Title
Introduction
About This Book
Conventions Used in This Book
What You’re Not to Read
Foolish Assumptions
How This Book Is Organized
Icons Used in This Book
Where to Go from Here
Part I : Centuries of Barbecue Smarts in Four Chapters
Chapter 1: Faces of Barbecue: A Pit, a Plateful, a Party
First, There Was Fire
Touring the Four All-American Barbecue Regions
Smoke ’Em If You Got Time
Making the Most of the Meat
How the Big Guns of Barbecue Do What They Do
Getting Creative As You Cook
Chapter 2: Gathering Must-Have Equipment
Settling on a Smoker
Fire, Starters: Managing Heat
Wood: To Hickory or Not to Hickory
A Mop, Some Tongs, and So On
Chapter 3: Collecting Ingredients and Using Them Wisely
Finding Meat That Makes the Cut
Running Down the Options, Cut by Cut
Handling Meat without Hazard
Stocking Dry Ingredients
The Stuff of Sauce
Chapter 4: Barbecue Methods, Art, and Science
Beginning with an End in Mind
Trimming and Prepping Meat without, Er, Butchering It
Getting Time and Temperature Right
The Big Finish
Part II : Preparation Prevails: Using Rubs and Marinades
Chapter 5: Mixing and Matching in Rubs and Marinades
Building a Dry Rub from the Binder Up
Seasonings That Play Well Together
Mixing Marinades
Matching Marinade to Meat
Timing Meat’s Marinade Soak
Chapter 6: Crafting Dry Rubs for Any Meat or Taste
Combining Flavors for Classic Dry Rubs
Smokey Joel’s Competition BBQ Rub
Smoke Hunters’ BBQ Rub
Pirate Potion #4
Paradise Jerk Rub
Spicy Rub #1 for Beef
Shigs-in-Pit Bootheel Butt Rub
Everything Rub
Super Simple Brisket Rub
Rib Dust
Pork Perfection
Yard Bird Rub
Jamaican Rib Rub
Bucking Tradition with Rubs Exotic and Inventive
Sweet Persian Rub
Zesty No-Salt Herbal BBQ Rub
Grilled Leg of Lamb Seasoning
Lemon Rub a Dub Dub
Chapter 7: Mixing Tried-and-True Marinades
Priming Pork or Poultry
Charlie’s Pork Brine
Poultry and Pork Brine
Rub and Marinade for Eight-Bone Pork Roast
Garlic Basil Chicken Marinade
Prepping Beef and Lamb with Flavors That Blare or Whisper
Cajun Marinade for Grilled Beef Tenderloin
Vietnamese Lemongrass Rub
Teriyaki Marinade
Hot Pepper Steak Marinade
Brisket Marinade
Mixing Citrus Marinades for Poultry or Shrimp
Lemon Marinade for Smoked Turkey
Sweet and Sour Orange Marinade for Shrimp
Part III : The All-Important Sauce Story
Chapter 8: Sorting through the Sauce Story
Choosing a Base
Striking a Balance
Finding Exotic Inspirations for Terrific Sauces
Chapter 9: Crafting Barbecue Sauces Traditional and Unusual
Touring American Barbecue Regions
Beale Street Memphis Sauce
Texas Steer Ranch Sauce
Alabama White Sauce
Kansas City BBQ Sauce
Carolina “East” Raleigh Sauce
Carolina “West” Piedmont Sauce
Cooking Up More Classic Barbecue Sauces
Original BBQ Sauce
Chipotle-Maple Barbeque Sauce
Rib Runner Sauce
Pork Sauce
Kentucky Bourbon BBQ Sauce
Big R’s BBQ Sauce
Bootheel BBQ Sauce
Paradise BBQ Sauce
Maple Syrup Barbeque Sauce
Spiced Mustard Sauce
Bringing Fruit Flavor to Sauces with Juices and Jams
Honey-Orange BBQ Sauce
Apple Barbecue Sauce
Harvest Apricot Sauce
Chapter 10: Getting Saucy while You Cook: Mop Sauces
Making Mops Especially for Pork
Bourbon Que Mop Sauce for Pork Tenderloin
Mopping Sauce for Pork Ribs
Smoke Hunters BBQ Mop
Butch’s Whole Pig Basting Sauce
Concocting Multipurpose Mops
Spicy Mop Sauce
Up in Smoke Mop Sauce
Chapter 11: Sauces and Relishes for Dipping and Dashing
Fanning the Flames with a Hotter-Than-Hot Sauce
Porkrastinators Pepper Medley Hot Sauce
Sweetening the Pot: Sauces with a Softer Side
Blueberry Balsamic Barbeque Sauce
Bourbon Onion Chutney
Apricot Preserve Dipping Sauce
Honey BBQ Wing Sauce
Taking an Exotic Turn with Sauces That Cull Asian Flavors
Indian Tamarind Sauce
Chinese Hoisin Barbecue Sauce
Wasabi Mayo
Peanut Dipping Sauce
Cool Summery Takes on Sauces, Salsas, and Relishes
Guacamole Sauce
Ginger Tomato Relish
Ginger Cucumber Relish
Chilean Fruit Salsa
Part IV : Entrees and Sides and Then Some
Chapter 12: Something(s) to Serve with Your Barbecue
Beans, Beans: The Most Magical Food
Loophole’s Baked Beans
Smoky Black Beans
Santa Fe Pinto Beans
Baking Unique Sides in the Smoker or on the Grill
Iron Skillet Potato Bacon Biscuits
Pizza Bread with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Crispy Prosciutto
Preparing Potatoes with a Plethora of Approaches
Super Spud Casserole
Mississippi Potatoes
Shamrock Golden Tubers
Making Yer Mama Proud: Recipes for Veggies
Smokey Joel’s Grilled Asparagus with Garlic and Butter
Swinetology Smoked Stuffed Jalapeño Peppers
Stuffed Peppers
Mixing Salads, Making Memphis-Style Slaw
Warm Apple Spinach Salad
Memphis Slaw for Pulled Pork
Mount Vernon Macaroni Salad
To Macaroni and Cheese and Beyond
Parmesan-Stuffed Dates Wrapped with Bacon
Blue Blazers
Cheesy Butternut Squash
Artisan Macaroni and Cheese
Chili Dip
Chapter 13: A Melange of Main Dishes
Brisket: Out of the Smoker and into the Soup Pot
Vegetable Brisket Soup
A Little Something Fabulous for Cooking Fish
Sea Bass with Nectarine Salsa
Smoking Traditional Barbecue Cuts Like a Champ
Championship Chicken
Brine
Rub
Super Chicken Spray
Chicken
Jon’s Baby Backs
Ribs
Stink-Eye Pulled Pork
Pulled Pork
Have Pizza Stone, Will Smoke Calzone
Grilled Calzone
Calzone Dough
Calzone Filling
Stylish Recipes for Lamb and Beef
Tuscan-Style Lamb Chops
Beef Tenderloin with Cascabel Chile Aioli Marinade
Italian Espresso Steak
Korean Beef Barbecue (Bulgogi)
Pork Satay
Chapter 14: Great Dishes for Leftover Barbecue
Crafting Dishes That Stick to Tradition
Competition Pit Beans
Spudzilla
Barbecue Hash
Jalapeño Shot Shells
Culture Combos: Using Barbecue Leftovers in Unexpected Ways
Big R’s Smoked BBQ Spaghetti
BBQ Fried Rice
Part V : The Part of Tens
Chapter 15: Ten Ways Rookies Ruin Good Meat
Being in an All-Fired Hurry
Sprinting Past Your Experience Level
Using Wood Before Its Time
Taking Meat from Fridge to Fire
Lighting Charcoal with Lighter Fluid
Overcorrecting, Overzealously
Getting Sauced Early
Relying on Eyes, Not Numbers
Poking Holes into the Meat
Forgetting Rest Time
Chapter 16: Ten Truer Words Were Never Spoken
The Truth Is in the Cook, Not the Equipment
Cook Low and Slow
If You’re Lookin’, You’re Not Cookin’
There Is Such a Thing as Oversmoking
Sauce on the Side, Nothing to Hide
Hot Dogs and Hamburgers Are Not Barbecue
Time Is on Your Side
Meat That Falls Off the Bone Has Been Cooked Too Long
Cleanliness Is Next to Tastiness
Fat Is Flavor
Chapter 17: Ten (Or So) Places to Turn for Tips
Kansas City Barbeque Society
National Barbecue Association
The North Carolina Barbecue Society
The Virtual Weber Bullet
The Smoke Ring
The Barbeque Forum
Barbecue’n on the Internet
Further Regional Barbecue Associations
Chapter 18: Ten World-Famous Barbecue Events
Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue
Memphis in May World Championship
National BBQ Festival
American Royal Barbecue
Big Pig Jig
Big Apple Barbecue Block Party
Lakeland Pig Festival
Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off
LPQue BBQ Championship
Blue Ridge BBQ Festival
Appendix: Metric Conversion Guide
: Further Reading