3 delicious BBQ books you need on your bookshelf (plus top news & videos)
This spring, several new cookbooks have been released that can help you up your barbecue game. Since most of us are increasingly spending more time cooking at home, a good cookbook will help expand every backyard cook’s repertoire. If you’re looking for the perfect book for the barbecue enthusiast in your life or for Father’s Day next month, look no further.
Here are three great new barbecue books you should consider buying this season.
Reprinted with permission from Award-Winning BBQ Sauces and How to Use Them by Ray Sheehan, Page Street Publishing Co. 2020. (Photo credit: Ken Goodman)
Award-Winning BBQ Sauces and How to Use Them: The Secret Ingredient to Next-Level Smoking — by Ray Sheehan
Ray Sheehan is an author as well as the founder and owner of BBQ Buddha, an award-winning line of sauces and rubs. He is also the pitmaster for the BBQ Buddha competition team and a certified Kansas City Barbeque Society Judge. In Award-Winning BBQ Sauces and How to Use Them, Sheehan shares recipes for traditional sauces such as Memphis Mop BBQ Sauce and Kansas City BBQ Sauce along with more complex and innovative sauces like Cherry Bourbon BBQ Sauce and Tangy Peach BBQ Sauce. Sheehan includes excellent recipes that are enhanced and made more flavorful with each sauce, including Slow-Smoked Memphis-Style Ribs, BBQ Beef Tacos, Smoked Chicken Lollipops, and Cedar Planked Salmon. Buy it here.
Reprinted with permission from Showstopping BBQ with Your Traeger Grill by Ed Randolph, Page Street Publishing Co. 2020. (Photo credit: Ken Goodman)
Showstopping BBQ with Your Traeger Grill: Standout Recipes for Your Wood Pellet Cooker from an Award-Winning Pitmaster — by Ed Randolph
In Showstopping BBQ with Your Traeger Grill, world-class pitmaster Ed Randolph demonstrates the versatility and convenience of Traeger brand pellet cookers. The book details the consistency you can get when you use a pellet grill. However, these recipes can be recreated using a variety of different grills and smokers. Recipes include Beer Can Chicken, slow-smoked Maple-Bourbon Pork Belly, Brined Chicken Breast, and Stuffed Belly Burgers. Buy it here.
Reprinted with permission from Mastering the Big Green Egg by Big Green Craig by Craig Tabor, Page Street Publishing Co. 2020. (Photo credit: Ken Goodman)
Mastering the Big Green Egg by Big Green Craig: An Operator's Manual and Cookbook — by Craig Tabor
Craig Tabor is the author of a popular Big Green Egg blog at craigtabor.com and the winner of multiple grilling contests around the nation. In this book, Tabor shows you how to assemble, maintain, and fire up your Big Green Egg to achieve success for your backyard cooks. He shows you how to trim and prep larger traditional barbecue cuts such as brisket and pork shoulder. And he covers delicious dishes, such as Sriracha Peach-Glazed Pork Chops, Seafood Paella, and Maple Bacon Oatmeal Cookies. This title was just released this week. Buy it here.
Stay tuned for special recipes from each of these books in future issues of The Smoke Sheet. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for a chance to win a copy of these titles!
Ryan Cooper (BBQ Tourist)
Co-Founder, The Smoke Sheet
Here are the top recent barbecue news stories from around the country:
Aaron Franklin was among the shortlist of BBQ Hall of Fame semi-finalists.
The 2020 BBQ Hall of Fame semi-finalists were announced last week on The BBQ Central Show, with the three final inductees to be announced on May 27. Congrats to the following semi-finalists in this year’s class:
William “Bill” Arnold, BBQ Competitor
Joe Don Davidson, Oklahoma Joe's
Aaron Franklin, Franklin Barbecue
Meathead Goldwyn, AmazingRibs.com
John Markus, BBQ Pitmasters
Desiree Robinson, Cozy Corner BBQ
Rodney Scott, Rodney Scott's Whole Hog BBQ
Darren Warth, BBQ Competitor
Lee Ann Whippen, Deviled Pig & BBQ Competitor
A major story that has dominated the news as of late is the country’s meat shortage, which is causing price inflation, menu changes, and a little bit of panic. Meat shortage stories include:
Texas Monthly’s Daniel Vaughn takes an insightful deep dive into meat shortage issues, covering missing briskets, price hikes, meat processing backlog, and much more.
The Kansas City Star dived into the impact of the meat shortage on local barbecue restaurants, including Arthur Bryant’s, Jones Bar-B-Q, and Zarda Bar-B-Q.
Part of the meat shortage narrative has been the impact on the meat industry. While meat-packing employees have been hit unusually hard by the coronavirus, USDA meat inspectors have also been exposed. So far, 3 meat inspectors have died and more than 140 have tested positive with the virus.
J.C. Reid of the Houston Chronicle wrote about the beef supply chain and the staggering price increases for beef and other meats that have hurt BBQ joints.
In Flatland KC, Jill Silva wrote about the transformation of local farms and meat companies during COVID-19 and how they’ve embraced home delivery, online sales, and drive-thru farmers markets.
The 2020 Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle in Washington, D.C. has canceled its in-person event but will host a month-long virtual experience with events throughout June.
The International Bar-B-Q Festival was supposed to happen last weekend in Kentucky, but the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, festival officials came up with a fun alternative and served up free mutton sandwiches in a drive-through style event.
The organization Operation BBQ Relief served its fourth million meal as an organization recently to workers at the University of Kansas Health System.
Georgia-based Bub-Ba-Q recently spoke with AJC about its attempts to keep navigating through these uncertain times and is now offering barbecue for takeout in Woodstock and Jasper.
Daniel Castillo, pitmaster of California’s Heritage Barbecue, will receive a $10,000 grant from Kingsford as part of the charcoal maker’s pledge to help American barbecue joints through the coronavirus pandemic.
Eater profiled Austin’s innovative Interstellar BBQ in a new video, and it explains how the joint “goes beyond the holy trinity of brisket, ribs, and sausage.”
Salt Lick BBQ has been operating a food truck in downtown Dripping Springs, Texas, and recently decided to expand the truck to be a daily operation that is serving every day from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Despite the pandemic, the new Bandit BBQ restaurant has opened in the Lone Star District of San Antonio. Owner Brandon Peterson is offering curbside takeout only as he gets his new operation off the ground.
The Clarion Ledger in Mississippi recently visited The Pig and Pint in Jackson’s Fondren neighborhood and Strick's Barbecue in Hattiesburg to make sure all was well with two good local BBQ joints. Both restaurants appear to still be serving up great eats despite restrictions.
Some of Charlotte’s most iconic eateries, including the Bar-B-Q King drive-in restaurant on Wilkinson Boulevard, have continued to attract lots of business as “Charlotteans are loving socially-distanced BBQ and fried chicken.”
Swig & Swine’s Anthony DiBernardo of Charleston shared some of his favorite cookout recipes and how his restaurant is faring through the pandemic with Charleston Magazine.
Money recently wrote up a deep dive on the best grills and smokers for your money, according to BBQ pros across the nation.
Here are BBQ shows, podcasts, or books you should check out this week:
Ryan Cooper and Sean Ludwig join Kevin Sandridge for a special livestream of The BBQ Beat.
Watch: BBQ State of the Union with The Smoke Sheet — The BBQ Beat
Ryan and Sean from The Smoke Sheet join host Kevin Sandridge for a special “BBQ State of the Union” livestream of The BBQ Beat. They discuss the possibility of a meat shortage and examine how that might impact that world of barbecue. They also talk about how restaurants are adapting to the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. The trio also address the cancellation or postponement of numerous barbecue events and competitions. While restaurants and events have been negatively impacted by the pandemic, the world of backyard barbecue has greatly benefited from an increase in families cooking at home. Watch here.
Listen: Ray Sheehan of BBQ Buddha — BBQ Nation
Ray Sheehan, author, columnist, and creator of BBQ Buddha barbecue sauces joins host Jeff Tracy on BBQ Nation to discuss his new book, Award Winning BBQ Sauces and How to Use Them. They dissect the basic components of a great sauce like the sauces from BBQ Buddha, as well as when and how to use them. BBQ Buddha recently won the 2020 NBBQA Awards of Excellence for his Memphis Mop Sauce. Listen here.
Read: Barbecue! Bible Sauces, Rubs, and Marinades, Bastes, Butters, and Glazes — Steven Raichlen
Twenty years ago, Steven Raichlen published Barbecue! Bible Sauces, Rubs, and Marinades, Bastes, Butters, and Glazes, an in-depth celebration of those cornerstones on which unforgettable live-fire flavors are built. Here are fiery spice mixtures for massaging into food, sensuous bastes to be brushed on like lacquer, killer marinades, sugary glazes, tangy mops from award-winning barbecue teams, and dozens of sauces, from the classic tomato-based American Sweet and Smoky to a bold Moroccan Charmoula with its medley of fresh herbs and spices. This book includes 200 recipes, including Tex-Mex Tequila-Jalapeno Wet Rub, Spicy Apple Barbecue Sauce, and Coconut Curry Baste. Buy it here.
This recipe for Pomegranate Orange BBQ Sauce is a great way to elevate your barbecue dishes.
Pomegranate Orange BBQ Sauce — Jen Miller
For this week’s Recipe of the Week, we chose this recipe for Pomegranate Orange BBQ Sauce from Jen Miller of Jen’s Reviews. While many barbecue sauces are overly sweet and similar in flavor, this unique recipe uses honey, orange juice, and pomegranate to add complexity to your proteins. The sweet and sour elements of these ingredients are combined with savory notes of onions and garlic and herbs and spices such as rosemary, cinnamon, allspice, peppercorns, and chili flakes. Brush this sauce on a rack of ribs or use it as a dip for your favorite protein. View the recipe here.
In light of the constantly changing coronavirus crisis, we will be leaving this section blank for a little bit. Many events you know and love have been postponed or made into a virtual event. We’ll be updating the events section on our website with the most up-to-date information as we have it.
See the full Smoke Sheet events calendar online here.
If you’re not already subscribed to The Smoke Sheet, sign up here. Want to be featured in or sponsor this newsletter? Email us now!