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Archive story

American barbecue is not one recipe, but a family of regional traditions rooted in Indigenous Caribbean barbacoa, Native and European open-fire cookery, West African knowledge, and the labor and skill of enslaved and free Black pitmasters. In the South, whole animals and later pork shoulders were cooked slowly over wood and served at public gatherings, church events, political rallies, and restaurants. This representative recipe uses pork shoulder and vinegar sauce as an entry point, while the archive documents regional styles separately.