Damien Brockway, who opened the Austin barbecue truck Distant Relatives in 2020, said he was inspired by the creative ferment of Austin’s barbecue scene. After a career spent in fine dining, he began to study cuisines of the African diaspora and his own heritage. Mr. Brockway’s team uses techniques enslaved Africans brought to plantations in the Caribbean and American South to cook dishes like roasted peanuts and pulled pork with tamarind molasses barbecue sauce. “It was more like the process educated me.”***Regional distinctions in Texas barbecue today go beyond what kind of wood fuels the smokers — post oak? — and often reflect the demographics of the areas where the barbecue is made.

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Persons: Damien Brockway, ” Locations: Caribbean, American, Texas, Houston