Raichlen - BBQ USA: 425 Fiery Recipes From All Across America

Pit Masters Hymn

Great barbecue, like a wonderful dream, is best left undisturbed. Please dont open the pit. Memories in progress.

Ethan Hileman, Pit master at The Greenbrier resort, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia

Steven Raichlens

George Washington loved it, Elvis devoured it, and barbecue-hungry Americans fire up their grills 3 billion times a year

WORKMAN PUBLISHING NEW YORK

To Barbara, a.k.a. Mrs. Raichlen, who lights my fire, bastes my briskets, tickles my ribs, and keeps me honest.

If I have seen further [than other men] it is by standing upon the shoulders of Giants, observed Isaac Newton. Its a sentiment I feel whenever I write a book, and now especially at the end of the five years Ive been working on this one. Perhaps the best place to start is with the long list of people who helped make this book possiblestarting with the man whose name appears on its spine. Yes, there is a Peter Workman, and his genius and vision are matched only by his generosity and commitment to quality. We always knew barbecue was a religion. Who knew it could become a whole library?

Peters efforts are seconded by my sensitive and sensible editor and friend, Suzanne Rafer, indefatigable copy editor Barbara Hawkeye Mateer, masterful art director Paul Hanson, visionary designer Lisa Hollander, and publicity director Jim Eber and publicist Kate Tyler, who actually managed to convince me that a thirty-city bus tour was a good idea. Thanks to Kit Warren for the terrific job she did of assembling the photos and to Leora Kahn for filling in the extras; to Karen Lee and Robyn Schwartz for checking on my factual accuracy and Cathy Dorsey for her comprehensive index; to Katherine Adzima for managing all the pieces; to Barbara Peragine, Jarrod Dyer, Lorraine Lerner, and Patrick Borelli for their typesetting prowess; and to Elizabeth Gaynor for taking care of production. Licensing and sales mavens Pat Upton, Jenny Mandel, James Wehrle, Jeanne Emanuel, Page Edmonds, Jodi Weiss, Heather Carroll, Claudia Boutote, and of course publisher Bruce Harris have my thanks. Carolan Workman and Peggy Boulos keep the barbecue fires burning abroad. A warm thanks to Angela Miller of The Miller Agency, and to a major new player in my barbecue world, Charlie Pinsky, producer of my Barbecue University TV show on public television.

The next big thanks goes to the heroes of barbecue themselvessome famous, some working in relative obscurity, but all extraordinarily generous in sharing their expertise. Dr. Rich Davis, creator of KC Masterpiece Barbecue Sauce turned over to me a lifetime of research on the history of American barbecuethe basis of the piece beginning on and mistresses and barbecue enthusiasts, including: Terry Black, Skip Steele, and Ron Skinner of Super Smokers in St. Louis; Jim Budros and Rick Malir of City Barbecue in Columbus, Ohio; Oklahoma Joe Davidson and Danny Edwards of Danny Edwards Famous Kansas City Barbecue; Ethan Hileman and Riki Senn of The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia; Mark Hewitt of Tillicum Village in Seattle; Don McLemore and Chris Lilly of Big Bob Gibsons in Decatur, Alabama; Mike Mills of the 17th Street Bar and Grill in Murphysboro, Illinois; Danny Meyers, Michael Romano, and David Swinghamer of Blue Smoke in New York City; Chris Schlesinger of the East Coast Grill in Cambridge, Massachusetts; John and Nick Vergos of the Rendezvous in Memphis; and Carolyn Wells and Paul Kirk of the Kansas City Barbecue Society.

I also benefited from the knowledge of barbecue and food industry experts, including Donna Myers of the Barbecue Industry Association; Rebecca Juretic of the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce and Visitor & Convention Bureau; Mike Kempster Sr. and Mike Kempster Jr., Christina Schroeder, Betty Hughes, and Sherry Bale of the Weber-Stephens Company; Floyd Benson and Diane Hampton at Memphis in May World Barbecue Cooking Contests; Karen Adler of Pig Out Productions; Mary Engle and Ceci Snyder of the National Pork Board; Mary Jo Plutt at the National Cattlemens Beef Association; Brenda McDowell and Jessie Vicha at McDowell & Piasecki Food Communications, Inc.

A huge thanks to my indefatigable recipe tester Elida Proenza.

Finally, and most important, Id like to thank my familystepson, chef Jake, stepdaughter nutritionist, Betsy, and my extraordinarily generous and supportive wife, Barbara. Mrs. Raichlen put up with four years of recipe testing at home, months on end of research on the road, and sixty hour work weeks as I wrote this book. If theres a true Barbecue Goddess, it is she, and I thank her.

It takes a village to produce a barbecue book.

A short course in choosing a grill, setting it up, getting it lit, and knowing when the food is cooked.

Begin the meal with pizzazz. Flame cook Prosciutto-Wrapped Peaches like they do in Virginia, chicken wings the Louisville way, Mojo-Marinated Pork Florida style, and Tiki Beef Kebabs with California flare. Dozens of choices, plus some drinks to serve alongside, including a Chimayo Cocktail.

Grilling brings out the best in a salad. Wait until you try the Grilled Caesar Salad or the Tomato and Hearts of Palm. Plus Calamari Salad with White Beans and Bitter Lettuce, and four kinds of slaw.

The grill makes the perfect toaster. Theres plenty of room for that Little Italy favorite, garlic bread. Or A New Corn Stick from the West Indies. Or pizzas the way they grill them in Rhode Island and New York. Bread takes to fire like smoke to the grill.

North Americas love affair with beef is celebrated in a luscious round-up of steaks from Tucson, San Antonio, New York, Miami, Dallas, Toronto, L.A., Indianapolis, and of course, Philadelphia (sizzling with cheese). Plus briskets from North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Ohio, and everything else big and beefy.

The icon of American barbecue, pork, couldnt be more succulent than it is herepulled and piled high on buns like they do in North Carolina, coffee-crusted and served Kentuckystyle with Redeye Barbecue Sauce, roasted whole for a pig pickin la West Virginia. Plus ribs from all over, including Missouris Sweet and Smoky Dry Rub version.