, tougher cutsof meat, and these skilled chefs used
as knowledges of seasoning and slow cookingto render these tough, overlooked cuts of
meat delicious. By the Civil War, Southerners had been barbecuing for almost two
(06:04):
centuries, and a great many ofthese cooks where African American slaves who tended
these pits and barbecues organized for thewhite community as well as events for their
own family and friends. Sunday wasoften a day of rest and church sessions.
This day became when enslaved people withbarbecue for themselves. Thus, barbecue
(06:26):
culture became an integral part of AfricanAmerican traditions. Today, celebrations like June
teenth often center around barbecue, underlyingthe importance of barbecue within Black culture.
After the Civil War, thousands oftalented cooks in rural areas and small towns
brought their barbecue tradition two hungry Southerners. Such examples was an African American cookbook
(06:49):
author by the name of Abbey Fisher, who was born in the slavery in
South Carolina in eighteen thirty two andshared her cooking skills wild on plantation kitchens
after she obtained her freedom. Shepublished a cookbook in eighteen eighty one named
What Miss Fisher knows about old Southerncooking. The cookbook does not contain any
(07:10):
barbecue recipes, which is understandable becausebarbecuing was traditionally done by men outside in
pits. However, one barbecue recipestands out. It is called game sauce.
The recipe calls for the student apeck of plums after they're moving the
stones with onions, vinegar, sugar, cayenne, black pepper, cinnamon,
and salt, simmering the mixture fora full day, and she states that
(07:33):
she will have the best barbecue saucein the world. In the years after
mascipation, black barbecue traditions continued.While the names did not make the newspaper
of other historical records, being apitmaster was at heigh demand skill and as
free to African Americans began they formedtheir own communities. They passed down this
(07:55):
craft to the younger generations, andthose traditions became integral into Black culture.
Over time, Black cuisine and barbecuetradition became an essential part of larger American
society, particularly in the southern UnitedStates, where it is now known as
Southern barbecue. However, this adoptioncame with issues like cultural appropriation and a
(08:16):
commodization. Today, barbecue has becomeincreasingly popular within mainstream American society. It's
considered an integral part of American cuisine. However, the widespread recognition often overlooks
and glosses over the origins within Blackculture. As a result, the origins
of barbecue is often changed or evencompletely forgotten. Also, barbecue has become
(08:43):
an increasingly profitable business, and withthis it's cultural significance it's washed away any
wave of commercial interests. Often,mainstream American barbecue business cherishes barbecue as purely
American while hiding the Black history behindits influence. Despite the appropriation, the
authorization, and economization, the traditionof barbecue still holds a special place within
(09:09):
Black culture. It represents unity,resistance, strength, and freedom. This
deep cultural meaning can be seen atBlack family reunions, church gatherings, and
other social events where barbecue is acrucial element. Moving from a survival strategy
and enslaved Black community to a popularAmerican tradition, barbecue shows the strength of
(09:33):
shared culinary traditions and how they influenceAmerica's cultural identity. Thank you, this
has been one Mike. I'm yourhost country Boy. You like stories like
that, you can find more storieslike this one Mike hisstory dot com.
Also support the channel YouTube Patreon ifyou like. Also, if you like
to support channel, you can doso YouTube or pick. If you'd like
(09:54):
to support Channey, you can doso it. Buy me coffee on my
patriar page. Give us five dotarson our podcast whatd YouTube Channel pace
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