Florida seafood gets all the hype, but look around and you’ll see that many Floridians also have a fondness for pork.
The Cuban sandwich, layered with ham and roast pork, is available everywhere from gas stations to restaurants with white tablecloths. Then there are events that celebrate pork, like the Tampa Pig Jig and Plant City Pig Jam. And we challenge you to drive more than a few miles without smelling a whiff of smoke from a roadside barbecue stand.
But picture a time when there was no barbecued pork in Florida—when there weren’t pigs at all.
That was the scene more than 500 years ago. It wasn’t until Spanish settlers disembarked from their ships, along with the pigs they’d brought on board, that our state’s indigenous people ever laid eyes on hogs.
Kevin Kokomoor, Ph. D., details this history in his book La Florida: Catholics, Conquistadores, and Other American Origin Stories. In the book’s final chapter, Dr. Kokomoor argues that the barbecue we know and love today traces its origins to the merging of Spanish pigs and Native American cooking methods in the 16th century.
Dalia recently spoke with Dr. Kokomoor, a Florida native who teaches history at Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina. In this conversation, they discuss why Spaniards brought pigs to North America and the consequences for indigenous people. Dr. Kokomoor also makes a case that Thanksgiving has its roots in Florida, and he shares his favorite ways to enjoy barbecue.
Related episodes:
- From the Big House to the White House: Dr. Martha Bireda on Foodways of the Enslaved
- Roll Up Your Sleeves for Some SERIOUS BBQ at DR. BBQ!
- Fred Opie on the “Fascinating” Roots of Florida Food
- How Florida Became “the Birthplace of Fusion Cuisine”
- Chef Kenny Gilbert on Southern Food, Teaching Kids to Barbecue and Cooking for Oprah
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