Billy Ruiz is holding his hand over a 550-degree Fahrenheit fire.
It might be low-tech, but Ruiz is old school—and so is the cuisine he prepares: California’s Santa Maria barbecue.
California’s Homegrown Barbecue Has a Centuries-Old Story to Tell
Santa Maria-style barbecue, a venerated specialty of the Central Coast, is a triumph of meat and red oak smoke born from the Spanish vaqueros of the past
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The open-air pit room at Santa Maria Elks Lodge in Santa Maria, Calif. Courtesy of Santa Maria Valley
By Eric Lucas
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