25 Essentials: Techniques for Smoking

Here barbecue expert Davis takes a look at cooking low and slow, offering 25 recipes using his smoking techniques-and yes, there are 25 of those, too: rotisseries, wood planks and even paper bags make appearances, used for everything from cipollini onions and shrimp to a Smoke-Baked Barbecue Chile Pie. Though the number of techniques may seem like a ""look at me"" gimmick, Davis is a serious smoker and the dishes he highlights are solid, workaday fare. The bulk of meat dishes are simple classics, among them beer-can chicken, slow-smoked pork shoulder and ribs done four ways. As most preparations call for little more than oil, salt, pepper and the occasional sprinkling of granulated garlic, cooks will need only to source their wood chips. An excellent entry point for those new to smoking, this should also teach vets some new tricks. Fair warning: those hoping for sauce recipes will have to look elsewhere (Davis's Great BBQ Sauce Book, perhaps?).