Black Smoke

“Black Smoke chronicles a rich culinary contribution. . . . [Miller] details the history of barbecue back to its Indigenous roots in pre-Columbian days, and recounts how it became part of the culture of enslaved Africans.”—New York Times

“A trailblazing new volume that catalogues the contributions of Black men and women to American barbecue . . . rigorous scholarship. . . . Miller is creating a lexicon to ensure that these Black contributions to American culture can’t be written out of history.”—Washington Post

“Fascinating . . . Sets the record straight on who actually created barbecue.”—Daily Beast

“Exuberant . . . studious but not stuffy. . . . Miller never forgets that barbecue is, at its heart, about pleasure: about smoke, sizzle, and joy. Black Smoke is scholarship with a little sauce on its chin.”—Garden and Gun

“Miller brings African Americans back to center of smoked-meat narrative.”—Houston Chronicle

“An engaging storyteller, Miller brings his subjects to vivid life . . . [Black Smoke also] provides plenty of mouthwatering recipes by Black barbecue artists for sauce, meat and fish, and side dishes as well as profiles of unsung Black barbecue trailblazers across three centuries. . . . A highly entertaining, celebratory, and essential reader for history buffs and barbecue lovers alike.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Miller marshals considerable evidence to show in Black Smoke, his thorough, scholarly, enjoyable study [revealing that] barbecue is deeply rooted in African-American history and culture. . . . [The book] highlights the fundamental racial interconnectedness that lies at the heart of American life, and the American table.”—The Economist

“A must for serious barbecue scholars and a solid choice for any food historian.”—Library Journal

“While other barbecue books share knowledge in the form of recipes and steps, or history as told from a white perspective, Miller gets us closer to seeing the full picture, and to acknowledging that the story is richer, and more delicious, with these shared stories.”—Local Palate

“Long before the Aaron Franklins of the world had smoked their first briskets, untold generations of Black American pitmasters laid the groundwork for that great and uniquely American culinary tradition we call barbecue. Bravo and thanks, Adrian Miller, for this brilliant book, which shines a light on America’s forgotten barbecue heroes and a new generation of Black chefs and pitmasters who are reinventing a style of cooking that’s as old as America itself.”—Steven Raichlen, author of the Barbecue Biblecookbook series and host of Project Fire and Project Smoke on PBS