Father's Day Gifts: The Best Barbecue and Food Books for Dad

"Give a man a chicken and he will turn it into a black lump. Teach a man to grill a chicken and he will gloat all night." Meathead

Dad's chicken look like this? Doesn't have to. Cooking outdoors is different than cooking indoors. But there is help. There are a number of good books that can rescue him (and you).

Below are some of my favorite books about barbecue, grilling, and cooking. Click the title to see the current price on Amazon. Click here for a complete list of all of the barbecue books on Amazon. Click here for more of my favorite food and cooking books.

 

What's your favorite book for dad?

Find a picture, click the participate button, add a title and upload your picture

1 of 10

Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book: Recipes and Secrets from a Legendary Barbecue Joint by Chris Lilly

1 of 11

First Slide

Previous Slide

@

Chris Lilly is the Executive Chef of one of the nation's classic old BBQ joints, Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q, in Decatur, AL. He is also the head of the restaurant's much decorated competition team. Surprisingly thin with a pointy chin and piercing eyes, his angularity is significantly softened by his drawl. Most barbecue chefs have a pretty small repertoire, limited to the classic Southern barbecue canon, ribs, pulled pork, brisket, chicken, sausage, and sides like beans, cornbread, and slaw. Yes, they're all there in this superb book, but Lilly also includes fun riffs on Caribbean Jerk Pork and Bacon Wrapped Shrimp. There is also a version of Big Bob's famous white chicken sauce, but I he clearly felt restrained from giving away the restaurant's secret recipe, and frankly, I think my reverse engineering of the ingredients comes closer to the real deal. Lilly is a fine story teller, and he shares with us what it is like to work at a small town barbecue joint, as well as the fascinating legend of Big Bob and his family all the way back to 1925. The photos by Ben Fink are rich and rustic, and it's a shame he is only mentioned in small type in the back of the book. He deserves cover credit. The images really make the recipes look worth cooking and make Big Bob's look like a destination. Likewise the historic images give the reader a real sense of the heritage of the recipes. I have one other nit to pick, and that's the table of contents, which contains only chapter titles and not a listing of the stories and recipes. If classic Southern Barbecue is your goal, this is the one book you need. On Amazon.com: Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book: Recipes and Secrets from a Legendary Barbecue Joint by Chris Lilly

Best Restaurant Towns

WMF's Weird And Wonderful Kitchen Utensil Ads

10 Health Benefits of Eating Chocolate

gadgets/slideshows/233346/slide_233346_1108830_small.jpg

Food Robots Around The World

"The Chew" Cast's Many Costumes

Fast Food Restaurants You Haven't Heard Of

Chris Lilly is the Executive Chef of one of the nation's classic old BBQ joints, Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q, in Decatur, AL. He is also the head of the restaurant's much decorated competition team. Surprisingly thin with a pointy chin and piercing eyes, his angularity is significantly softened by his drawl.

Most barbecue chefs have a pretty small repertoire, limited to the classic Southern barbecue canon, ribs, pulled pork, brisket, chicken, sausage, and sides like beans, cornbread, and slaw. Yes, they're all there in this superb book, but Lilly also includes fun riffs on Caribbean Jerk Pork and Bacon Wrapped Shrimp. There is also a version of Big Bob's famous white chicken sauce, but I he clearly felt restrained from giving away the restaurant's secret recipe, and frankly, I think my reverse engineering of the ingredients comes closer to the real deal.

Lilly is a fine story teller, and he shares with us what it is like to work at a small town barbecue joint, as well as the fascinating legend of Big Bob and his family all the way back to 1925.

The photos by Ben Fink are rich and rustic, and it's a shame he is only mentioned in small type in the back of the book. He deserves cover credit. The images really make the recipes look worth cooking and make Big Bob's look like a destination. Likewise the historic images give the reader a real sense of the heritage of the recipes.

I have one other nit to pick, and that's the table of contents, which contains only chapter titles and not a listing of the stories and recipes. If classic Southern Barbecue is your goal, this is the one book you need.

On Amazon.com: Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book: Recipes and Secrets from a Legendary Barbecue Joint by Chris Lilly

comments(14)

Total comments: 14 | Post a Comment

1 of 11

Rate This Slide

Rank #2  |  Average: 4

Dad will love it.

• 
  1
• 
  2
• 
  3
• 
  4
• 
  5
• 
  6
• 
  7
• 
  8
• 
  9
• 
  10

Current Top 5 Slides

loading...

Choose your Top 5 Slides

UserName

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Top User Slides

← Prev|Next →

 | Become a fan

Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Users who voted on this slide

← Prev|Next →

loading...

----------------------------
Full Disclosure. If you click a link to Amazon in this article and make a purchase, the author gets a small referral fee. It has zero impact on the price you pay or on his product recommendations.

Copyright (c) 2010 By Meathead, and all rights are reserved. For more of Meathead's writing, photos, and recipes, please visit his website AmazingRibs.com, friend him on Facebook, or follow him on Twitter.

 

Follow Meathead on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ribguy

Comments

[seal62]

10:23 AM on 06/19/2010

Red state seafood on the grill....no need to add the oil.

[seal62]

10:22 AM on 06/19/2010

bbq u is by the the worst show ive ever witnessed..if any book says tx...take it back and wash your hands.

[mickymar]

08:08 PM on 06/17/2010

Blackened Chicken? Yummy, sounds great. BBQ sounds great too!

[Debby Carroll]

02:12 PM on 06/11/2010

You left out Mastering the Grill by Andrew Schloss and that's a shame because it's a fantastic grill book.

[ecotopian]

10:06 AM on 06/10/2010

So why were there no BBQ book recommendations on Mother's Day? Are you that sexist to suggest that only men BBQ?

[Meathead]

12:59 PM on 06/10/2010

Fact is that more men grill than women. But the gap is closing. 40% of the readers of my website, http://amazingribs.com, are women. For Mother's Day I offered a grilled lamb recipe.

[pneuma8828]

09:56 AM on 06/10/2010

I consider myself a serious barbecue chef. I own my own side box smoker; I do shoulders, ribs, chicken, and brisket; I've smoked turkeys, and made my own bacon. I've had to look for suppliers to buy my wood in bulk, and I have a shelf full of barbecue books.

None of them, and I mean none, come even close to Serious Barbecue by Adam Perry Lang. This man layers flavors like no one else. Do yourself a favor and try this one out.

[Meathead]

12:56 PM on 06/10/2010

Adam is a god. I just haven't read his book yet.

[lazercat2008]

09:52 AM on 06/10/2010

Yes, because Dads love cookbooks.

[ooloi]

06:57 AM on 06/10/2010

I love that you have included The Omnivore's Dilemma and Food Rules in your list of "best food books", but I cannot, simply cannot, believe that you haven't included Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina BBQ in your list of barbecue books, especially given that you included Legends of Texas Barbecue.

[Meathead]

12:55 PM on 06/10/2010

I love Holy Smoke, but Robb Walsh's book is simply a lot better.

[orbro]

06:50 AM on 06/10/2010

No offense to Mr. Meathead, but you can help your dad with his spare tractor tire and blood pressure and get him a veggie book.

[lazercat2008]

09:52 AM on 06/10/2010

That's only if you want him to stick around.

[Meathead]

12:54 PM on 06/10/2010

All the recipe books above contain plenty of vegetable recipes.