France has likely the world’s most revered culinary tradition. It is country where just about everyone appreciates quality food and where bakeries, bistros and fine restaurants abound. Thus, it must have come as a bit of a surprise when Lewisville, North Carolina resident Cap Anderson stumbled upon the following scene during a recent visit to Villeneuve de Formigueres in the French Pyrenees near the border with Spain.
According to Anderson, “The village was having a medieval festival featuring, you guessed it…pig.” As shown above pork was cooked on a spit over coals laid right on the ground. Not too dissimilar for early American barbecue. And what was the side dish offered with the pork? A stew of “potatoes, beans, onions, tomatoes from what I could see,” reports Anderson. How do you say “Brunswick stew” en francais?
Sorry, Virginia, Brunswick stew was invented in France.
Back to the pig. After it was cooked, the pork was pulled and sliced and placed on small grills to finish. See more of Cap Anderson’s photos below. And for any of you Freedom Fry-Focuses Francophobes, it looks like you need to give the French another chance! Plus, French cooks have long been known for their use of virtually every part of the animals they cook, so perhaps there is a natural kinship between North Carolina’s whole hog barbecue traditions and those of the French. Vive la France indeed.
You might be wondering how France’s take on Carolina barbecue tasted. “We did not arrive in time to purchase tickets for the meal,” offers Anderson rather unhelpfully. Oh well, I guess I’ll just need to check out French BBQ for myself…
Filed under: 'Cue Culture | Tagged: International, Outside NC, Wood-cooked |
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Texas BBQ in France
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