I had never heard of American BBQ until I read Michael Pollan's 2013 book Cooked . The first quarter of this book is devoted to "fire" and is about the story of whole hog BBQ cooking, both the smoking and the changing methods of pig farming. To be honest, I was more interested in the other sections: water (casserole), air (bread) and earth (fermentation), but I struggled through that first section so that I could review the book. Several years later I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to travel to the USA for a work conference and study tour. I didn't get to choose the destinations, but we happened to travel through Oklahoma, North Carolina and Missouri, three of the BBQ states. I remembered reading that book and seeing as I had to visit those states, I made it my mission to eat authentic American BBQ in each state. In Oklahoma we tried smoked beef brisket, salmon and sausage. In North Carolina it was smoked p...