"There is room around the pit for you," states author and pitmaster extraordinaire Ardie A. Davis. "[Barbecuers] love to share what they know with anyone who wants to learn." Davis is no exception to the rule of sharing, and his years of experience led the Kansas City Star to declare Davis a Kansas City Barbecue Legend. He has been awarded several honors for his involvement judging barbecue competitions.
Working on the philosophy that every pitmaster should first learn the essentials - fire, smoke, and minimal seasonings - Davis has compiled 25 of the essentials, which he teaches in his hands-on method that lets you eat as you smoke your way to expertise. Starting with a brief guide to the essentials, he covers the magic of low, slow heat explaining the smoke flavors of briquets from hickory or oak to alder, apple and peach woods. He continues with a discussion of smokers, rotisserie and spit cooking, a list of the basic tools for pitmasters, building and managing the fire and, oh yes, the unfortunate, but necessary task of cleaning the cooker.
After these essentials, Davis sends the cook straight to the grill to learn technique through his time-honed recipes. Davis is a believer in simplicity, and the recipes reflect his no-nonsense approach. Each recipe has a recommendation for the type of wood chip that will render the most flavor for each type of ingredient. Among the general techniques he gives recipes for slathering and smoking meat ((Smoked Prime Rib), for basting and smoking meat (Barbecued Short Ribs with Olive Oil Baste), glazing and smoking meat (Sweet Stuff Glazed Baby Back Ribs), mopping (Smoked Turkey with Cranberry-Whiskey Mop), brining (Brown Sugar-Brined Turkey Breast), marinating (County Fair Barbecued Turkey Legs and Thighs with Citrus Marinade).
Davis has smoked every possible food, not coincidentally experimenting with every possible technique, and there are recipes for particular meats, such as Smoking Brisket or Prime Ribs, as well as recipes that cover general topics such as Shellfish, Fish Fillets, Whole Vegetables, and Pickling Smoked Vegetables. The reader can learn Smoke Baking while turning out a Smoke-Baked Chile Pie, or master Paper-Bag Smoking while cooking a pork shoulder that Davis calls Butt in a Bag. Move on to master Beer-Can Smoking with a delicious This Bird's For You Beer-Can Chicken. For sides there is Pitmaster's Secret Recipe Beans, infused with smoke, and Smoke-Roasted Rustic Root Vegetables as a sample of smoke roasting.
There are full-color photographs throughout by Joyce Oudkerk Pool to tantalize and teach. The book is simply, but elegantly formatted in a size that is easy to use in the back yard. It is published with its companion book for the grill: 25 Essentials: Techniques for Grilling
©
