Tag Archives: Treasured

grilling

Southern Heirloom Cooking: 200 Treasured Feel-Good Recipes

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Everyone who knew Norma Jean McQueen Haydel knew that she’s a supreme cook and that she was the steward of the McQueen family recipes. But she didn’t measure when she cooked. Or write things down.

Norma Jean’s brother Horace got to worrying about this. He cooked, too, but his repertoire wasn’t as vast as Norma Jean’s. So he began bothering her about writing down how she made her many dishes.

“I didn’t want Norma Jean’s recipes, or our Mama’s recipes, to be lost. We have kids coming. And other folks love to eat at my sister’s table, too.”

So the two got busy recording their treasured family recipes from the South. This collection of more than 250 dishes includes their best ones. “This is food you will absolutely enjoy,” said Horace. “Traditional, full of marvelous flavor, ‘enhanced’ old-timeys.”

Norma Jean and Horace put together the full line-up: crawfish bisque, poblano cream soup, wilted spinach salad, smothered pork ribs, zesty broasted chicken, baked catfish, cajun rice jambalaya, stuffed cornbread, five-flavor pound cake, margarita pie, and on and on.

Skyhorse Publishing, along with our Good Books and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of cookbooks, including books on juicing, grilling, baking, frying, home brewing and winemaking, slow cookers, and cast iron cooking. We’ve been successful with books on gluten-free cooking, vegetarian and vegan cooking, paleo, raw foods, and more. Our list includes French cooking, Swedish cooking, Austrian and German cooking, Cajun cooking, as well as books on jerky, canning and preserving, peanut butter, meatballs, oil and vinegar, bone broth, and more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

barbque

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.