Barbecue’s beginnings
St. Lawrence, who was burned to death on a large grate over a fire, is said to have remarked to his tormentors: “Turn me over, I’m done on this side.” Such audacity — not to mention savagery — not only ensured that the tale would be handed down through generations, it made St. Lawrence of Rome the patron saint of barbecue. Lawrence’s story was among those shared Tuesday by famed barbecue aficionado Steven Raichlen, who spoke before a packed house at Harvard’s Geological Lecture Hall. Raichlen, author of “The Barbecue Bible” (1998) and “Planet Barbecue” (2010), took the audience on a tour spanning millions of years and thousands of miles, touching on barbecue’s origins among early humans and on different barbecue customs around the world. The talk was sponsored by the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. Raichlen was introduced by Professor Richard Wrangham, whose research focuses on the idea that cooking, because...