Southern Fork Sustenance: A Conversation with MacArthur Fellow J. Drew Lanham about SC Barbecue & Beyond
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06/09/23 • 53 min
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J. Drew Lanham is a 2022 MacArthur Fellowship Recipient, an Alumni Distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Master Teacher at Clemson University, an ornithologist, poet, and essayist, and he’s also a native of Edgefield, SC, where he grew up on lots of fresh veggies from the garden and the occasional Krispy Kreme doughnut from trips to Augusta. I first encountered him like many of you will today -- on a podcast, This is Love with Phoebe Judge to be exact -- and his joyful and accurate renditions of birdcalls sustained me through that dark spring of 2020 when the world was shut down and reeling. Since his work resonates with me so much, I invited him to chat about food, and when he accepted, he decided to read two never-before released poems on the subject. We dive deep into BBQ and SC Foodways here, as he invites us to consider the intersection of race, history, identity, and the very nature of language to name a thing, be it a pig or a person.
J. Drew Lanham is a 2022 MacArthur Fellowship Recipient, an Alumni Distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Master Teacher at Clemson University, an ornithologist, poet, and essayist, and he’s also a native of Edgefield, SC, where he grew up on lots of fresh veggies from the garden and the occasional Krispy Kreme doughnut from trips to Augusta. I first encountered him like many of you will today -- on a podcast, This is Love with Phoebe Judge to be exact -- and his joyful and accurate renditions of birdcalls sustained me through that dark spring of 2020 when the world was shut down and reeling. Since his work resonates with me so much, I invited him to chat about food, and when he accepted, he decided to read two never-before released poems on the subject. We dive deep into BBQ and SC Foodways here, as he invites us to consider the intersection of race, history, identity, and the very nature of language to name a thing, be it a pig or a person.
Previous Episode
Travel Journal: Shrimp on Shem Creek (Mt. Pleasant, SC)
The following is a travel journal entry recorded on location and delivered to you the same day. I hope you enjoy this mini-installment from the road during my Southern Fork Summer, and look for a regular full size interview to drop this Friday.
Next Episode
Hector Garate: Palmira BBQ (Charleston, SC)
We delve into BBQ again this week, not into its past but its delicious future. Up and coming pitmaster Hector Garate of Palmira BBQ is definitely part of the cuisine’s next chapter. In Charleston, SC, he’s creating sustainable farm-to-table barbecue with old school wood fire techniques and Puerto Rican Influences. He’s in love with all parts of the cooking process, so much so that he often purchases whole animals to break down into the specific cuts he wishes to serve, and that meat he smokes in a custom cooker he built himself. Hector specializes in smoking beef cheeks, brisket, whole hog and house-made sausages, and partners with local farms for sourcing. As he builds momentum for his brick-and-mortar restaurant set to open this year, he is holding pop-ups and collaborations with other BBQ folks around the country and at home, and he routinely sells out. In short, he’s on fire for the medium, and that passion shows in every bite.
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