John Willingham’s World Champion Bar-B-Q: Over 150 Recipes and Tall Tales for Authentic, Braggin’ Rights, Real Southern Bar-B-Q and all the Fixin’s.

It’s already the middle of August, so its time for those end of summer barbecues. This book is a great source for barbecue recipes as well as some side dishes that complement the sweet and spicy flavors of the meats. Willingham defines barbecue as the process of cooking meat in a closed chamber using indirect heat produced by hardwood logs, chips, chunks, pellets or charcoal. For Willingham, barbecue is a food that is quintessentially Southern--even the side dishes here are Southern favorites.

After defining barbecue as a food that is cooked a certain way in a certain place, Willingham starts on the recipes. First, the appetizer chapter provides recipes for old country staples such as deviled eggs and pimiento cheese spread. The bread chapter comes next, showing recipes for southern style biscuits, no-knead refrigerator rolls and corn bread. Then comes the barbecue chapter-- and every type of meat is included. A recipe for Willingham’s World-Champion Ribs is offered, as well as Dixie Chicken and South Carolina-Style Pork. There is a chapter on cooking with grills– the backyard kind – and also one on chilis. And there is the side dish (fixins) chapter which includes Ultimate Mashed Potatoes. There is a chicken, fish and seafood chapter and one on slaws, salads and sandwiches. Finally comes a chapter on sauces, dry rubs, marinades and glazes and one on desserts. This is a really great book for anyone who wants to do barbecue the way experts do it--from the barbecue to the side dishes to dessert, everything you need is here.