If you are wondering why you can’t keep up with the low ’n’ slow techniques cropping up in restaurants around town, it’s because American barbecue is a nuanced beast.
Drawing heavily on the cooking traditions across the vast area that is the southern states, the general term 'barbecue' is based many different things from livestock availability to the origin of the population.
For instance, in Carolina alone there are at least four styles of cooking meat and making the sauces that go with. In South Carolina, the famous mustard sauce has its roots in the generations of German immigrants who settled in Carolina between Columbia and the coast. Meanwhile, North Carolina is all about using vinegar to cut through the white and dark meat combined from using a whole hog.
Florida crisps up seafood, Memphis is the land of smoking, and so on.
Once you delve in to low ’n’ slow, whether you are grilling in the backyard or pan frying sausages, these traditions from the American south can change the way you slow cook meat.
See the comprehensive A Guide to Regional BBQ of the USA via Lucky Peach (here).
Image: Pulled pork and Hot Smoky Lillie's Q Barbecue Sauce, courtesy of Lillie's Q
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