John Willingham's World Champion Bar-B-q: Over 150 Recipes And Tall Tales For Authentic... Hardcover – May 17, 1996

Willingham, who competes in contests nationwide, moves in a subculture where serious barbecuers guard their recipes like the most valuable of trade secrets. He defines barbecue, in contrast to grilling or roasting, as cooking meat at 250 degrees or lower for a long time with indirect heat. He encourages 'cuers to build their own cookers and to use wood fuel rather than charcoal. No gas, please. Recipes (more than 150) kick off with starters and breads (using mostly indoor methods) and reach a section called Slow-Cooked Heaven?Real Barbecue, which contains Willingham's World-Champion Ribs: beef, pork or lamb rib slabs marinated and massaged with a dry rub, refrigerated for 12 hours and cooked at 250 degrees for up to five hours. World-Champion Brisket cooks for up to 10 hours at 210 degrees. For those unable (or unwilling) to build or buy a serious barbecue cooker, Willingham provides a recipe for Screamin' Mean Oven-Roasted Beef Barbecue, a three-hour chuck roast. Among the unusual ploys for standard backyard grills is Dancing Chicken, in which the bird is grilled with a half-full can of beer in the cavity. Although he provides many sauces, rubs and marinades, Willingham emphasizes the authentic barbecue cooking process, which makes his book most useful to those with the space and time for a serious commitment to 'cuing.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Summer is upon us, and there's something for everyone in the latest crop of books on outdoor cooking. Butel, the author of several popular books on Southwestern food, also runs a cooking school in Albuquerque. She starts with a good introduction to grilling and smoking, with information on rotisserie cooking as well. Her recipes, from Appetizers to Quick Smoking to Desserts from the Grill, are appealing and fairly sophisticated. Readers expecting typical Southwestern cooking, however, will be surprised to find Bayou Gumbo, Hot Tuna Teriyaki with Sushi Rice, and other ethnic and "fusion" dishes. In any case, there are lots of good and imaginative recipes here. For most collections. The Jamisons, who covered classic barbecue in Smoke & Spice (LJ 4/15/94), are back with a more contemporary approach, creating an array of delicious dishes from Southwest Shrimp and Corn Nuggets to Salmon with Summer Herbs. They stop short of smoking desserts, but they do offer menu suggestions for each of their tempting recipes. Recommended for most collections. The old school of barbecuing is represented by Venable and Willingham. Venable offers Rick's Hot Wings, Down and Dirty Ribs, Kansas City Steaks with Red Wine, and other recipes in that vein; most are short and simple. Willingham, who has won awards at barbecue competitions all over the country, includes many recipes from other barbecues as well as his own recipes. There are recipes for both grilled and barbecued meats and fish, along with appetizers, side dishes, and barbecue sauces, rubs, marinades, et al., presented with lots of folksy humor. Spieler's contribution is a beautifully photographed collection of mouthwatering dishes, but it's not exactly classic barbecue: Thai-Style Shrimp, Provencal Fish in Grape Leaves, and Yucatan Turkey. (Almost all the recipes are for grilled dishes rather than true barbecue.) Buy this for its eclectic assortment of internationally inspired summery recipes, not as the basic introduction to outdoor cooking that its title might suggest.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.