Ribs, Slaw, Beans & Hushpuppies New Barbecue Book Highlights Appalachian Recipes By Jeff Eason The world of barbecue is full of mystery and intrigue and most of the award-winning cooks guard their trade secrets with an intensity and resolve that would make the directors of Homeland Security proud. Not Kent Whitaker. Whitaker, the winner of the 2003 Emeril Live Food Network Barbecue Contest is practically giving away all of his spicy secrets in a new cookbook called Smoke in the Mountains: The Art of Appalachian Barbecue. The amazingly easy to understand cookbook demystifies the art of cooking great authentic barbecue and was published this month by Quail Ridge Press. To research the cookbook, Whitaker visited just about every Appalachian barbecue restaurant in a three state area. Locally, he tried out the food of Bandana’s Bar B Que & Grill in Boone. “The food is great,” Whitaker said of Bandana’s. “The menu is packed with everything from barbecue to huge steaks to salads and shrimp. Their claim to fame is their mouth-watering ribs.” Whitaker went on to praise the restaurant’s hickory smoked meats and the extensive kids menu. Other restaurants and barbecue experts from western North Carolina cited in the new book include the Asheville Mennonite Church and Little Pigs BBBQ in Asheville, Perry’s Bar-B-Q in Black Mountain and the Carolina Smokehouse in Cashiers. Smoke in the Mountains includes detailed instructions on preparing barbecue from the butcher stage to the grill. Whitaker does a great job of explaining the differences in style and taste that comes from grilling, searing, smoking and indirect heat methods of cooking meat. He also goes into detail on the types of barbecue gadgets and utensils that are essential to the process and the ones that are optional. The book is easy to read, entertaining, and neatly divided into subjects such as “Sauces, marinades and rubs,” “Beef,” “Pork,” “Chicken and Other Birds,” “Wild Game,” “Sides and Such,” and many other categories of barbecue and barbecue related foods. Whitaker insists that barbecuing is easy and satisfying and that he sees a lot of common mistakes by people who try it for the first time. “People don’t prepare,” said Whitaker. “They don’t give time for their meat to marinate. They also tend to get in a rush. Low and slow are the two main things you need to remember about barbecue.” Whitaker also writes a weekly cooking column for several newspapers and teaches classes at a culinary institute in the Chattanooga area. Known informally as “The Deck Chef,” Whitaker is famous for his cornbread and barbecue and is currently working on a new television show centered on food and sports. “I think every good recipe or restaurant has a good story behind it,” said Whitaker. “Hopefully that comes across in this book. I wrote the book because I felt there was a need for a barbecue book that was easy and fun from a real guy. Many books are too bland. I love the mountains and the beach. I live in the Appalachian area so it was a natural.” It was Whitaker’s cornbread recipe that earned him a spot in the Emeril Live Food Network Barbecue Contest last year. “Emeril was a very nice guy and very funny,” said Whitaker. “His staff was amazing and took care of us like we were gold. Being able to cook with him instead of sitting in an audience somewhere was fantastic. Alan Madison, producer of the segment I was on, came to my house and we cooked all day. I told a thousand stories about neat restaurants and baseball. Alan said to me, ‘You need to write some of this stuff down.’ So I did.” Whitaker’s next cookbook project continues his love of outdoor recipes. “I am currently working on a book about tailgating,” said Whitaker. “I also have a desire to do a humor book about grilling. I would love to do a book about food along the Gulf Coast. There are so many neat little restaurants off the back roads and away from the strips and large restaurants.” For more information on the Smoke in the Mountains Cookbook, visit the publishing website www.quailridge.com.