The story of barbecue touches almost every aspect of our history. It involves Indigenous cultures, the colonial era, slavery, the Civil War, the settling of the West, the coming of immigrants, the Great Migration, the rise of the automobile, the expansion of suburbia, and the revolution of gender roles. It encompasses every region and demographic group. It is entwined with our politics and tangled with our race relations.
“Smokelore: A Short History of Barbecue in America,” by Jim Auchmutey, follows the tasty and controversial history of barbecue in America from the ox roast that celebrated the groundbreaking for the U.S. Capitol building to the first barbecue launched into space almost 200 years later. The narrative covers the golden age of political barbecues, the evolution of the barbecue restaurant, the development of backyard cooking, and the recent rediscovery of the traditional barbecue craft. Along the way, the author considers the mystique of barbecue sauces, the spectacle of barbecue contests, the global influences on American barbecue, the roles of race and gender in barbecue culture, and the many ways barbecue has been portrayed in our art and literature.
It’s a spicy story that involves noted Americans from George Washington and Abraham Lincoln to Louis Armstrong, Lucille Ball, Elvis Presley, Martin Luther King Jr., and Barack Obama—as well as a lot of ordinary people who are superb barbecue chefs like you and me. In addition to the cultural and historic aspects of this delightful work, it is a very complete recipe book. It includes recipes for rubs, sauces, Brunswick stew, Kentucky burgoo, barbecue beans, and many others.
Several of the recipes are rare and have not been available to the public before this printing. The recipes reveal the secrets of some of the best restaurants in the country and answer the question of many who have dined in these “out of the way” treasures—“How in the world did they do that?”
From big feeds of thousands to grilling on the deck or in the backyard, from beef in Texas to mutton in Kentucky (with “Black Dip”), from BBQ contests and competitions to your favorite Friday evening on the back deck, “Smokelore” covers the subject with humor and credibility. The author even suggests that we re-think the saying, “As American as Apple Pie” (since the British invented it anyway) by changing it to “As American as Barbecue.”
Georgia Writers Museum is pleased to announce “4B’s Bash— Barbecue, Beer, Books, and Band,” a “Meet the Author” event featuring Jim Auchmutey. It will be held on Saturday, May 7, at 6 p.m. at The Edgewater on Lake Sinclair, the newest addition to Oconee Springs Park, located at 109 Spring Rd., Eatonton. Barbecue will be furnished by Fresh Air Barbecue of Jackson, GA, named the “All-Time Best BBQ in Georgia” by WSB Channel 2 Television after conducting a statewide search. Music will be provided by the Tom Hill Trio, featuring bass player Annette Harris Shakespeare, the greatgreat-granddaughter of Joel Chandler Harris. For tickets, contact www. georgiawritersmuseum. org.
Dan Kelhoffer is a local actor, singer, and wild game expert. You will frequently find him at Georgia Writers Museum events as the friendly bartender.
– Contributed