Jackson Sally - Bobby Flays Barbecue Addiction

First and foremost, a big thank-you to my two co-writers and assistants, Stephanie Banyas and Sally Jackson, for their hard work and dedication to me each and every day. You both put 110 percent into every single project thrown your way. I couldnt do it without the two of you and, quite frankly, I wouldnt want to.

A special thank-you to the following people who also helped with this book:

My business partners, Laurence Kretchmer, Jerry Kretchmer, and Jeff Bliss

The staffs of Mesa Grill New York, Mesa Grill Las Vegas, Mesa Grill Bahamas, Bar Americain New York, Bar Americain Mohegan Sun, Bobby Flay Steak, and Bobbys Burger Palace

AND

Rica Allannic, the best editor any author could ask for. Thank you for your continued support and friendship. You are quite simply the best!

THE WORD ADDICTIONalmost always has a negative connotation. At the very least, its associated with obsessive behavior. But in the case of my current addiction, my friends and family arent planning an intervention. In fact, they encourage my obsession! And who wouldnt when it means the intoxicating scent of fruit woods wafting through the air and the neighborhood as smoke lightly kisses a pork shoulder for hours until it has turned the meat into a savory, achingly tender cut of sheer deliciousness?

W e all use the words backyard barbecue to describe an outdoor cookout. But true barbecuing means cooking food low and slow over an open flame. Most of the burgers and hot dogs served at your average backyard bash are actually grilledmeaning theyre cooked quickly over a hot fire. Even though people often use the words interchangeably, or even generically, grilling is not barbecuing. I should know.

I love to cook outdoors, but until recently my main means of doing so was on a gas grill. As a New York Cityborn andraised guy, I couldnt be bothered with all the fuss of tending to a charcoal fire and then having to clean up the mess. Well, I am older and wiser now and can appreciate the pros and cons of both gas and charcoal. And when I built my summer house in the Hamptons, I finally got the chance to try out everything. While I still love my gas grill, I have since opened my heart to other outdoor cookers: charcoal grills, smokers, pizza ovens you name it. And while, yes, these are messier and more time consuming to cook on, they make food that tastes amazing.

As an American chef I have always looked to my native country for barbecue inspiration, and with good reason. We have a spectacular belt of states throughout the South to the Southwest that each has its own take on the most talked about cuisine in America. Even places such as the central coast of California and the Pacific Northwest have their own distinct style of outdoor, wood-fired cookery. Those dishes help define a cuisine that is distinctly American and are the topic of the greatest food debate in the fifty states: Which state has the best BBQ?

While I wont touch that one with a ten-foot pole, I can say that as time went by and my travels began to take me overseas, I realized that almost every country, every culture, has its own version of barbecue. Although I always thought of barbecue as an American pastime, grilling burgers and hot dogs with my family at the Jersey Shore (pre MTV) when I was four or five years old, it turns out we were just like every other place in the world that loved cooking outdoors.

Now I not only look to my homeland but across the world for flavors, techniques, and ingredients. In these pages youll find thats straight from the center of Cali.

I get tons of questions while Im standing in my restaurant kitchens, walking down the street, and of course more than ever on social media about grilling fish and vegetables. Most people think of those amazing aromas in our backyards as charred meats and poultry, but more and more, as we all try to be a little bit more healthful, fish, shellfish, and vegetables are finding their way to the grill and the smoker. One of the new staples in my house is . Be careful, they go down like lemonade!