Operation BBQ: 200 Smokin’ Recipes from Competition Grand Champions

In this entertaining cookbook, competition pit master Hays, and O’Keefe, a barbecue judge out of Kansas City, survey some 70 teams of champion BBQ chefs to learn what they cook up in their own backyards. The resulting 200 recipes for grills and smokers (from teams with such names as Natural Born Grillers and Sweet Swine O’ Mine) cover lots of ground with beef, poultry, and seafood entrees as well as sandwiches, sides, casseroles, and desserts. The low-and-slow smoking technique yields dishes including Big Ugly’s mouthwatering BBQ ribs that are ready to eat in six hours. Home cooks with less time on their hands could look to Greek lamb chops, which, once marinated overnight, cook up in 12 minutes. There are some unexpectedly fancy dishes, including beef tenderloin over mushroom risotto with lobster cream sauce, as well as gut bombs such as the Piggy Juicy Lucy (cheese and a sliced hot dog stuffed inside a hamburger). Many of the dishes come wrapped in bacon, and jalapeño poppers pop up in more variations than one might imagine. The two worlds converge in Vermont pepper bombs, in which ground apples and sausage are stuffed into halved jalapeños before the bacon is toothpicked into place. Award-winning grub is served up in this flavorful collection. [em](Apr.) [/em]