Greg Mrvich - American Barbecue Sauces: Marinades, Rubs, and More from the South and Beyond

Copyright 2019 by Rockridge Press, Emeryville, California

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Interior and Designer: Amanda Kirk

Art Producer: Michael Hardgrove

Editor: Lauren ONeal

Production Editor: Jenna Dutton

Photography 2019 Annie Martin, food styling by Nadine Beauchamp, .

ISBN: 978-1-64152-950-1 | eBook 978-1-64152-951-8

This book is dedicated to Karen, my wife and soulmate, as well as the rib-eating machine in our house, my son, Garrett.

CONTENTS

M y name is Greg Mrvich, and Im the creator of the outdoor-cooking YouTube channel Ballistic BBQ. In this book, Ill take you on a trip throughout Americas Barbecue Belt and beyond. Ill explore the flavors of each region and provide you with the tools you need to create wonderful sauces and seasoning blends, as well as marinades, glazes, and even condiments.

I was first inspired to love barbecue at a very young age, watching my father and grandfather cooking at family get-togethers. My grandmother was from Missouri, so much of the food I ate as a child was heavily influenced by Southern flavors. In late 2009, while preparing to barbecue a pork shoulder, I handed my wife, Karen, a little camcorder and asked, Will you video me? She did, and the rest is history. My channel has grown into one of the largest outdoor-cooking channels on YouTube and has opened many doors, including being appointed the Official Grill Master at the 2017 Country Music Television Awards in Nashville, Tennessee. But one of the greatest blessings has been meeting new friends and developing relationships within the outdoor-cooking community. I consider myself (and my barbecue friends) ambassadors of outdoor cooking, on a mission to spread the gospel of American barbecue.

Barbecue and grilling have become my obsessionsjust ask my wife. I now own at least 20 different types of smokers and grills, which I use to hone my skills at least five times a week. Just as important as knowing how to control a smoker is understanding how to develop flavors. I think we can all agree that one of the most important keys to great food is fresh, high-quality ingredients. Whether you go wild for Kansas Citystyle burnt ends or cant live without a Texas-style brisket, when youre getting ready for a cookout with friends and family, you spend a lot of time choosing the right cuts of meat and selecting the right ingredients for your sides. Why not invest the same effort in your sauces and rubs? Homemade anything is always better. When you make rubs and sauces from scratch, you have so much more control over the flavorsspicy, savory, salty, tangy, or sweet! The selection of herbs and spices should be looked at as an artists palette, and youre the artist!

I truly hope you enjoy the collection of recipes in this book and feel inspired to not only get outdoors and cook, but also spread the gospel of American barbecue!

Seasoning might just be the most important part of any kind of cooking. Smoking meat is one thing, but without seasoning, its just smoky meatwhich is why great rubs and sauces are so important. We dont want to overpower our barbecue with the seasoning; we want to enhance the flavor by using spice blends that bring the meats flavor to the forefront (even if the only spices we use are just good old salt and pepper).

We basically have five tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and savory. Understanding these tastes and how to capitalize on them using various herbs and spices is key to elevating a meal from good to stupendous. We all have an idea of what flavors we enjoy, and many of us are loyal to a particular style of barbecue. The recipes in this book are designed to help you enhance your favorite style, but theyll also help you venture outside your comfort zone and hopefully introduce you to some new flavors to add to your arsenal.

A Brief History of Barbecue

Most historians agree that what we now call barbecue was first developed in the Caribbean. In 1492, when Christopher Columbus landed on the island later named Hispaniola, he and his crew observed the indigenous people of the island, the Tano, cooking meat over an indirect flame by elevating it on a cooking grate or grill made out of fire-resistant green wood. They called this cooking grate a barbacoa. As Spanish expeditions pushed north into the New World, they brought the barbacoa technique with them, introducing it to the Chickasaw tribe of Mississippi. Eventually, this cooking method spread to British colonies in what is now the United States, and the word