Slow-cooked, pit-smoked barbecue is America’s original comfort food, and over the centuries it has evolved into an edible art form—spice-rubbed, smoke-tinged brisket served at sprawling Texas meat emporiums; smoky pulled pork sandwiches delivered by carhops in North Carolina; racks of meaty baby backs and spareribs prepared by grill-obsessed home cooks in their backyards (shellacked with secret sauce, of course). Every corner of the United States has its own spin on this indigenous American food, and there’s no better way to spend the summer than sampling it all. In this special package, we celebrate the people, places, and foods that make the world of barbecue so darned delicious and interesting.
Barbecue
Video: Barbecue Nation
In This Issue
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In East Los Angeles, barbacoa is a weekly ritual.
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Competition barbecue is a sport, an obsession, and a whole way of life.
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In Texas, barbecue is as much about banter as it is food.
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Chicago's distinctive barbecue traveled north with the blues.
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SAVEUR photographer Landon Nordeman narrates his portrait series.
Regional Styles
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Five traditional American barbecue styles.
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Successful barbecue relies on controlling two variables: heat and smoke.
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Essential skills for any pitmaster, amateur or pro.
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A bumper crop of books on barbecue that are must-owns.
Tools and Techniques
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A pantry's worth of Dixieland ingredients come together in the Lane cake.
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Bibimbap is colorful, refreshing, and infinitely varied.
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Two new cookbooks honor the simple and seasonal.
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In Milwaukee, America's great lager-making tradition lives on.
Also in This Issue
