The Slaw and the Slow Cooked : Culture and Barbecue in the Mid-South

Texas has its barbecue tradition, and a library of books to go with it. Same with the Carolinas. The mid-South, however, is a region with as many opinions as styles of cooking. In __The Slaw and the Slow Cooked__, editors James Veteto and Edward Maclin seek to right a wrong--namely, a deeper understanding of the larger experience of barbecue in this legendary American culinary territory. In developing the book, Veteto and Maclin cast a wide net for divergent approaches. Food writer John Edge introduces us to Jones Bar-B-Q Diner in Marianna, Arkansas, a possibly century-old restaurant serving top-notch pork and simultaneously challenging race and class boundaries. Kristen Bradley-Shurtz explores the 150-plus-year tradition of the St. Patrick's Irish Picnic in McEwen, Tennessee. And no barbecue book would be complete without an insider's story, provided here by Jonathan Deutsch's "embedded" reporting inside a competitive barbecue team. Veteto and Maclin conclude with a glimpse into the future of barbecue culture: online, in the smoker, and fresh from the farm. __The Slaw and the Slow Cooked__ stands as a challenge to barbecue aficionados and a statement on the Mid-South's important place at the table. Intended for food lovers, anthropologists, and sociologists alike, __The Slaw and the Slow Cooked__ demonstrates barbecue's status as a common language of the South. Cover 1 Title Page 4 Table of Contents 6 Foreword: From Coa to Barbacoa to Barbecue 8 Acknowledgments 12 1. Smoked Meat and the Anthropology of Food: An Introduction 16 I. Traditional and Contemporary Landscapes of Mid-South Barbecue 38 2. A History of Barbecue in the Mid-South Region 40 3. Patronage and the Pits: A Portrait, in Black and White, of Jones Bar-B-Q Diner in Marianna, Arkansas 58 4. Piney Woods Traditions at the Crossroads: Barbecue and Regional Identity in South Arkansas and North Louisiana 66 5. Priests, Pork Shoulders, and Chicken Halves: Barbecue for a Cause at St. Patrick's Irish Picnic 80 6. Identity, Authenticity, Persistence, and Loss in the West Tennessee Whole-Hog Barbecue Tradition 98 II. Old/New Barbecue Moving Forward 120 7. The Changing Landscape of Mid-South Barbecue 122 8. Swine by Design: Inside a Competition Barbecue Team 132 9. Barbecue as Slow Food 166 10. Southern Barbecue Sauce and Heirloom Tomatoes 182 11. Mid-South Barbecue in the Digital Age and Sustainable Future Directions 196 Contributors 214 Index 218 This collection of eleven articles on contemporary cultural anthropology explores the world of barbecue in the mid-southern states of the US. The work is divided into two sections covering traditional cooking and the history of smoked meat, and new influences on traditional cooking. The essays discuss topics such as barbecue and regional identity in south Arkansas and north Louisiana; identity, authenticity, persistence and loss; barbecue and sustainable future directions; and modern mid-southern cooking competitions. Chapters include black and white photographs. The contributors are academics in anthropology and related subjects from primarily southern universities. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Texas has its barbecue tradition, and a library of books to go with it. Same with the Carolinas. The mid-South, however, is a region with as many opinions as styles of cooking. In this book, James Veteto and Edward Maclin provide a deeper understanding of the larger experience of barbecue in this legendary American culinary territory.