Photography by Thanin Viriyaki
Perhaps more than any other American food, barbecue is often a matter of geography. Texans argue over post oak and mesquite with the fervor of theologians parsing scripture. Entire regions stake their identities on sauces, rubs and smoking techniques. The mythology suggests permanence: traditions handed down intact, preserved in smoke like artifacts sealed in amber.
The reality, of course, is far messier and more interesting than that…