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BBQ in the BayBBQ in the Bay

Summertime is made for barbecue—for family cookouts, campfire grilling and backyard smokers. Here in the multicultural Bay Area, we know about “low and slow” methods for brisket and pork ribs, and our flea markets, underground pop-ups and bootstrapped catering operations contain multitudes. This series of features and essays celebrates the many delicious ways our communities come together around giant portions of slow-cooked meat, from the lechon spit to amateur barbecue circuits and the backyard barbacoa pit.

Project Manager/Editor: Luke Tsai | Contributors: Raynato Castro, Alan Chazaro, Alex Culang, Pendarvis Harshaw, Beth LaBerge, Kristen Murakoshi, Rocky Rivera | Designer: Rebecca Kao | Engagement Producer: Coco Keevan | Additional Editing: Sarah Hotchkiss, Gabe Meline, Emma Silvers, Nastia Voynovskaya | Additional Engagement: Justin Ebrahemi, Ria Garewal

Plate with two different styles of barbacoa, white and red. Behind the plate are stylized, illustrated blue flames. Text reads, "BBQ in the Bay."

Searching for Barbacoa: Underground Lessons From the Richmond Flea Market

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A whole roast pig being carved at the table, its head still intact; an illustration of stylized blue flames shoots up behind it. Text reads, "BBQ in the Bay."

For Filipino Americans, Lechon Is at the Heart of Every Party

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A man in a work apron holds the lid of a barbecue smoker, as stylized blue flames shoot up behind him. Text reads, "BBQ in the Bay."

American Alchemy: The Bay Area Welder Who's Building Smokers and Changing Lives

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Illustration of a rack of ribs on a plate of greens. The text reads "BBQ in the Bay."

The BBQ King of Pleasant Hill

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A close-up of a large piece of roasted lamb on the bone, with stylized blue flames against a yellow-orange backdrop. The text reads, "BBQ in the Bay."

The Real Mongolian Barbecue

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A whole roast pig on a rotisserie spit with an illustration of blue flames emerging from behind it. The text above reads, "BBQ in the Bay."

In the Multicultural Bay Area, There Are a Thousand Ways to Barbecue

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