Books
You Need this Cookbook: Rodney Scott’s World of BBQ
When it comes to cookbooks, I am an impatient reader. It’s like, “Ya, ya, ya…let’s get to the recipes.”
This book, by Rodney Scott, stopped me in my tracks. Part memoir, part recipe book, I read this book cover to cover in one night. I loved it.
Rodney is a James Beard award winner and the owner of three outstanding restaurants in Charleston, Birmingham, and Atlanta. I didn’t need Black History Month (February) to write about this amazing pit master. I knew Black Americans jump-started America’s love affair with barbecue.
Rodney barbecued his first whole hog when he was eleven years old. Yes, you read that right. I wasn’t even allowed to light a match at that age. And how can you not love someone whose motto is “Every Day is a Good Day?”
Rodney Scott’s World of BBQ Book Review
As soon as I read the first few pages, I was all in. Rodney’s recipes are simple, but sublime. Take a look at this recipe for Spareribs!
“One constant in the South is that everywhere you go, pork is king,” Here, too, Rodney. I now live in Iowa (again). Rodney makes me want to build a barbecue pit from cement blocks in my back yard. He gives clear directions in this book.
And that’s really the thing. Rodney’s book is so inspiring! In this barbecue tome, Rodney shares everything he knows about barbecue. He even divulges his trick for lighting a fire—one I used with great success last weekend: I smeared some bacon fat (you could use shortening, like Crisco) over some cardboard, then lit it on fire under my chimney starter. This summer, I intend to cook my way through this marvelous book, recipe by recipe. Even the Banana Pudding,
I don’t have a lot of shelf space, but this book will have pride of place.
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