America's Best BBQ: 100 Recipes from America's Best Smokehouses, Pits, Shacks, Rib Joints, Roadhouses, and Restaurants [Paperback]

Ardie Davis (Author), Chef Paul Kirk (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 12, 2009

Hungry for something different? Then try America's Best BBQ. Here, two of the world's top barbecue experts present their favorite barbecue recipes from across America.

Only Ardie and Paul, the go-to sources on barbecue, can earn the trust--and the secret recipes--from some of the nation's barbecue legends.

Tasty sides include tips, tricks, techniques, fun memorabilia, full-color photos, and firsthand recollections of tales from the pits culled from over a century of combined barbecue experience.

With more than 100 recipes for mouthwatering starters, moist and flavorful meats, classic side dishes, sauces and rubs, and decadent desserts, this book should come with its own wet-nap.

* Whether it's spicy or sweet, Texas or Memphis, this is the best collection of American barbecue recipes.

* Ardie's BBQ alter ego, Remus Powers, PhB, has earned profiles in many barbecue books, tons of magazines, and more than a few national newspapers. He's graced the Food Network and PBS, appearing in various documentaries on 'cue and great American cuisine.

* Paul has appeared on The Today Show, Discovery Channel, CBS This Morning, Talk Soup, and Anthony Bourdain's A Cook's Tour: In Search of the Perfect Meal. He was also featured in AARP's Modern Maturity Magazine, Saveur, and The Calgary Herald, and he has written articles for Food and Wine, Fine Cooking, and Chili Pepper magazine.

Editorial Reviews

Review

If you love barbecue then you have to get this book. Secret family recipes revealed for some of your favorite items at famous barbecue landmarks. On top of that this book is full of great stories about the proprietors and pit masters. --Savory Reviews, June 24, 2009

Hungry for something different? Then try America's Best BBQ. Here, two of the world's top barbecue experts present their favorite barbecue recipes from across America. Only Ardie and Paul, the go-to sources on barbecue, can earn the trust-and the secret recipes-from some of the nation's barbecue legends. --review.xoogie.net

Review

There's so much to like about this book, most of all the way form and function mesh so well in this BBQ volume that's as much guidebook as cookbook. It's such a genuine, natural mix of recipes, people, places, and BBQ trivia that it's similar to one the road shows on the Food Network and just as enjoyable.

Two Kansas City pitmasters have teamed to put all their expertise into America's Best BBQ 100 Recipes from America's Best Smokehouses, Pits, Shacks, Rib Joints, Roadhouses, and Restaurants. Ardie Davis is founder of the American Royal International BBQ Sauce, Rub and Baste Contest. He's also known as Remus Powers, Ph.B. Paul Kirk is the operator of Baron's School of Pitmasters and has won 475 cooking and barbecue awards.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing; Original edition (May 12, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0740778110
• ISBN-13: 978-0740778117
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 0.7 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,922 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #63 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Outdoor Cooking > Barbecuing & Grilling

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A decent book and attractive book September 17, 2009

By K. Rule VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

I own quite a few BBQ books. That's because I'm what's referred to as a "Pellet Head". I've been trying to learn BBQ techniques for a couple of years. That is what attracted me to this book.

This book is a bit unique for a BBQ book. It's so pretty that it's almost a coffee table book. That surprised me, since most BBQ books are no nonsense, functional endeavors.

"America's Best BBQ" offers up "selected" recipes from famous, semi-famous and even some obscure BBQ restaurants. But don't expect your favorite BBQ joint to give up their signature dishes. However, the recipes that are included are interesting. And since there are many restaurants in here, the whole adds up to a lot of decent looking recipes.

Frankly I was a little disappointed at first. I had hoped to find some "signature" dish recipes. But once I got over that, it was clear that the book covers a lot of ground and offered up some pretty unique perspectives and interesting ideas.

Pros:
* It's really pretty
* There are a lot of varied and even surprising ideas
* It gives me ideas of new place to try when I travel.

Cons:
* Don't expect your favorite restaurant to give up their signature dishes.
* Some of the recipes are vague and assume you know a lot about BBQ.

All in all, a good, interesting book for anyone wanting to BBQ or looking for a new BBQ joint to try out.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for barbecue fans April 29, 2009

By John Dawson

Format:Paperback

It's not often that I find a cookbook that is actually fun to read. They are usually very utilitarian, with little literary meat on the bones. This is clearly not the case with America's Best BBQ. I don't know what I enjoyed more, the authentic and varied recipes, or the barbecue stories and lore that they are steeped in.

While the book is historical, it also has an incredible variety of recipes. It includes everything from starters like Volcanic Goat Cheese, Rocky Mountain Oysters, and Fried Cheese Stick Grits, to Burgoo, to mutton ribs, and all the barbecue standards in between. The range of recipes is excellent. Even better, most of the recipes are from the originators themselves.

I found the following statement from the introduction very interesting.

"Each joint in this book is, in our view, one of the best in America. They are all on the same playing field, with varying strengths and weaknesses. That aside, we have each named our Top Ten joints in the back of the book."

Barbecue is very competitive and often chock full of ego, as is the restaurant industry generally. It's very refreshing to see the authors give their honest opinions about what they feel are the best.

If you love barbecue, its history, and great recipes, I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Form and Function Mix Well Here June 12, 2009

By Spudman TOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

To call this book a cookbook would be like equating Ted Williams with all other baseball players. America's Best BBQ contains recipes collected by the authors in their travels and networking. The book itself is more like a piece of Americana, a glimpse of a subculture that most of us only know superficially.
Davis and Kirk not only share some incredible recipes, but also introduce us to fascinating people and interesting places the reader might want to visit in his or her travels.
I really like the design and look of the book. It takes on its own ambience as one of the barbecue joints within might. There's plenty here to whet the reader's appetite and sate his curiosity. Open to any page and find classic neon, well-worn signs, incredibly vivid food photographs, simulated spots of BBQ sauce, brown paper, and more pig icons than you've ever seen in one place.
Like barbecue cooking, this book is meant to be enjoyed slowly so that one can taste all of the flavors proferred by the authors.

At the end of the book is a lengthy discourse detailing the pros and cons of gas vs. charcoal grilling with a tableful of tips for both schools of cooking. This section is so informative that I read it twice.

America's Best BBQ is obviously a work of love by the authors, a down home friendly book. I don't have interest in trying rattlesnake meat or bull testicles, but within the covers there's probably something of interest for most readers.