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America's Melting Pot
Barbecue hero image coming soon
1600s-present - Indigenous Caribbean cooks, West African cooks, and Black Southern pitmasters
A foundational Southern barbecue recipe for smoked pork shoulder seasoned with a dry rub and served with a vinegar-forward sauce.
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Difficulty
Advanced
Prep time
30 minutes plus resting
Cook time
8 to 10 hours
Total time
9 to 11 hours
Servings
10 to 12
Region
The American South
Era introduced
1600s-present
Introduced by
Indigenous Caribbean cooks, West African cooks, and Black Southern pitmasters
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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.
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