Whole Hog BBQ: the Gospel of Carolina Barbeque

I think Southern Foodways Alliance Director John T. Edge describes this book best, "This is a new kind of book about a very old craft.  A portrait of a place, a document of a cooking style, and a narrative of a family, Whole Hog BBQ is an honest, revealing, and generous story that sets the standard all future books on the subject will aim to meet.

To say that North Carolinians are proud of their barbeque is an understatement and my personal preference is for the vinegary and peppery, hand-chopped eastern style NC BBQ.  Above that, my preference is for the James Beard award-winning Skylight Inn, hands down.  I've also eaten Sam Jones' BBQ after he finished an overnight cook in a hay field in Durham County, NC and at his new(er) outposts, Sam Jones BBQ.  This man knows what he's talking about in the world of whole hog chopped pork, both traditional and new-fangled. 

This book will help you to learn, step-by-step, how to recreate great whole hog barbeque at home, including a "recipe" for how to plan, schedule and create what we North Carolinians like to call a 'pig pickin' - a.ka.a, a big backyard party with all your family and friends and more succulent pork than you can shake a stick at.  It also contains the trinity of recipes that make for a fine-Skylight Inn inspired affair: Skylight Inn slaw, cornbread, and the light and citrusy "Pig Pickin' Cake" that rounds out the meal. 

When you're tired of eating smoked pork (if that's possible), try the Fish Stew recipe, it's incredible.