RURAL TENNESSEE

Whole Hog: A Slow-Smoked Story Cycle by Joe York

Artrageous Cookers

Bill's Bar-B-Q

Bobby's Bar-B-Q

Foster's Bar-B-Q

Hays Smoke House

Helen's Barbecue

Joyner's Bar B.Q.

My Three Sons Bar-B-Q

Papa KayJoe's

Sam's Bar-B-Q

Scott's Bar-B-Que

interviews by April Grayson
photos by Amy Evans

This project funded by a grant from the National Pork Board

Rural Tennessee Barbecue

Memphis is the epicenter of urban barbecue, standing ribs and shoulders above all other Tennessee cities. But rural, western Tennessee matters too. Here, they smoke the whole hog, a tradition that is as ancient as the woods, requiring a commitment of time, smoke and sweat. In the spring of 2003, Amy Evans, April Grayson and Joe York hit the road to find the pit masters who still swear by this kind of slow smoking. What follows is their documentation of a culinary tradition that, against all odds, still thrives in communities like Jack’s Creek.