I recently got the book _Celebrating Barbecue_, by Dotty Griffith. It's
quite interesting, providing an overview of what the author calls "America's
4 regional styles of cue."

The four styles recognized are Carolina (hot and sour), Memphis (sweet, hot,
and smoky), Texas (savory, smoky, and a touch of sweet), and Kansas City
(sweet-sour and hot).

I've been itching to use my new grill anyway (the Bar-B-Chef Texas Charcoal
Grill; see www.bbqgalore.com/store/item.bbq?invky=5824202), and since I had
the day off yesterday, I made a Memphis-style barbecue using this menu and
recipes from the book:

Memphis-style Dry [pork] Ribs
Tennessee-style Barbecue Sauce
Barbecue Baked Beans
Mustard Potato Salad
Creamy Coleslaw

(That's the book's "Memphis Rib Plate" menu. I also had potato bread,
lemonade, and watermelon.)

I was particularly happy with the way the rather-tart potato salad worked
with the rather-sweet barbecue. I was also happy with the way the grill
handled indirect-heat cooking; its design makes it easy to add coals and/or
wood to one end of the grill to maintain the low-and-slow temperature
required for real barbecue. (The charcoal and wood are kept on one end of
the grill while the meat cooks on the other. There's also a pan of water
kept over the coals to keep the cooking area humid, which promotes
tenderness.)

I think I'll have at least three more barbecues. I won't be able to make
*every* recipe in the book; there are recipes given for barbecuing whole
hogs, and I don't have the space (or the appetite) to do that. But based on
this experience, I recommend the book for anybody who wants to explore the
American barbecue continuum.


Bob