Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book

April 6, 2009
Lilly, a world-champion pit master and executive chef of Alabama’s Big Bob Gibson’s Bar-B-Q, shares long-held family secrets from the restaurant’s founder in this homage to pure barbecue tradition. Lilly covers the process from beginning to end, starting with the setup, varieties of grills and cookers, wood selection and seasoning. Throughout, he provides valuable tips on everything from temperature gauges to positioning chicken on the grill. As acknowledgment that flavor is important but the true measure of barbecue is the tenderness and moistness of the meat, many of Lilly’s recipes focus on slow cooking and include more than meat. Bell pepper bundles, big mama’s pound cake, honey-garlic tomato sauce and grilled marinated mushrooms show the breadth of his expertise. Beef, pork and chicken are, as expected and deserved, the focus of much of his attention. Mushroom-crusted beef tenderloin, pork shoulder and barbecue ribs are among the gems he includes. 75 full-color photos.

July 1, 2009
Lilly, the great-grandson-in-law of the Decatur, Alabama, founder of Bob Gibsons BBQ restaurant, documents his business history and growth and displays all the right cooking know-how. To Lilly, barbecue is a serious affair, starting with a view of the traditional time line (beginning at 5 a.m.), discussing the strategy of low and slow cooking (choose among indirect, flank, bypass, or encirclement), and laying out the elements of a great recipe. Tips are invaluable, highlighted throughout the text, such as the worth of drip pans and their content, and the newbie advice to use a mix of wood and charcoal, not just the former. The 100 recipes salute all types of barbeque and traditional side dishes; included as appropriate are cooking method, suggested wood, and injection and cooking time. Even better, the variety of dishes showcase the best of this all-American farelike a peach pork butt or a bare-naked brisket; whole pigs from Cuban to Hawaiian style; and accompaniments such as stacked cornbread vegetable salsa salad or corn-husk skewers that make this all-day task a joy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)