Tag Archives: Southern

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Smokin’ in the Boys’ Room: Southern Recipes from the Winningest Woman in Barbecue (Volume 1) (Melissa Cookston)

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 Top pitmaster and restaurateur Melissa Cookston, 2014 Memphis in May Whole Hog World Champion, two-time overall world champion and the winningest woman in barbecue, presents Southern Delta and barbecue recipes full of smoke and spice, as well as stories filled with the trademark fire and vinegar that make her a TV favorite, too.

 One of the world’s top pitmasters and the 2014 Memphis in May Whole Hog World Champion, Melissa regularly smokes the competition on the barbecue contest circuit. Now, you can enjoy some of her best recipes for not only the barbecue that has made her famous, but also for baked and fried favorites, oh-so-good sides, and decadent desserts that will stick to your ribs.

 In Smokin’ in the Boys’ Room, Melissa shares the inspiring story of how she got into barbecue and worked her way to the top with grit and determination, even becoming known for smoking a whole hog like no one else–an uncommon feat in the barbecue world. She also shares tips and tricks for turning out great meals from the grill, from Slow-Smoked Competition Brisket, to Fire-Grilled Pork T-Bones with Hoe Cakes and Mississippi Caviar, and even Grilled Pineapple Upside Down Cake. And no true Southern cook would be without her Buttermilk Fried Chicken, BBQ Shrimp and Grits, and Red Beans and Rice.

 The recipes cover the gamut, from sauces and seasoning blends, to pork and bacon, beef, poultry, and seafood, as well as a few sides and desserts to round out the meal. Some are traditional favorites wherever you may live, and others are true to Melissa’s Delta roots. Many have won contests, and all are top-notch, having been honed to perfection in competitions or in the kitchens of Melissa’s restaurants, Memphis Barbecue Company.

 Whether you’re a contest veteran or just getting started, there’s something for everyone in Smokin’ in the Boys’ Room. As Melissa can tell you, anyone can learn to man the grill. To be really good at it, it just takes a little work and a little attitude.

Product Features

  • Andrews McMeel Publishing

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Southern Smoke: Barbecue, Traditions, and Treasured Recipes Reimagined for Today

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Informed by the history of classic southern recipes, Southern Smoke is an intriguing dive into the barbecue of North Carolina, the Lowcountry, Memphis, and the Delta, with must-try meats, sides, and desserts.

For years, Matthew Register, the owner and pitmaster of Southern Smoke Barbecue, has been obsessed with the history of southern recipes. Armed with a massive collection of cookbooks from the 1900s and overflowing boxes of recipe cards from his grandmother, he hits the kitchen. Over weeks, sometimes months, he forges updated versions of timeworn classics. Locals and tourists alike flock to his restaurant in Garland, North Carolina (population 700), to try these unique dishes. 

In this book, Matthew teaches the basics of smoking with a grill or smoker. He outlines how to manage the fire for long smoking sessions and shares pitmaster tips for common struggles (like overcoming “the stall” on large pieces of meat). He then explores iconic barbecue regions and traditions:

  • Start off in North Carolina, the home of slow-smoked pork and tangy vinegar sauce. Other highlights include chicken quarters with church sauce, barbecue potatoes, collard chowder, and pork belly hash.
  • Travel the Lowcountry, where seafood meets barbecue. Go all out with frogmore stew, pickled shrimp, and fire-roasted oysters, or sample unique recipes like funeral grits, likker pudding, and James Island shrimp pie.
  • Then take a trip to Memphis and the Delta, a longtime barbecue hub known for dry-rubbed ribs. Other standouts might surprise you! Learn the secrets behind Delta tamales, Merigold tomatoes, okra fries with comeback sauce, and country style duck.

And, of course, what barbecue spread is complete without baked goods? The final chapter includes everything from skillet cornbread and benne seed biscuits to chocolate chess pie and pecan-studded bread pudding.

Whether you’ve long been a fan of barbecue or are just starting your own barbecue journey, Southern Smoke offers a unique collection of recipes and stories for today’s home cook.
 

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Barbecue Crossroads: Notes and Recipes from a Southern Odyssey

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In stories, recipes, and photographs, James Beard Award–winning writer Robb Walsh and acclaimed documentary photographer O. Rufus Lovett take us on a barbecue odyssey from East Texas to the Carolinas and back. In Barbecue Crossroads, we meet the pitmasters who still use old-fashioned wood-fired pits, and we sample some of their succulent pork shoulders, whole hogs, savory beef, sausage, mutton, and even some barbecued baloney. Recipes for these and the side dishes, sauces, and desserts that come with them are painstakingly recorded and tested.

But Barbecue Crossroads is more than a cookbook; it is a trip back to the roots of our oldest artisan food tradition and a look at how Southern culture is changing. Walsh and Lovett trace the lineage of Southern barbecue backwards through time as they travel across a part of the country where slow-cooked meat has long been part of everyday life. What they find is not one story, but many. They visit legendary joints that don’t live up to their reputations—and discover unknown places that deserve more attention. They tell us why the corporatizing of agriculture is making it difficult for pitmasters to afford hickory wood or find whole hogs that fit on a pit.

Walsh and Lovett also remind us of myriad ways that race weaves in and out of the barbecue story, from African American cooking techniques and recipes to the tastes of migrant farmworkers who ate their barbecue in meat markets, gas stations, and convenience stores because they weren’t welcome in restaurants. The authors also expose the ways that barbecue competitions and TV shows are undermining traditional barbecue culture. And they predict that the revival of the community barbecue tradition may well be its salvation.

Product Features

  • Used Book in Good Condition

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Barbecue & Brooms (A Southern Charms Cozy Mystery)

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Magic and mystery are only part of the Southern Charms of Honeysuckle Hollow…With Charleston’s council poised to take over Honeysuckle Hollow, the town and all of its people must band together to prove they don’t need to be absorbed into the big city magical district. What better way to show off the small supernatural Southern town than to host a barbecue contest and some classic broom racing?To keep their town safe, it’s imperative that nothing go wrong. But when one of Honeysuckle’s most important residents is attacked, leaving him on the brink of death, it’s up to Charli Goodwin to convince the two men pursuing her to work together to catch the culprit and save a life.Who’s fanning the flames and turning up the heat? Will the love triangle prove too hot and spicy or will Charli, Mason, and Dash be able to put aside personal feelings to capture the villain before the town and its people get charred?Be ready to pig out on your favorite ‘cue and find out now in Barbecue & Brooms: A Southern Charms Cozy Mystery Book 4!

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North Carolina’s Roadside Eateries: A Traveler’s Guide to Local Restaurants, Diners, and Barbecue Joints (Southern Gateways Guides)

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Want to eat like the locals? D. G. Martin has spent years traveling the major roadways of North Carolina, on the lookout for community, local history, and, of course, a good home-cooked meal. Here D. G. is your personal tour guide to more than 100 notable local roadway haunts that serve not only as places to eat but also as fixtures of their communities.

*Features locally owned and time-tested community favorites
*Covers a range of food tastes from BBQ joints and country kitchens to Mexican restaurants and Greek diners
*Introduces diners to the restaurant owners and locals who make these places unique
*Includes current contact information, hours, directions
*Features nearby points of interest to explore after eating

This handy reference to good food just off North Carolina’s interstates should find a spot in every Tar Heel traveler’s glove compartment.

Product Features

  • University of North Carolina Press