As the legend goes, Eskimos have 500 words for snow. Certainly, Southern chefs that are worth their salt should know about that many synonyms for sauce. Thus it is with Karmel (Taming the Flame
), executive chef of Hill Country, that great bastion for brisket in New York City. She steps up to the plate with 400 recipes covering marinades, brines, glazes, salsas, rubs, vinaigrettes, relishes, pestos and the occasional ketchup. Her choice of ingredients runs the pop cultural gamut from cherry Coke in a sweet cherry cola barbecue sauce to bourbon in her Jack Daniel's steak sauce to coffee in a cocoa-espresso-black pepper rub. There's a coating for anything one would care to grill, like an apple cider brine for pork or soy-ginger wasabi butter for seafood. Karmel's commentaries, which preface each recipe, reflect the broad scope of her culinary life. But she perhaps shares a little too much information as to the origins of “I Think My Pig Is Sexy” marinade, and her many travel exploits come off a bit like a brag, raving over a mushroom quesadilla she had on the Mexican Riviera and the sashimi with hibiscus salt she discovered in Tokyo. Her most brilliant move is her quietest, a minimalist chart entitled, “Make Your Own Barbecue Rub” which lets you mix and match from lists of salts, sugars, peppers and spices. (Apr.)
