The most gratifying part of writing any book is thanking the people who helped make it possible. The Barbecue! Bible involved a proverbial cast of thousands.
First and foremost, I thank my wife, Barbara, who brought me to an environment where I could grill all year round (Miami), accompanied me on much of the world’s barbecue trail, and relived it in a three-year frenzy of recipe testing in our backyard. Barb, you’re the best.
Next, I want to thank my indefatigable assistant, Nancy Loseke, and the whole crew at or directed by the people at Workman Publishing.
Peter Workman encouraged me to expand my original and rather modest proposal into a book of biblical proportions. Words simply aren’t adequate, to thank my editor, Suzanne Rafer, who patiently wrestled a manuscript of more than two thousand pages into a book that actually fit between two covers, working with unwavering diligence, dedication, and verve to meet an impossible deadline. It’s easy to see why authors would kill to work with her.
Then, too, there’s the amazing Barbara Mateer (may I call you “Hawkeye”?), who spearheaded the revision with her customary thoroughness and good humor; the creative David Matt, who designed the lively cover of the revised edition; the prodigious Lisa Hollander, designer of the interior pages assisted by Carolyn Casey; crackerjack photo editor, Anne Kerman; the unerring photographer, Ben Fink, assisted by food stylist Jamie Kimm, and prop stylist Roy Finamore; and Cathy Dorsey, whose index made sense of it all.
It is always a pleasure to work with Workman publicists Ron Longe and Jen Pare Neugeboren, and the irrepressible Susan Schwartzman. As always, thanks go to Jenny Mandel, Pat Upton, Walter Weintz, David Schiller, and all my other colleagues at Workman.
Special thanks to Niman Ranch for their generous contribution of some of the best meats available. Their beautiful cuts helped make my recipes look delicious as well as taste great. To order directly from them, visit their website: www.nimanranch.com.
I was also assisted by a great staff of recipe testers, including Elida Proenza and Roger Thrailkill. Boris Djokic kept the computers humming and offered insight into the grilling of his native Yugoslavia, and my cousin David Raichlen helped with the anthropological research. While I was writing this book, my stepson Jake became a chef, and my stepdaughter Betsy became a dietitian. This is a very handy thing to have happen when you’re developing recipes for a cookbook the size of this one. Jake traded his sushi knife for grill tongs and immersed himself in the world of smoke and fire. Betsy, and her husband, Gabriel Berthin, kept me nutritionally correct and up to speed on Andean grilling. I’d like to thank my colleagues and fellow cookbook authors—both in the United States and abroad—for sharing their enormous expertise (and their favorite barbecue joints): Burton Anderson, Najmieh Batmanglij, Giuliano Bugialli, Darra Goldstein, Jessica Harris, Madhur Jaffrey, Patsy Jamieson, Nancy Harmon Jenkins, Elizabeth Karmel, John Mariani, Joan Nathan, David Rosengarten, Nicole Routhier, Julie Sahni, Mimi Sheraton, Nina Simonds, Anya Von Bremsen, Patricia Wells, and Anne Willan.
I had a lot of great chefs in my court for this project, too. The short list would include Rick Bayless, Alain Ducasse, George Germon, Vinod Kapor, Johanne Killeen, Emeril Lagasse, Mark Miller, Mark Militello, Stephan Pyles, Charlie Trotter, and, of course, Chris Schlesinger (who brought grilling into the twenty-first century). Don Hysko, formerly of Peoples Woods, educated me on the fine points of grilling with natural wood and charwood.
I’d also like to thank my friends at Weber-Stephen Products Co., first for sharing their expertise with me (not to mention the opportunity to experience sub-zero grilling at their proving grounds in Palatine, Illinois, in the middle of winter): Jim Stephen, Mike Kempster Sr., Tom Wenke, Keith Wesol, Edna Schlosser, and the inimitable Sherry Bale.
A big thanks to three special friends: Kathleen Cornelia, Katherine Kenny, and the late Milton Eber.
In researching this book, I had the help of hundreds of tourism officials and barbecue buffs both in the United States and abroad. I could never thank all the people who helped me, but I’d like to acknowledge as many as I can.
ARGENTINA: Eduardo Piva, Enrique Capozzolo, and Gloria Pacheca of the Argentina National Tourist Office.
AUSTRALIA: Peter Hackworth of the Chili Queens and New York Latin restaurant in Brisbane.
AZERBAIJAN: Peter Richards of the Hyatt Regency Baku.
BRAZIL: Sara Widness of Kaufman Widness Communications; Marius Fontena of Churrascaria Marius; Yara Castro Roberts and Belita Castro.
CHINA/HONG KONG: Trina Dingler Ebert of Aman Resorts in Hong Kong; Angela Herndon of Lou Hammond & Associates; Margaret Sheriden, formerly of the South China Morning Post.
CURAÇAO: Traci La Rosa and Mark Walsh of Peter Martin Associates, Inc.; the Curaçao Tourist Development Bureau.
FRANCE: Marion Fourestier and Robin Massee of the French Government Tourist Office.
FRENCH WEST INDIES: Myron Clement and Joe Petrocik of Clement-Petrocik Co.; the French West Indies Tourist Board; my friend Eric Troncani of the Carl Gustaf Hotel.
INDIA: T. Balakrishnan, Y. K. Jain, Seema Schahi of the Indian Goverment Tourist Office; Chef Manjit S. Gill of the Welcomgroup; chefs Nakkul Anand, Geeta Kranhke, Shishir Baijal, Gev Desai, and J. P. Singh of the Maurya Sheraton Hotel & Towers in New Delhi; chefs Mohamed Farooq and Amitabh Devendra at the Mughal Sheraton in Agra; chefs Manu Mehta and Nisar Waris of the Rajputana Palace Sheraton in Jaipur.
INDONESIA: Fauzi Bowo, Madi Chusnun, and Yuni Syafril of the Indonesia Tourist Promotion Office; William W. Wongso of the William F & B Management Co. in Jakarta.
ISRAEL: Don Weitz of the Israeli Government Tourist Office; Ehud Yonay of Greater Galilee Gourmet, Inc.
ITALY: Juliet Cruz of the Italian Trade Commission; Maria and Angelo Leocastre of the Villa Roncalli in Foligno.
JAMAICA: Patricia Hannan and Jackie Murray of the Jamaica Tourist Board; Winston Stonar of Busha Browne’s Company, Ltd.
JAPAN: Eriko Kawaguchi, M. B. Maslowski, Osamu Akiyama, and Nobuko Misawa of the Japan National Tourist Organization; Lucy Seligman, editor of the Gochiso-sama.
KOREA: Sang-hoon Rah, Sean Nelan, and Peter Jang of the Korea National Tourism Corporation; Mr. Park of Samwon Garden.
MACAO: Eric L. Chen of the Government Tourist Office in Macao.
MALAYSIA: Azizah Aziz of Tourism Malaysia.
MEXICO: Lori Jones and Patricia Echenique of the Mexican Tourism Board; Tom Fisher and Alina Gambor of Burson Marsteller; Jesus Arroyo Bergeyre of Arroy Restaurantes.
MONACO: Emmanuelle Perrier of the Monaco Tourism Bureau.
MOROCCO: Pamela Windo (friend and guide extraordinaire).
REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA: My e-mail pal Betsy Haskell of Betsy’s Hotel in Tbilisi.
SINGAPORE: Mak Ying Kwan and Faizah Hanim Ahmad of the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board.
SOUTH AFRICA: Heather Kowadla and Laura Morrill of Lou Hammond & Associates; Christina Martin of the Christina Martin School of Food & Wine in KuaZulu Natal; Alicia Wilkinson of the Silwood Kitchen Cookery School in Capetown.
SPAIN: Alejandro Gomez Marco and Maria Luisa Albacar of the Oficina Española de Turismo; Ana Rodriguez of the Hotel Ritz in Madrid.
THAILAND: Kim Vacher-Ta of Tourism Authority of Thailand; Phenkhae Chattanont of the Oriental Bangkok Hotel; Ann Laschever of Lou Hammond and Associates.
TRINIDAD: Michael De Peaza, Nancy Pierre, and Tony Poyer of the Trinidad Tourism Development Bureau.
TURKEY: Murat Barlas and Ayfer Unsal; Mustafa Siyahhan of the Turkish Tourist Office in Washington, D.C.; Mehmet Dogan of the Tourism Office in Gaziantep.
UNITED STATES: Karen Adler of Pig Out Publications, Inc.; Judith Fertig, Danny Edwards of Little Jake’s Eat It and Beat It, and Lindsey Shannon of BB’s Lawnside in Kansas City; Mike Alexander and Mike DeMaster of Sonny Bryan’s in Dallas; Roy and Jane Barber and Barry Maxwell of the Memphis in May International Festival, Inc.
URUGUAY: Alexis Parodi of the Ministerio de Turismo del Uruguay.
VIETNAM: Trai Thi Duong of the Truc Orient Express and Binh Van Duong of Le Truc.
Finally, a huge thanks to all the grill jockeys and pit bosses—both named in this book and unnamed—for sharing with me their skills, knowledge, time, food, and unbridled passion for grilling. Barbecue buffs have a reputation for secrecy, but everywhere I went, people welcomed me into their hearts and their kitchens. I thank them for three and a half extraordinary years on the barbecue trail.