Page 33 - August 2021 Barbecue News Magazine

book on Southern barbecue written by a New Yorker living in Colorado, I’m likely seeking out the rest of the story. I was relieved to dis- cover, in this case, that the author is legit and his Southern barbecue chops are solid, so I’m happy to recommend to you “Smokin’ Southern BBQ: Barbecue Recipes and Techniques From Around the South” by Glenn Connaughton ($14.99, Rockridge Press, 174 pp.).
Connaughton tells his story of love
for Southern ‘cue in the opening
pages of his new book and then
weaves it into his adoring words as
the pages and chapters follow. I
particularly enjoyed how he sepa-
rated regional styles into chapters
and did not make the fatal flaw of
overlapping the Carolinas or say-
ing Texas style represents the entire state. I also got the sense that he wrote this from the standpoint of covering
the styles he included in the book in a complete manner while recog- nizing there are other Southern styles that aren’t included in the book. As an example, that chapter on Texas Hill Country focuses very well on just that style and didn’t try to force in others under that same banner. North and South Car- olina are separate chapters as well. I appreciated those nuances. There are also chapters on Alabama, Ken- tucky, Memphis, Kansas City and St. Louis.
Because he’d cover his topic so well I kinda’ wished he’d had the opportunity to drill down even fur- ther, picking up the unique flavors in other micro-styles such as the Gulf Coast, the other Texas re- gions, South Florida, Georgia and
others. But perhaps that’s for his next book and, if so, I will gladly look forward to it.
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