Southern Living's Ultimate Book of BBQ – The Complete Year – Round Guide to Grilling & Smoking

It has been a long time since I agreed to do a cookbook review, I have wanted to but I just couldn't set aside the time to really look at a cookbook and enjoy doing it. This has changed, and now I have 4 amazing BBQ cookbooks to review and I could be happier!

Southern Living's Ultimate Book of BBQ – The Complete Year – Round Guide to Grilling & Smoking with Pitmaster Christopher Prieto, Secrets to Smoking on the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker by Bill Gillespie, Grilled Pizza the Right Way by John Delfa and Smoke it Like a Pro on the Big Green Egg by Eric Mitchell.

Yes, I am considering myself to be slightly spoiled … rotten and I am OK with it.

So for my first review:

Southern Living's Ultimate Book of BBQ – The Complete Year – Round Guide to Grilling & Smoking with Pitmaster Christopher Prieto

Published by Oxmoor House® 2015

ISBN – 13: 978-0-8487-4480-9

$24.95 US / $27.95 Can

365 pages

For those of you in the know, Christopher Prieto needs no introduction, but those who are new to the game:

Christopher Prieto is a champion pitmaster and owner of prime barbecue just outside of Rayleigh, North Carolina. His journey into cooking and the world of barbecue began when he was a child in Houston. Fond memories of Texas, and his desire to find the “soul” of barbecue, Sent him on a personal quest to perfect slow-smoked meats. Today, after years of cooking on the professional barbecue circuit, he says his finally achieved what he considers barbecue excellence.

This cookbook featuring Christopher is no small achievement and Oxmoore House pulled out all they had to get it published. It takes an army of people to publish a book like this: Creative director, art director, executive photography director, executive food director, managing editor, assistant managing editor, editor, editorial assistant, senior designer, assistant test kitchen manager, recipe developers and testers, food stylist, photo editor, senior photographer, senior photo stylist, senior production managers, pitmaster, writer, executive editor, assistant project editor, compositors, recipe editor, copy editors, proofreader, indexer, fellows, photographer, Photo stylists, and a few more!

Seriously, this BBQ cookbook is a work of art!

There is a art gallery of mouth-watering photographs of recipes, all meticulously cooked, styled and photographed.

With our a doubt, this is a comprehensive book about Southern style BBQ, covering eight unique chapters: BBQ defined, Bona fide BBQ, Fueling the fire, Low & slow, Hot and fast, Rainy day barbecue, Fiery sides, and Spice it up. Each chapter, goes into great detail covering everything you need to know about how to cook authentic Southern BBQ.

BBQ defined – is a great introduction to BBQ history and it's southern origins, with discussions on sauces, sides and drinks.

Bona fide BBQ – jumps right in with pork, beef, mutton and lamb, chicken, Turkey and other poultry. Discussing the various cuts that are preferred for authentic Southern BBQ.

Fueling the fire – is all about teaching you how to barbecue like a pro. Introducing you to various fuel sources and cooking equipment, the best woods for smoking, the best techniques for grilling, combination grilling, and BBQ. There's also a nice segment on the Minion Method made famous by Jim Minion.

Low & slow – “Large and tough cuts of meat require longer cooking times, so low and slow is the way to go”. Here is where we get down to the nitty-gritty, true BBQ, we're talking about beef brisket, beef chuck role, beef short ribs, pork spare ribs, baby back ribs, pork butt, smoked chicken and spatchcock smoked turkey. This chapter goes into great detail on how to cook traditional BBQ cuts of meats, with detail descriptions and step-by-step photographs. One of the elements of this cookbook that I truly appreciate is the additional recipes to create from the main cut of meat that you will surely have as leftovers. The Brisket alone had several recipes to salivate over, such as: Smoked beef brisket, Cowboy sandwich, Beef brisket tostadas, Brisket and rice noodles with pineapple salsa; plenty of great recipes to take care of that extra brisket!

Hot & Fast – this chapter is all about quick grilling of common and popular cuts of meat including tri-tip, flank steak, pork chops, tenderloins, roasts, burgers and fish, all with exquisitely detailed photographs, helpful tips, and delicious marinades and sauces.

And those are just the first five chapters of the Southern Living's Ultimate Book of BBQ !

Each and every recipe is detailed with yield information, cooking time, temperatures, precise steps, techniques and tips!

It truly never seems to end.

One of my favorite reads in every chapter are the “Tips from the pits” featuring various pit masters from around the south and the “BBQ&A's” asking real pit masters various questions such as “What are your favorite types of wood?” “What do you look for when selecting a rack of ribs?” “What are your favorite foods to serve with barbecue?” You will learn a ton of great information about traditional barbecue just from these alone.

The final chapter of Southern Living's Ultimate Book of BBQ – Spice It Up, is without a doubt my favorite. It includes a large collection of barbecue sauces, glazes, rubs, marinades, brazing liquids, brine's, slathers, and a serious collection of pickling recipes, all with the same meticulously detailed recipe directions that accompany everything in this book.

So the final questions everyone's going to ask is

• “Is this BBQ cookbook worth buying?” – YES
• “Will I read this more than once?” – YES
• “Is it enjoyable to read?” – YES
• “Will I cook the recipes in this book?” – YES
• “Did I learn something new?” – YES

I made the Mango Salsa here: Grilled Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa

I am making the Pulled Pork recipe and will include the link here in a day or two.

And, I have a long list of other recipes flagged in the book to try.

And that leaves me to giving it a 5 YES review!

I love this cookbook!

Visit Amazon if you would like your own copy of the Southern Living's Ultimate Book of BBQ – The Complete Year – Round Guide to Grilling & Smoking with Pitmaster Christopher Prieto at the time of this review, it is only $15.71 with 27 5-star reviews.

Full disclosure: This cookbook is provided to me for review at no charge, no compensation and without stipulation. Amazon links are affiliate links and I make a small commission on each sale which never affects your cost.