Page 12 - July 2020 Barbecue News Magazine

Texas Q & Everyday Keto
barbecue books
Doug Mosley
Resident Book Guru
doug_mosley@hotmail.com
In this month where we celebrate our nation’s birthday by consuming a non-stop buffet of outstanding grilled and smoked foods – isn’t that how all y’all do it as well? – it is perhaps most fitting that we hoist some cold, frosty bever- ages and have fiery debates on just who would be on the Mount Rushmore of barbecue authors. Or at least that what we do at our house. There are four great Americans immor- talized on the side of that South Dakota mountain, which presents a problem because we could easily go eight or nine deep on great authors, probably more depending upon how many cold, frosty beverages we’re into.
For the sake of brevity let’s not go into the full considera- tion of all names just right now but instead talk about just one name – Jamison. Now that unto itself is part of the problem with our debates because in the world of great barbecue authors, the name Jamison is two people: the late Bill Jamison and his wife of 30 years Cheryl Alters Jamison. The two are co-authors of over two dozen books, including some of the first great books on barbecue when this all hit the big-time back in the mid-90s.
Their 1994 book, “Smoke and Spice” has been revised and released two more times since. Best sellers “Sub- lime Smoke” and “Born to Grill” were soon to follow as along the way the Jamisons would earn four James Beard awards for their books. So you see the dilemma here when we’re talking about that Mount Rushmore because with just four spots the Jamisons have already locked down two.
After a noble battle with cancer, we lost Bill Jamison back in 2015. But Cheryl Alters Jamison has continued to write. The Illinois native-turned- Texas devotee (thanks to Texas na- tive Bill) released “Texas Slow Cooker” in 2017 (reviewed positively in this space) and co-authored with
Tom and Lisa Perini “Perini Ranch Steakhouse” in 2019. Now she has released the new book, “Texas Q: 100 Recipes for the Very Best Barbecue from the Lone Star State, All Smoke-Cooked to Perfection” ($26.99, 192 pp.).
Texas barbecue is no easy neighborhood to walk into, in terms of books that is. There is some pretty stout competi- tion. Robb Walsh wrote one of my all-time favorites, “Leg- ends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook”. Elizabeth S.D. Engelhardt’s “Republic of Barbecue” led off with the over- leaf boast of “It’s no overstatement to say that the state of Texas is a republic of barbecue” and then became less and less humble about it as the pages went on. Jess Pryles (Aus- tralian by birth, Texas by choice) wrote “Hardcore Carni- vore” and Daniel Vaughn gave us “The Prophets of Smoked Meat”. Wyatt McSpadden’s “Texas BBQ” is so beautifully photographed and presented that it belongs on a coffee table rather than in the kitchen. And let us not forget the current wunderkid of Texas ‘cue, Aaron Franklin and his books, “Franklin Barbecue” and “Franklin Steak”. Geez,
there’s a bunch of great books on Texas barbecue.
Add one more to that list.
“Texas Q” isn’t the prettiest book of the bunch, nor the thickest, nor the most detailed. But somehow Cheryl Alters Jamison has a magical touch in putting together concise, well- written books that provide you everything you need. Her recipe se- lection is remarkable, hitting all the ones you know have to be in a book like this but also offering up some- thing unique. I loved how she han- dled the chapter on beef, first offering up the obligatory brisket recipes (Classic Central Texas Brisket, Salt-and-Pepper Central Texas Brisket, and a couple of oth- ers); then putting a funny cap on
BarbecueNews.com - 12
JULY 2020