Andy Husbands - The Smoke Shops Backyard BBQ: Eat, Drink, and Party Like a Pitmaster

ANDY HUSBANDS

AND

WILL SALAZAR

IVE ALWAYS LOVED ANDY AND WILLS APPROACH TO FOOD.

They both take everything that theyve learned as classically trained chefs and put it together with their passion for all things barbecue. Then they add their own personal food memoriesAndys from growing up in Washington State and summering in New England and Wills from his childhood in Florida.

That combination is what makes The Smoke Shop a truly magical experience. Andy and Will know that barbecue is never just about the food. Great barbecue is about food and fun and family.

Im reminded of that every time Im lucky enough to get to The Smoke Shop. Theres an energy and happiness in the dining room and in the kitchen. Every bite of barbecue makes you more excited about the next bite and the conversations that will follow it.

Youll feel that same energyits love, reallyas you try the amazing recipes in this cookbook. So, fire up your pit, make yourself one of these fabulous cocktails, and get in your most comfortable chair to tell and listen to your favorite stories. Its time to party like a pit master!

MICHAEL SYMON

James Beard awardwinning chef

BARBECUE IS THE FRIENDLIEST FOOD.

WORLD CHAMPION PIT MASTER

TUFFY STONE

S AY THE WORD BARBECUE AND SOME PEOPLE WILL THINK SMOKED MEAT AND OTHERS WILL THINK PARTY! WE THINK THAT EVERYBODY IS RIGHTAND THATS WHAT THIS BOOK IS ABOUT: GREAT FOOD AND GOOD TIMES. WE TAKE BARBECUE (THE SMOKED MEAT) PRETTY SERIOUSLY, BUT WE THINK BARBECUE (THE PARTY) SHOULD BE NOTHING BUT A CELEBRATION, FOR BOTH THE PIT MASTER AND THE GUESTS.

We are Andy Husbands and Will Salazar, the founder and the culinary director of The Smoke Shop restaurant, where we turn out over half a million pounds of smoked meat and throw a party 363 days a year. Were a little reluctant to do the math, but between us, weve been throwing parties almost every day for fifty yearsin restaurants and, on our precious days off, at our own homes.

Tuffy, who we quoted right up there, is a friend, and, yes, Andy got to know him over barbecue. They competed in some of the countrys fiercest BBQ competitions. But Tuffy knows what hes talking about there: Even when bragging rights are at stake, barbecue is the friendliest food. Its not that pit masters are inherently nicer peopletheres definitely a lot of ego involved when it comes to being the bestbut the process of smoking a perfect brisket, well, it takes time, and its better to pass that time with a good talker, preferably one whos got a cooler of beers or fine whiskey. That sense of community is what hooked Andy on barbecue at his first-ever competition. It was pouring rain, cold, and muddy, and the team didnt even have the right equipment, but a pit master named Uncle Jed invited them in for a bourbon and to warm up by the smoker. Generosity is the soul of barbecueand thats why youll see other pit masters, chefs, bartenders, and butchers throughout this book sharing their barbecue party knowledge.

Its that feeling of food and friends and family Andy remembers from grilling country-style ribs with his father in their backyard in Washington State as a kid. Theyd cook them over cheap charcoal briquettes doused in a ton of lighter fluid and drench them in KC Masterpiece. Its still a flavorand a fond memoryAndy craves. (His ode to the supermarket favorite BBQ sauce is shown .)

Then, of course, theres the amount of meat involved in barbecue. Cows and pigsthey are big animals and the classic barbecue cuts arent sized for one or two people. You throw on a couple of racks of ribsand if you are standing by a smoker for hours, why wouldnt you smoke as many racks as you can fitor a Boston butt for pulled pork and suddenly you have food for a dozen or more. Simply put, you need friends for barbecue, not because the cooking itself requires an extra pair of hands, but because the eating does.