New School Barbecue: Recipes for Next-Level Smoking and Grilling from Austin's LeRoy and Lewis (Evan LeRoy, Paula Forbes)

This barbecue bible is essential reading for any griller who wants to learn from the best. LeRoy shares the tenets of barbecue with illustrations, step-by-step photography, and nearly 100 delicious recipes for mains, sides, and desserts that run the gamut from bacon ribs to smoked banana pudding.

Barbecue is not a set menu; it’s a cooking method—and nobody knows this better than Austin-based chef Evan LeRoy. As the co-owner, pitmaster, and mastermind chef at LeRoy and Lewis, one of the most popular and acclaimed BBQ joints in Texas—not an easy feat—LeRoy has reinvigorated the old style and staked his claim as a modern master of the barbecue game.

In New School Barbecue, LeRoy encourages home cooks to think differently about the barbecue they’re already familiar with, going beyond the “classic” dishes everyone serves. The methods he outlines can be applied to any cut of any meat (including lamb, chicken, beef, goat, and pork), any type of produce (avocados, cauliflower, squash, and more), and almost any cuisine.

And LeRoy’s techniques work on all kinds of outdoor cookers: offset smoker, pellet smoker, a kamado grill, or an old-fashioned Weber kettle grill, so anyone will be able to apply his recipes and recommendations to their setup.