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Bacon, Barbecue, and Religious Bans: The 10,000 Year Saga of Pork
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Bacon, Barbecue, and Religious Bans: The 10,000 Year Saga of Pork

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It’s the world’s most popular meat- even though it’s banned by entire religions and cultures. Pork is our most divisive food- mocked, reviled, and yet at the center of our global cuisine, and for the humble pig, it’s been like this for a very long time. Ever since wild boars wandered into our very first villages, our relationship with the animal has been…complicated. Pork is responsible for some of our favorite foods, along with causing controversy, superstition, and in one absurd case, a near-world war. So today we’re diving into the topic. Trying to understand the history of our relationship with the pig, the origins of bans and prohibitions, and how pork has changed our world.

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0:00 – Introduction
1:13 – The Pig Dilemma
4:42 – The Uninvited Guest
7:35 – Wild Boar
9:42 – Cooking with Boar
15:22 – Taste Test
18:41 – From Boar to Pig
21:36 – The First Recipes
24:03 – An Austronesian Feast
30:22 – Myths and Legends
35:54 – The Controversy Begins
39:01 – Souvlaki
44:21 – Words
47:17 – Pork in the Middle Ages
50:11 – The Butcher Shop
52:24 – Whole Pig Breakdown
1:04:44 – The New World
1:07:06 – Barbecue
1:09:40 – A Sneaky Pulled Pork Sandwich
1:12:44 – Pig Wars
1:14:50 – The East
1:16:41 – The Game Changer
1:19:40 – A Chinese Pork Dinner
1:25:57 – We Are the Worst
1:29:19 – Revenge of the Pigs
1:30:40 – Credits and Post-Credits

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Thumbnail Photo Credit: Ulrich Mueller, Dreamstime

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37 Comments

  2. @noreenneu837

    My gawd I love your channel! The depth of your research is mind boggling. I love food. I love history. I love learning new things so for me OTR has it all!

  3. @TheMonaro

    15:40 Watching city folk trying to define the difference between wild boar and pork is sooo frustrating. Big difference is breeding and therefore size and it will be tough or more chewy as they note. As for Gamey is because of what the animal eats ie wild grasses or I assume in this instance the wild boar kept on a farm will be smaller but bring fed "better" food it tastes similar. How much running around does it have to do. Is the animal traveling a long distance for water or regularly trying to out run a cougar? If I take a domestic cow and only feed it on tough dry grasses it will taste gamey while if I feed it on sweet oats it will taste sweet. You may start an animal on tougher grasses and finish it sweeter oats… Age too is a factor

  6. @dawidlolsky2824

    In city in Poland where my friend lives wild boars started entering local dumpsters and they kind of domesticated themselfs, they are not aggressive even when they're with their youngs. In my part of a country if I see a boar with youngs it's time to run away

  8. @ddtjahjanto

    Try to make rendang of wild boar, absolutely delicious… Or slow-roast of wild boar ribs in Balinese "base genep" spices

  10. @maulwurf62

    Moral complications? What? Only when I cut the line at the BBQ stand! Seriously…the veggos should do their thing and us omnivores will do ours. That being said, the way some of our „farm“ animals are being raised is a big problem.

  16. @TheKos2Kos

    The real question is how much does a feral pig taste compared to a wild boar. At least here in the south (USA), people still hunt feral pigs

  18. @vinsblack2

    very educational channel from history to food culture,I've learns a lot of knowledge to this video,big up from Korea👍

  19. @danielco7340

    In the Philippines, when we were colonized by Spain and were being Christianized, eating pork also meant you were converted into Catholicism from Islam which was already present as Sultanates when the Spanish arrived. As fiestas were celebrated as feasts for the Patron saints of a certain barangay or the Sto. Niño (infant Jesus), eating lechon thus became a significant part of celebrations as if celebrating Christianization itself.

  24. @normfarris3430

    You are very considerate to talk about your qualms about cooking pork. But it would impossible to talk about pork without cooking them

  28. @dad1844

    just saying. Do one on fire next. Methods of cookings different methods of cooking how they evolved and changed throughout history would be neat!!!

  29. @brennencox516

    3:30 In this section you should've mentioned that in China (PRC), pork is so ubiquitous to meat, that if you say "I want meat" you won't be asked which meat you want, 肉 = 猪肉

  30. @photopics

    I've been watching your videos for some time now. I live in North Carolina. As you may know, we claim to be the BBQ capital of the world. But the debate goes on as to this claim and who has the best – Eastern BBQ or Western BBQ. Memphis, North Carolina, or Texas. I love pork, and I love that it is so big in my state. I was really amazed that you could get so many different cuisines in Thailand. I would have never guessed that the food landscape there was so varied.

  35. @VelikiHejter

    That is so funny to me, horses are just looking noble and dignified, they are not that bright, actually, far from being the smartest domestic animal. That honor goes to the humble pig, comparable to apes by intelligence. Pigs are also not that humble, they are vicious, fast, strong, durable, and extremely smart. A pig will gladly eat you if it gets the chance. Pig will also not kill you first, they will start eating you while you are still alive, kicking and screaming.

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