BBQ and Grilling Books Previews

[FTC Standard Disclaimer]  I received no compensation for this post, other than I received electronic review copies of the books from the various publishers. The links are Amazon Affiliate links. Obviously, if you buy MY book, I get compensated, that's kinda how that works, right?

Whenever I feel like I have gotten into a cooking rut, I like to break out BBQ and grilling cookbooks to shake things up.  Cookbooks expose me to new ingredients, teach me new techniques, and maybe challenge some of my preconceived notions.  

Cooking from written recipes is one of the fastest ways to learn to grill and become a serious grillmaster.  

 Here are some previews of the new books that I have been checking out for 2020.  

Note: Three of these entries are written for specific types of grills. The recipes will work for just about any grill, so don't let that stop you from checking it out.  It's just that the authors provide in-depth knowledge, tricks, and tips for those grills in addition to the recipes.

Prices are as of 5/12/2020.

Award-Winning BBQ Sauces and How to Use Them 

Page Street Publishing $19.46

About The Author

Ray Sheehan is the founder/owner of BBQ Buddha, an international award-winning line of healthy-minded BBQ sauces and Rubs.  Ray is also a KCBS Certified BBQ Judge and the pitmaster for the BBQ Buddha Competition Team.  

Book at a Glance

This paperback book varies from the typical pork, beef, chicken, sauce/rubs organization for most BBQ cookbooks.  Instead, this book is organized into chapters based on 10 BBQ sauces recipes with 50 recipes for using those sauces.  I like that unique approach.  The book has classics like MOINK balls, breakfast fatties, and burnt ends as well as creative combinations such as the Surf and Turf Burger and Southern Cordon Bleu. 

Award-Winning BBQ Sauces and How To Use Them is loaded with Ken Goodman's color photos.  

Recipes That Caught My Eye

• BBQ Infused Turkey Burgers with Apple Jalapeno Slaw
• St Louis Spare Ribs with Cherry Bourbon BBQ Sauce
• Pulled Smoked Chicken Sandwich with Carolina Slaw
• Smoked and Grilled Chicken Wings w/ Peach BBQ Sauce
• Surf and Turf BBQ Burger with BBQ Aioli

Why You Should Buy It

Adding 10 quality BBQ sauces to your repertoire jump-starts your BBQ and grilling game with a short learning curve. 

I've already made the BBQ-Infused Turkey Burger with Apple Jalapeno Slaw with excellent results. It doesn't look as pretty as the book picture but it was still flavorful and tasty.

Show-Stopping BBQ With Your Traeger Grill 

Page Street Publishing $16.69

About The Author

Ed Randolph is a hardworking pitmaster. He earned Best BBQ at Food Network's 2017 New York Wine and Food Festival. He won when he appeared on Chopped in 2019. His Handsome Devil BBQ team has won 6 state BBQ championships and caters high-profile events all over the country. Ed also wrote Smoked: One Man's Journey to Find Incredible Recipes. He appears at 50 events a year and as a competitor and vendor, the thought of that leaves me exhausted!  

Book at a Glance

In his new book, Ed focuses on the Traeger grill, the most popular pellet cooker.  The book is 160 pages and has about 60 recipes uniquely organized in Smoker, Grill, Oven, and Rubs/Sauces. He delivers a good variety of recipes that are sure to please your palate.  He includes a basic primer for using pellet grills, tools of the trade, spice guide, and sanitation.  The photography is also by Ken Goodman.

Recipes That Caught My Eye

• Turkey Breast Stuffed with Gruyere Cheese and Spinach
• Blueberry Muffin Sausage Fatty
• Smoked Meatloaf
• Cuban-Style Pork Shoulder
• General Tso's Chicken Wings
• Charlies's Blackberry-Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Why You Should Buy It

If you're one of the thousands of new pellet grill owners, let Ed help you get the most out of your pellet cooker.  Again, these recipes will work on any type of grill.

The Offset Smoker Cookbook 

Ulysses Press  $17.39

About The Author

Chris Grove, wait....that's me!  My love for BBQ started as a child on a dirt farm road in North Carolina when I had my first bite of chopped smoked pork.  Since then, my BBQ journey has given me a first-class education in smoke and fire.  My teachers have ranged from the relatively unknown side-of-the-road pitmasters to World Champion pitmasters. I have learned about beef and pork on farms, ranches, and in pristine meat labs. I am a pitmaster of my own award-winning competition team and have been certified as a food judge from three different organizations. I have documented this journey on this website for the past twelve years and I share that knowledge and passion in my books.

Book at a Glance

The Offset Smoker Cookbook is my second book, following up The Kamado Smoker & Grill Cookbook.  It is geared toward the common offset smoker found in backyards across America, such as; Oklahoma Joes, Char-Griller, and even the old Brinkmann SnP. With the trend towards highly efficient and often automated smokers, I have seen a resurgence of getting back to the basics of wood, fire and food with offset pits. I share tips, tricks and techniques for getting the most use out of these classic smokers.  Photography by myself, Alexis Grove, and Ally Robinson.

Some of My Personal Favorites

• Cheddar Chipotle Meatloaf
• Smoked Whole Pork Shoulder with Golden Mustard Sauce
• Brown Sugar Bourbon and Sorghum Bacon
• Deep-Fried Loaded Mashed Potatoes
• Smoked Spareribs with Honey Bourbon BBQ Sauce
• Rolled Flank Steak with Bacon Jam and Smoked Gouda
• NMT Southern Sweet Rub 

Why You Should Buy It

Because my kid is in college?  Kidding.  This book is excellent for someone just starting their BBQ journey, someone who just bought an offset pit, or for people who have an offset pit that just don't use it much. The recipes work on any smoker or grill and the rubs and sauces are some of my best work.

Note:  If you want an autographed copy, email me and we'll make arrangements.

Ultimate Roast Beef Sandwich featuring aged strip loin and served with Tobacco Onions for piling on the sandwich.

Texas Q -100 Recipes for the Very Best Barbecue from the Lone Star State, All Smoke-Cooked to Perfection

Harvard Common Press $26.99

About The Author

When I first got serious about perfecting my BBQ craft, one of the books I turned to was the best-seller, Smoke and Spice, written by Cheryl Alters Jamison and her late husband, Bill. That book is a classic and is a road map for anyone wanting to learn the art of smoking meat. I have the utmost respect for Cheryl, as an author, and I put her on a level above the rest of us BBQ and grilling book writers.  She doggedly researches her topic, squeezes the secrets out of pitmasters, and has a story to tell.  I guess that you can say Cheryl puts the "author" in the phrase "BBQ authority".  

Book at a Glance

Texas Q - 100 Recipes for the Very Best Barbecue From The Lone Star State All Smoke Cooked To Perfection is a title as big as Texas itself.  It is different than a lot of today's BBQ and grilling books in that it doesn't look like an Instagram feed. Cheryl makes judicious use of pictures and lets her written content, stories, and recipes speak for themselves.  

The book is divided into three sections.  The first section introduces her BBQ story, covers the BBQ basics, and outlines the tools, supplies, and equipment needed for a complete Lone Star outdoor kitchen.  The next set of chapters covers seasonings, beef, pork, chicken, and Gulf seafood. The final three chapters an array of sauces, side dishes, and desserts.

Recipes That Caught My Eye

• Smoked Jalapeno Wings with Hot Ranch
• Brisket Deviled Eggs
• El Paso Salpicon (a Southwestern Texas sort of hash)
• Peppered Beef Tenderloin with Jalapeno Bearnaise
• Sprite-ly Filipino Chicken
• Backyard BBQ'd Chicken Breasts

Why You Should Buy It

It's written by a legendary BBQ author and will appeal to food geeks (like me), voracious food readers, and anyone wanting to learn authentic Texas BBQ.

Mastering The Big Green Egg 

Page Street Publishing $21.99

About The Author

I'm proud to count Big Green Craig Tabor as a personal friend. If you take one look at his Instagram feed, you'll see that this guy can and will cook anything. His food doesn't just look good, it tastes amazing! I know from personal experience. Craig competes in the World Food Championships and his team won the big daddy of Eggfests - the official Big Green Egg Eggtoberfest with a stunning array of food. When it comes to the grill, Craig Tabor is creative, bold, and skilled and I would pit his cooking against anyone's food.

Book at a Glance

This book is an operator's manual and a cookbook for the Big Green Egg. Craig does an excellent job explaining the ins and outs of how to use a kamado grill. The book is 40 recipes divided into categories that read like Jeopardy categories: Smoking/BBQ, Things on a Stick, In Between the Buns, From the Sea, On the Side, and Fully Baked.  To give you an idea of the bold & creative approach that Craig takes, several years ago we celebrated New Year's Eve at his house and he combined deep frying, smoking, and the then-current hot food trend of Nashville hot chicken to make Smoke-Fired Nashville Hot Ribs. They burned the hell out of my mouth but I couldn't stop eating them. 

Photography by Ken Goodman includes a good bit of step-by-step or instructional photographs.

Recipes That Caught My Eye

• King of Texas Beef Brisket
• Sriracha Peach Glazed Pork Chops
• Steak Kebabs with Chinese Garlic Sauce
• Pastrami'd Tri-Tip Sandwich
• Tequila Lime Steak Tacos with Fire Roasted Corn Salsa
• Nashvegas Hot Grilled Chicken Sandwich
• Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey Glazed Cedar-Planked Salmon
• Fried Green Tomatoes with Chipotle Remoulade

Why You Should Buy This Book

Mastering The Big Green Egg is an excellent book for those new to the kamado grill but this book is good for anyone wanting to jazz up their live-fire cooking.  Craig's recipes are always rock-solid tasty.

I couldn't wait to try Craig's Cowboy Burger so we made it on Mother's Day for our family.  Crispy deep-fried jalapenos, bacon, spicy BBQ sauce, cheddar-jack cheese, and a honking big Wagyu-sausage blend patty all on Alexis' homemade sourdough rolls.  Everyone LOVED them.

Looking down on a mound of deliciousness - you gotta try this burger.

I will be cooking from these books and doing full reviews of some of them.  Whether you get one of these or just grab some of your old cookbooks off of the bookshelf, I encourage you to fire up your grill and try some new recipes this year!  

Book Cook: Ribeye Steak with Brown Butter Bacon Sauce

[FTC Standard Disclosure]  I received no compensation for this post.

Brown butter is clarified butter's wilder brother.  Where clarified butter is polished and mild, brown butter is edgy and has a boisterous flavor.  It is nutty and fragrant from the browned milk solids. Chef Tuffy Stone harnesses that raucousness to create a multifaceted steak in his recipe:  New York Strip with Brown-Butter Bacon Sauce and Balsamic Drizzle.  

I used a ribeye steak instead.  This recipe would work amazingly with any of the major steaks, such as;  strip, ribeye, porterhouse, or filet. 

Cool Smoke:  The Art of Great Barbecue 

I first learned about this book from the author himself at a Smithfield event back in 2016 when he was in the midst of the writing process. 

Tuffy Stone sharing his wisdom on cuts of pork and how their position on the animal affects your cooking strategies.  

This was a limited and informal event, so we had ample opportunity to talk with Tuffy about his vision for the book, recipes that he was developing, and his experience with the process.  Tuffy spoke passionately about wanting to focus on simple, approachable food that still rocks the palate.  I couldn't wait to pre-order the book and was thrilled when it came out in 2018.

Tuffy Stone is well-known as a judge from the BBQ Pitmasters shows and a multiple-time BBQ World Champion. He is also a classically trained chef.  He draws on all of those talents and knowledge in his first book - Cool Smoke: The Art of Great Barbecue. [Amazon Affiliate link]

Ribeye Steak with Brown Butter Bacon Sauce

The original recipe calls for NY Strip Steaks.  I went with ribeye instead.  Not for any strategic reason, it was only because the Certified Angus Beef® Brand USDA Prime ribeye steaks were the best looking in the case that day.  

Reverse Pan Seared T-bone Steak with Roasted Garlic Butter

[FTC Disclaimer] This post is sponsored by the Certified Angus Beef® Brand in conjunction with a social media campaign through Sunday Supper LLC.  All opinions are my own.

One of the really cool things about partnering with the Certified Angus Beef® Brand (aside from already loving their great beef) is that every now and then I get surprises in the mail.  This Summer they sent me a copy of Perfectly Aged - 40 Years of Recipes and Stories from A Taste of Texas.   

A Taste of Texas is a Houston landmark steakhouse that has been serving only Certified Angus Beef® Brand for over three decades.  This book features everything that makes a good cookbook.

• The history of this storied restaurant and Texas itself.
• Mouthwatering recipes (over 100 of them!) from classics like Prime Rib to the inventive, such as; Seared Tuna "Nachos" with Chimichurri Sauce and Fried Capers.
• Photos that make your taste buds dance.
• Sections that focus on teaching technique like Steak School.

We used their garlic butter recipe as the perfect accent for this reverse pan-seared t-bone steak. 

 The one slight change we made to their recipe was a substantial one - we upgraded garlic to fire roasted garlic.  

Fire roasting garlic is easy.  Set your grill up for indirect heat at 350°f degrees.  For me, I used a small kamado grill so indirect meant using a plate setter or heat diffusing stone between the fire and your food.  For a regular grill just shift the coals to one side and cook, lid closed, with the food over the gap or void.  

Just cut off the top quarter of each bulb of garlic to expose the tops of the cloves.  Drizzle them with cooking oil and season with salt and pepper.  Roast the garlic until browned and some of the cloves are starting to squeeze up out of the bulb - about 1 hour.  Take that off the grill and squeeze out the delicious pulp from the heads of garlic.  You can save that pulp, refrigerated, for 2 weeks and use it in anything instead of regular garlic.  The stuff is amazing.

Now about that steak.  It was labeled as a T-bone, but the filet portion was significant enough that it would qualify as a porterhouse steak.  I seasoned it with our NMT Umami Steak Seasoning and then let it rest on a rack for over an hour.  This enables the seasoning to be drawn back into the steak and lets the steak temper for even cooking.

To cook the steak, I used a reverse pan-sear method.  That just means I slow roasted it and then seared it in a scorching hot pan to finish it.

Book Review: Pitmaster - Recipes, Techniques, & BBQ Wisdom by Chris Hart and Andy Husbands

New BBQ book season is upon us and the first one we are reviewing for 2017 is a winner - Pitmaster by Andy Husbands and Chris Hart.  We received a complimentary electronic copy for review prior to the March 15, 2017 release date.  

I like to bring in other opinions than my own and brought Jeff Greene on to add his thoughts about this book.  Jeff shares our BBQ and grilling madness and runs the Twitter handle @Grill_Porn.  He came to Knoxville by way of South Carolina and loves cooking on his Big Green Egg.  He says he's "just a backyard and tailgate" guy but don't let his modesty fool you, he knows his way around a grill.

Pitmaster - Recipes, Techniques, and BBQ Wisdom

Andy Husbands and Chris Hart

Fair Winds Press

$24.99

RELEASE DATE:  March 15, 2017 (available for pre-order now)

It's no surprise that this BBQ and Grilling book rocks because the two authors are well respected in the BBQ family/community/asylum and this is their 4th book.  Andy Husbands is the Chef at Tremont 647 and The Smoke Shop in Boston.  Chris Hart and Andy won a World Championship at the Jack Daniels Invitational in 2009.  Andy was on Season 6 of Hell's Kitchen and Chris was on BBQ Pitmasters and Chopped.  They know a lil' bit about the world of BBQ and grilling.

Physical Description

• Available in hardcover and Kindle
• 224 pages 
• Hardcover is about 8 x 10 

Jeff's thoughts

“Pitmasters” is definitely a book I would buy if I saw it in the book store.  I love the overall look of book.  The layout seems well thought out and the pictures are very well done, and do a great job of adding to the overall experience.  I also really enjoyed getting to know more about the philosophies, approaches and histories of some of the more well-known pit masters, which I imagine why the book is titled the way it is.

Chris' thoughts

This book is an eye catcher with it's gorgeous cover photo of that amazing smoking beef rib.  I like the way they organized the book a bit differently into categories of Backyard, North Carolina, Kansas City, Texas, The North, and Competition.  The content is also not limited to recipes.  They share techniques and I was quite fond of the segments throughout the book talking to other pitmasters about their food and BBQ ideas.  

Recipes

For me, one barometer of a BBQ/grilling book on the first flip through is how many of those adhesive flags/tabs I used to mark recipes that I want to try.  This book was full of those eye catching "Oh, I've got to try that" type of recipes.  

They cover from the basics, such as pulled pork on a kamado grill and Memphis dry rub ribs to more advanced recipes like the competition style steak which applies flavoring in multiple layers.  Andy and Chris do a good job of breaking down the steps to make the recipes approachable, so even those new to grilling and BBQ can try these recipes.

Butcher Paper Brisket - I used a Certified Angus Beef brisket to use the first of two brisket recipes in the book.  The second one is their competition recipe that scored a perfect 180.  I was going to use my stick burner but the weather didn't cooperate so I smoked it on my Grilla Grills wood pellet cooker.  The simple seasonings of salt, pepper, and smoke lets the delicious beef shine through. 

Everyday Sweet and Spicy Pork Rub - I made a batch of this rub. The blend of sugars gives it an up front sweetness that melds into smokiness (because I used smoked paprika) and finishes with a very mild heat. This is a good general purpose BBQ rub and gives a good color to butts, ribs, and chops.  That is a quart jar in the middle so this makes a good bit of rub. 

Pulled Pork on a Kamado Style Cooker - Being a kamado guy, of course I did this recipe. It wasn't anything fancy and that's good sometimes.  Simply the Sweet and Spicy rub with a proper smoking and you've got great results.  I did a pair of butts on my Grill Dome with an Adjustable Rig set up and followed their recipe. I like both pulled and chopped pork, so I did half and half.  It is a solid recipe and I like the fact that they give you 2 different timelines, one cooking at 225°f and one at 275°f. 

Competition Style Beef Ribeye - Steak competitions have taken off thanks to the Steak Cookoff Association.  This is Chris and Andy's version of a competition steak. I used a porterhouse steak instead of a ribeye and used Hard Core Carnivore Black instead of salt and pepper, but I did make the Umami Steak Sauce and Steak Finishing Butter. I also used the GrillGrates that they and seemingly most every SCA team uses. The sauce uses the umami power of concentrating portobello mushrooms, brisket au jus and more.   I cooked it on a small kamado grill and was very impressed with the results. 

Red Slaw, White Slaw - While we were making the pork butts, we made two of the slaw recipes from the book. The white slaw is a creamy slaw that you would expect at a BBQ joint or fish shack, you're probably used to that, but red slaw?  Red slaw is a signature dish from Lexington, North Carolina.  Instead of the typical mayo or vinegar base, red slaw uses a spicy tomato base. I don't like it by itself as much as I do vinegar and white slaws, but it is freaking awesome on a pulled pork sandwich.  

Western Style North Carolina Sauce - The first real BBQ I had in my life was smoked pork shoulder with a Piedmont sauce mixed in and that is what made me fall in love with BBQ at 7 years old. Unlike Eastern NC vinegar sauces, Piedmont style sauces have a light touch of ketchup and some sweetness added in, like this one.  This is pretty close to one of my treasured recipes that was handed down to me by my grandmother. 

Gold Sauce - Mustard based BBQ sauce is the hallmark of South Carolina.  Golden BBQ sauces are one of those things you either love or hate, I love them and this one is a good one. This recipe has the predominant mustard and vinegar kick with the slightest kiss of sweetness.  

Jeff is a South Carolina guy so I wasn't surprised that he also made the Gold Sauce when he cooked several recipes out of Pitmaster for his Superbowl menu. Here are his thoughts about the recipes he cooked from the book.

Jeff's Thoughts

I like how the authors intermixed their own recipes with those from the other pit masters that were included, many of which were fresh takes on traditional foods.  I am not sure how many cookbooks have taken this approach, but for me this is a new and novel way to write a cookbook that I thoroughly enjoyed.  I not only liked the thoughts of the pit masters that were sprinkled throughout but I also appreciated the differentiation of regions or styles of bbq.   It has everything from backyard to competition and hits most of the major bbq regions from New England to Texas.  I was saddened that South Carolina bbq was not included, but I may be a bit biased in that opinion being a palmetto state native.  Plus my experience from travelling “up north” is that there is little to no difference to New Englanders’ between the two Carolinas, but rather only one “Carolina” but I digress.

Gold Sauce - Being from South Carolina and having grown up on mustard based bbq sauces, I can say without a doubt the Gold Sauce recipe is legit.  This sauce has a wonderful balance of sweet tanginess on the front end and nice heat on the back end.  The only change I plan to make moving forward is to use a little less thyme, but this is a personal preference.  Gold Sauce is on par with many of the best “Carolina Honey Gold” mustard based sauces I have tried, as it is a bit sweeter than most mustard based sauces, but not so sweet that it detracts from the experience.     

Lexington Style Cheerwine Pork Shoulder - This is a nice take on smoking a pork shoulder.  I have cooked dozens of shoulders but have never used any of the “soda” injection recipes popular in some circles.  The injection had a very nice taste with a balance of sweet, heat, and vinegar bite.  I cooked the shoulder per the recipe although I generally smoke at lower temps than the 275-300 degrees that is called for.  This recipe only uses Kosher salt as a dry brine/rub, and calls for spraying the shoulder every hour with Cheerwine.  

This is a nice take on smoking a pork shoulder.  I have cooked dozens of shoulders but have never used any of the “soda” injection recipes popular in some circles.  The injection had a very nice taste with a balance of sweet, heat, and vinegar bite.  I cooked the shoulder per the recipe although I generally smoke at lower temps than the 275-300 degrees that is called for.  This recipe only uses Kosher salt as a dry brine/rub, and calls for spraying the shoulder every hour with Cheerwine.  

[Chris' thought on this - Around here, "pork shoulder" sold in the stores is usually just the picnic end of a whole shoulder and that looks like what Jeff had to work with.  When cut away from the other half (pork butt), these picnic shoulders are leaner and can dry out easier than when cooked as a whole shoulder.]

Cornbread with Butter, Honey, and Sea Salt - Oh my gosh this The Smoke Shop corn bread was a big hit at the SB party.  People could not get enough of it.  Being from the south and growing up on white and sugarless corn bread, I had in my mind that I was not going to like this recipe, but I could not have been more wrong, this was a very nice change of pace.  The cornbread itself was light and fluffy and it was all set off by the sugar crust.  I will say that the recipe was somewhat labor intensive, but it was worth the extra work.  As if it could get any better, when you add the sea salt and honey butter on the top it became even more delicious.   

Classic Macaroni and Cheese: The recipe was easy to make, and my wife and kids thought it was good.  If you are looking for a replacement for grandma’s Sunday dinner mac and cheese, this is not it.  However, it is billed as more or less a replacement for “shells and cheese” and it does quite well at this.  It could use a bit more nutmeg, but that is a personal preference.  

Chris' Favorite Pitmaster Recipe

My favorite recipe from Pitmaster was the City Ham recipe aka Canadian Bacon. We did the book's version and one of our own with bourbon and brown sugar.  Both were fantastic.

Making your own Canadian bacon saves a lot of cash. When we made this batch, it was selling for $0.43 per ounce.  Accounting for the Smithfield Prime Reserve pork loin, coal, and ingredients, we spent $0.20 per ounce.

Tied off and ready to go into the smokers. Notice that I tied one (bottom) differently than the other two.  That was just for knowing which one is which.

I smoked one of the Pitmaster versions on my Grilla wood pellet cooker.  

I did the other two on one of our Big Green Eggs. I had hickory and lump down below. Next was a spider, stone, and drip pan under an Adjustable Rig.  I had a lot going on this day so I went on auto-pilot and used the Flame Boss 200 controller to regulate the temperatures of my BGE.  I had a DOT remote probe thermometer in the second piece.  

Great color on these hams and they smelled great.  I put them in one of our garage fridges for two days to let the smoke flavor balance through the hams. It's also easier to slice cold firm ham.

We started with a little over 9 pounds of pork loin and finished with over 8 pounds of finished bacon, so you don't lose much to shrinkage.  We vacuum seal most of this in 8 ounce packages and freeze them.

I burned out my last slicer years ago and have been hand slicing my bacon for the past year.  Alexis got me a new, more robust, slicer this month and I am thrilled with it.  It has a bigger 10" blade and a more powerful motor.  If you are considering a slicer, skip the cheap versions (I burned out two Waring Pro's) and spend the extra money to get a heavier duty slicer.  It doesn't have to be a commercial Hobart slicer but the $300 range will get you something decent for most home purposes.

Canadian Bacon means Eggs Benedict!!!!  

Photos and Graphics

Pitmaster features gorgeous color photography by Ken Goodman. Ken is a phenomenal photographer and his work has graced the pages of several books in my personal collection. He collaborated with Andy and Chris on their three previous books and continues his excellent work here.  As a wannabe food photographer, I study the work of artists like Ken.  The thing that sets his work apart to me is his mastery of shadows and highlights.  He uses them judiciously to create moods and tell stories.

Ken's shot of Pitmaster's Kansas City Tribute Sauce.  Notice the highlights in the sauce on the first two ribs and the perfect amount of shadows under the bowl and ribs. That's no accident - that is skill.

Burnt Ends from Pitmaster. Again, look how the lights play off of the sauce to starkly contrast the shadows hiding in the midst of the burnt ends.  

Almost all of the shots are plated or finished shots of the food.  There aren't a lot of step by step photos but Pitmaster makes up for it with a wise use of graphics, especially visual time lines for certain recipes.

Summary

Chris' Thoughts
Not to cop out, but see Jeff's thoughts.  He summed it up perfectly.  

Jeff's Final Thoughts
This book should have a wide audience, not only because of the various pit masters and wide range of regions included, but for the varying levels of techniques presented.  It would have been easy for the authors to focus primarily on the experienced bbq cooks considering the subject matter of the book.  However, the book includes topics to help lessen the intimidation factor for the novice that may just be getting started, while at the same time including more advanced techniques and recipes for the experienced bbq cooks.  In short this book literally has something for everyone.  

Rating

5 stars – an absolute resource, will refer to frequently

4+ stars – very good cookbook with value added tips, photos, guides, and other content

3 stars – Good, average cookbook, glad to have it on my shelf

2 stars – a recipe collection

1 star – would give it away to someone else to get rid of it, but only if I didn't like them very much

Tyler Florence's Salt and Pepper Wings

I have made a lot of iterations of grilled chicken wings, some more complex than others.  I was flipping through Tyler Florence's book, Family Meal, the other day and came across a very straightforward recipe for Salt and Pepper Wings.  They were simply wings seasoned with salt and pepper, baked in an oven, and served with a homemade Humboldt Fog bleu cheese dressing and chile oil.  

I liked the back to basics approach so I gave it a shot. 

Wings and Beer - America's Pub Food.

The recipe called for baking the wings but you know that isn't allowed at my house.  Instead I set up one of our Big Green Eggs for indirect cooking.  On a kamado grill like the BGE, there are a couple of ways to do indirect heat.  One way is to use a Spider rig with a 13" pizza stone like below.

To keep it clean, I would also top the pizza stone with a foil covered deep dish pizza pan to catch the drippings.  See the picture below for an example.

Another common method for indirect cooking on a kamado grill is using a plate setter like below.  By the way, when did Big Green Egg change the name of the plate setter to "ConvEGGtor" ?  I noticed that in the last BGE Lifestyle magazine.  It will always be a "plate setter" to me.

Cornish Game Hens with Apricot Mustard Sauce

Want to make BBQ that will make your guests happy and your neighbors envious? I am reviewing a book that might just help you out with that.

Championship BBQ Secrets For RealSmoked Food - 2nd Edition

Karen Putman and Judith Fertig

Published by Robert Rose Inc.

$24.95

The Authors
Karen Putman was a prize-winning chef  who won many contests on the competition BBQ circuit, including a grand championship at the American Royal.  Judith Fertig is a food/lifestyle writer and cookbook author who has written eight barbecue books, including 300 Big and Bold BBQ and Grilling Recipes.

Jerked Pork with Pineapple Salsa

[Non-recipe post]  [Vegan warning - some meat cutting pictures shown]

I did something a little different with pork shoulder yesterday.  Instead of a Southern style pork BBQ I went to the DEEP South.  Atlanta?  "South-er".  Florida?  South-er!  Try Jamaica.   

I smoked a jerk pork picnic shoulder and topped the sandwiches with a sweet, tangy pineapple salsa.

It rocked.  Like Cajun seasonings, jerk is often misunderstood as just being spicy hot.  There is so much more to the flavors of jerk than just a burning sensation.  The allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon and thyme give it an earthy flavor.  That is the essence of jerk to me.  Don't get me wrong, the layers of chile do give it a kick.  My lips and tongue tingled for 30 minutes afterwards - more about that later.

Pork Shoulder 101:  Whole Shoulder vs Pork Butt vs Picnic 

A lot of us BBQ geeks generally refer to "pork shoulder" but when newbies go to the butcher, they might not know what to ask for.  I'm giving the NAMP numbers to eliminate confusion when shopping.  If your meat department doesn't know what NAMP numbers are, change meat markets.

Whole pork shoulder (NAMP 403) - This the front leg of a hog.  It is the "butt" and the "picnic" sections together in one huge cut weighing 12-18 pounds or even more.  

Pork Butt (NAMP 406) - this is the upper portion of a whole shoulder weighing on average 6-9 lbs.  It is also known as a Boston butt.  It is probably the most frequently used for smoking your own BBQ at home.  It has a lot of marbling which makes it hard to mess up.  Prep work required:  None unless you want to trim or score the fat cap.

Picnic Shoulder (NAMP 405) - This is the lower portion of the shoulder also weighing 6 - 9 lbs.  It is sold bone in and skin on.  It generally costs less per pound than the pork butt but since part of  its weight is bone and skin, your net price for net yield is going to be about the same.  The picnic is a little leaner than the butt but still produces great bbq when handled right.   Prep work required:  For BBQ remove skin with a boning knife and trim excess fat.  For Lechon style roast, remove skin, trim fat, replace skin and tie down.

I can generally get either butt or picnic at Food City.  For me, I usually buy pork butt for BBQ, it's easier to handle and more forgiving.  But if the picnic shoulder is on sale or just looks better than the butts, I'll buy a picnic instead. 

Smoke and Spice and the Jamisons

The recipe I used this weekend was Boston Bay Jerked Pork from the classic book Smoke & Spice by Cheryl and Bill Jamison.  They have been kind enough to grant me reprint permissions in the past but I didn't even ask this time because you need an incentive to go buy this book.  It is full of time tested and Nibble Me This approved rubs, sauces, and recipes.  Smoke and Spice has been around for quite a while and that is because it remains spot on relevant for making great tasting BBQ. 

I also just ordered their new book Tasting New Mexico.  Cheryl and Bill celebrate New Mexico with a tribute to the traditional foods of their home state. In addition to featuring full-flavored versions of 100 beloved local dishes, the book covers the agricultural and ranching heritage of New Mexico, and relates stories about notable cooks, restaurants, food products, and more.  If it is half as good as Smoke and Spice, it will be a great book.  If you want one, you better hurry, Amazon only had 18 left when I ordered mine. 

Jerked Pork with Pineapple Salsa

9.9 lb untrimmed pork picnic shoulder.

To remove the skin work a sharp boning knife under the skin and make a series of shallow slicing cuts.

Lift the flap as you keep working toward the leg shank.  Then work around the shank.  It's all small steady cuts.

The Egg was set up with lump and 6 Mojobrick (3 cherry, 3 hickory) cubes.  Plate setter in with drip pan for indirect cooking.  Bottom vent open a fat 1/4" and the top was closed with petals open.

Shoulder rubbed with jerk seasoning and put in the smoke.

My secret ingredient for the rub.  Instead of ground habanero, I cut the cayenne chile amount in half and added 1/8th tsp of Trinidad Scorpion chile powder (hotter than the bhut jolokia aka Ghost chile).

The shank bone with start to protrude as the shoulder smokes and contracts.  This is 3 hours in.

Another difference for me, I mopped this shoulder using the recipe mop.  I haven't mopped since I got my Egg. 

The color started turning a nice mahogany about 6 hours in.

I took it off the smoker 9 and 1/2 hours later at an internal temp of 197f.  I drizzled with agave nectar (recipe deviation), foiled and rested it for two hours.

Yellow line is internal temp, red cooking temp.  The first cooking temp spike was from opening to mop.  The second one was when I raised the temp to help push through the stall.

Nice bark and deep smoke ring.  And flavor?  KAPOW. 

The grilled pineapple salsa was 1 can of pineapple slices grilled and chopped up.  Then added 1 diced jalapeno, 1/4 cup cilantro, 1/3 cup red onion, 2 Tbsp roasted red pepper, 1 Tbsp lime juice, and salt and pepper to taste.

Made a quick finishing sauce from 4 parts BBQ sauce, 1 part pineapple juice.  Served with sweet potato chips.

This was one of my favorite smoked pork shoulders in a while, apparently for the rest of the family too.  It had a good jerk flavor and it wasn't excessively hot while eating it but my lips tingled for a good while after we finished eating. 

[Standard Disclaimer]  I received no compensation for this post.  I paid full price for Smoke and Spice long time ago and for Tasting New Mexico.  Heck, I didn't even get free shipping from Amazon.