Carnivorous curriculum
6/28/2013 – by Bryan Salvage
Once viewed as a regional US phenomenon, barbecue products have evolved in recent decades into a nationwide staple both at retail and foodservice. The barbecue concept has become so popular it is the focus of a freshman course at Texas A&M Univ., College Station, Texas. To date, about 80 students have enrolled in: UGST 181 Texas Barbecue.
Barbecue has a cult following, insists Jeffrey Savell, one of the course instructors and Regents Professor; E.M. “Manny” Rosenthal Chairholder, holder of the Cintron Univ. Professorship in Undergraduate Teaching Excellence; and Leader, Meat Science Section, Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M Univ.
“Good barbecue is difficult to prepare and has a mystery to it. It is where great meat, seasonings and smoke come together,” Savell explains. “Barbecue is more art than science.”
