Taking Boomer Taste Buds on a Southern Barbecue Tour

Calling all baby boomer barbecue aficionados. Discover the South on your next boomer trip by touring the region’s barbecue pit stops. From the yellow-mustard tartness of South Carolina barbecue to the tomato sweetness of Texas brisket, the sauce says a lot about the southern state that you’re visiting. And then there are the sides. In North and South Carolina, your barbecue will be accompanied by hush puppies. But, to this Georgia boomer girl, it’s not barbecue unless there’s a cup of brunswick stews sitting next to that pulled pork barbecue sandwich.

[amazonify]0848733320::text::::The Big Book of BBQ[/amazonify], from the editors of Southern Living, takes you on a tour of the South without ever leaving the kitchen. Starting with the nuances of barbecue cooking styles, the book progresses through regional recipes before ending with a section on those important sides like Georgia Peach Trifle. Or take a road trip through the South using the Pit Stop pages as your travel guide.

With colorful photos that will make your mouth water, The Big Book 0f BBQ is a visual delight. The recipes offer clear instructions that include estimated prep time, inspiring even a non-cook like me to fire up the grill.

Organization is the biggest weakness of The Big Book of BBQ. To find the Pit Stop pages, you’ll need to flip back to the index because you won’t find them listed in the table of contents.

With so many great barbecue restaurants in the South, it’s inevitable that a few would be left out of the Pit Stop listings. Harold’s, long-time Atlanta restaurant (and my favorite) wasn’t included on the Georgia page. And how could Charls Vergos’ Rendevous, the Memphis home of world famous ribs, be left out? But Alan and I appreciate the introduction of new-to-us barbecue restaurants that will be included on our next Southern road trip.

Have I inspired you to cook up an authentic Southern barbecue? Oxmoor House, the publishers of The Big Book of BBQ is offering a copy to one of our readers. What’s your favorite style of barbecue? Enter the contest by leaving your choice in the comments section at the end of this post. Please include your email address for contact purposes. Contest ends on Thursday, July 8, 2010 at 11:00 p.m. Arizona Mountain Standard Time. Winner will be announced as soon as possible. Remember, according to our general contest rules, the winner must be a U.S. resident and respond within 48 hours of receiving the notification email; or we chose another winner.

Disclosure: Oxmoor House provided a copy of The Big Book of BBQ for my review and another copy as a prize for one of our readers.

I have included an Amazon link to The Big Book of Barbecue for your convenience, however My Itchy Travel Feet does receive a small percentage for purchases made at Amazon.com.

UPDATE: July 8, 2010, 11:01 p.m.. This contest has expired. As soon as the winner acknowledges receipt of my email, I’ll make the announcement.

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Tagged as: Baby boomer travel, baby boomers, barbecue, barbecue book, barbecue in the united states, bbq, bbq review, books, boomers, cooking, food and drink, regional variations of barbecue, road trip, South Carolina, southern living, travel