From Barbycu to Barbecue: The Untold History of an American Tradition

An award-winning barbecue cook boldly asserts that barbecuing is a unique American tradition that was not imported. The origin story of barbecue is a popular topic with a ravenous audience, but commonly held understandings of barbecue are often plagued by half-truths and misconceptions. From Barbycu to Barbecue offers a fresh new look at the story of southern barbecuing. Award winning barbecue cook Joseph R. Haynes sets out to correct one of the most common barbecue myths, the "Caribbean Origins Theory," which holds that the original southern barbecuing technique was imported from the Caribbean to what is today the American South. Rather, Haynes argues, the southern whole carcass barbecuing technique that came to define the American tradition developed via direct and indirect collaboration between Native Americans, Europeans, and free and enslaved people of African descent during the seventeenth century. Haynes's barbycu-to-barbecue history analyzes historical sources throughout the Americas that show that the southern barbecuing technique is as unique to the United States as jerked hog is to Jamaica and barbacoa is to Mexico. A recipe in each chapter provides a contemporary interpretation of a historical technique.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Chapter 1 Hernando's Barbacoa: Spanish Explorers and Outdoor Cooking in Latin America Chapter 2 Herbert's Patta: The Birth of Jerked Pork in Jamaica Chapter 3 Jean-Baptiste's Boucan: A Seventeen-Century "Caribbean" Picnic Chapter 4 Beauchamp's Barbecado: Native American Food Preservation Chapter 5 Richard's Barbycu: The English Word Barbecue Chapter 6 George's Barbicue: The Beginnings of Southern Barbecue Chapter 7 Juba's 'Cue: The Original Southern Barbecue Chapter 8 Ned's Barbacue: Transatlantic Misunderstandings Chapter 9 Sam's Barbecue: Uncle Sam's Barbecue Tradition Acknowledgments Notes Selected Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Joseph R. Haynes is an award-winning barbecue cook, a Kansas City Barbeque Society Master Certified Barbecue Judge, and the author of Virginia Barbecue: A History and Brunswick Stew: A Virginia Tradition. He lives in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Review :
In From Barbycu to Barbecue, Joseph R. Haynes's exhaustive research gives some much-needed fresh air to barbecue's early, and hazy, history. This is a welcome addition to a growing barbecue canon." —Adrian Miller, James Beard Award-winning author and certified barbecue judge "From Barbycu to Barbecue is the major missing link to understanding true barbecue in the United States. Haynes' years of research and analysis in evaluating the invention of Barbecue is clearly exhibited. This book is necessary for people that want to get the most accurate understanding of barbecue history available." —Howard J. Conyers, Ph.D., barbecue expert "In a field which is still colored by invented traditions, rumors masquerading as facts, Haynes's work stands out as a properly historical act. He has done a fantastic job in finding new material to illuminate more precisely the African, indigenous, and European influences in American barbecue traditions. This is a work that pushes beyond the speculations of the past to establish the parameters of 'the barbecue archive' far more firmly than before." —Andrew Warnes, author of Savage Barbecue: Race, Culture, and the Invention of America's First Food "At first glance, Haynes's assertions may strike some as absurd, but once you read his work and consider his meticulous research, it becomes clear that it's not Haynes that's off the wall but rather the current understanding of the mainstream concerning barbecue's birthplace. . . . Alongside the likes of barbecue scholars Adrian Miller, Daniel Vaughn, and Andrew Warnes, Haynes deserves a much-earned place at the pit where the in-depth conversations of barbecue's history are being had. His commonsense conclusions backed up by his commitment to research result in writing that is essential to better understanding the origins of barbecue." —Joshua Fitzwater, editor and publisher, Southern Grit