Memphis Blues Barbeque House: Bringin' Southern BBQ Home.

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

The art of barbecue cookery originated in the American south. This cookbook by Vancouver chefs George Siu and Park Heffelfinger is a collection of traditional recipes inspired by their many trips south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Forget the ponzu marinated Chilean Sea Bass filets or Organic Caribou steaks grilled blue rare; Siu/Heffelfinger stick to long-established Southern delights, which means their recipes feature mostly cheap cuts of meat slowly cooked at low temperatures over indirect heat.

Pork features prominently in many recipes, with some chicken, catfish, and shrimp recipes included to round out the food groups. In an attempt to be ecumenical, Siu and Heffelfinger include a few beef recipes, but they point out that beef is not really part of Southern barbecue cuisine—it is an import from Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, and other points west.

The first chapter discusses basic equipment, different styles of barbecuing and the difference between grilling and barbecuing. The subsequent chapters are comprised of recipes divided in categories including “Meat,” “Seafood,” “Sauces,” “Sides and Snacks,” “Salads,” “Soups and Stews,” “Desserts,” and “Drinks.” Some of the recipes offered include All-Purpose Dry Rub with Moroccan, Indian, Chinese, and Brisket variations, Horseradish Beef Brisket, North Carolina Mustard Sauce, Memphis Blues Pit Beans, Corn Bread, Collard Greens, Smokehouse Popcorn, Dry-Rubbed Spiced Nuts, Warm Potato Salad, Creamy Coleslaw, Blue Cheese Slaw, Smoky Chicken Vegetable Soup, Barbecue Brisket and Tomato Soup, Smoked Lamb Stew and Sausage, and Corn Chowder. Pulled Pork is Memphis Blue’s signature dish and in the meat chapter, there are recipes for Pulled Pork, Oven-Roasted Pulled Pork, Pulled Pork Pizza, Carolina-Styled Pulled Pork Sandwich, and a Memphis Pulled Pork Sandwich. Other recipes in this chapter include Pork Side Ribs, Smoked Pork Shank, Black-Eyed Peas and Pork Belly, Beef Brisket, Smoked Beef Ribs, Homemade Sausage Patties, Smoked Sausages, Dry-Rubbed Rotisserie Chicken, Smoked Chicken, Smoked Cornish Game Hen, Smoked Turkey, Smoked Leg of Lamb, and Smoked Rabbit with Succotash.

A short seafood section includes Oyster Po’Boy Sandwich, Pan-fried Catfish, Smoked Mussels and Barbecue Shrimp. More than three dozen photographs support the text and there is an index included for quick reference.