"Twist a chicken leg with your fingers. If it doesn't budge, it isn't done. If it spins like a roulette wheel in Las Vegas, it has cooked too long." This week's grilling tips come from Chris Lilly: vice president, executive chef, and partner of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Alabama. Big Bob Gibson is a legendary name in the world of Bar-B-Q and the cooking team holds ten World BBQ Championships, six world titles at "Memphis in May," as well as the American Royal International Cook-Off and BBQ Sauce Competition. Fifteen years ago, Chris Lilly was hired by Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q to learn the art of barbecue from Bob Gibson himself. His meat mentor simply told him to... More

Crispy Critters preps its whole hog entry at last year's Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. The Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest enjoys the saucy subtitle, "Superbowl of Swine." Like the football game that sorta shares that handle, it can be almost impossible for spectators to get up close to the sizzling hot action at Memphis in May, which starts Thursday and wraps up Saturday. It’s like going to a party and being told to stay away from the buffet. After watching the mouthwatering competition on the Food Network, hundreds of ‘cue fans make the pilgrimage to the annual event only to be bummed when they learn it’s not cool to walk up to... More

Adam Perry Lang is a French-trained chef with years of experience at illustrious restaurants such as Daniel, Le Cirque, and Guy Savoy. With a resume like that you might assume that Lang would be more comfortable with squeeze bottles and a sous vide machine than tongs and a grill. In fact, Lang has retired his proverbial toque and become a bona fide barbecue expert. In 2003 he opened Daisy May's BBQ and entered the professional barbecue circuit. Lang's pork shoulder won first place at the World Series of Barbecue and was named Grand Champion at the World Pork Expo. With victories like these under his belt, it's obvious that Lang knows his barbecue. His next project is taking him across... More

Photograph from TheJosephBoys on Flickr Barbecue has inspired all sorts of mania, but has it gone too far when a modern dance company bases a piece on the iconic American food? In mid May, dance students at the Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company in Kansas City will be performing the Gates B-B-Que Suite, inspired by Gates Bar-B-Q and Kansas City jazz: The piece is described as a "loving and playful look" at the tradition of Kansas City barbeque. Set in a barbeque restaurant, the choreography is intended to capture the "microcosm of society" in dance as people socialize and eat this favorite Kansas City cuisine. Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. on May 14 and at 8 p.m. on May... More

"Maybe even better than the pork is a crunchy-skinned half chicken featuring what often seems like the impossible: simultaneously moist thighs, legs, and breasts." Though my job is supposedly to find really great food experiences, I also have this really dirty habit of avoiding them. Usually it’s a mixture of procrastination or busyness, whereby I somehow miss the opening of a new spot, and before you know it, everyone, including my grandma, has blogged about how good the place is and how it’s become a Chicago classic—and then there’s no need for me to even try it. Honky Tonk Barbecue in Chicago is one of those places. While my grandmother hasn’t yet Twittered me about the pulled pork, they’ve already... More

You may recognize Toby Jones from his truck rental and storage days. He'll store anything you want for $10.99! Now he'll fry anything you want for $5.99!! "As long as it's fryable or edible, we gonna make it deliciousatable." Conveniently, Jones is also a "feet expert" (what a man!) so he'll rub your little toes with those moisturizing barbecue sauces. At the very least, watch it for the dancing dinosaur. The video, after the jump.... More

"I'll soak chips for 15 minutes or so, chunks for an hour or so, and logs, if they’re really dry, for up to six hours. But my preference is chunks." This week's grilling tips come from Adam Perry Lang, a remarkable chef who is as well-versed in pot au feu as he is pit smoking (and everything in between). This wide span of knowledge comes from a decade spent with some of the greatest chefs and restaurants in the world, from Restaurant Guy Savoy in Paris to the renowned Daniel and Le Cirque in Manhattan. Eventually Adam landed a job as a private chef, which had him jet-setting all over the world and allowed him to spend a life-altering summer... More

Even if you haven't been to Texas, you might be familiar with Mr. Stubblefield. His brand of barbecue sauce, known simply as Stubb's, is stocked at most grocery stores nationwide. And though some might assume it's just a marketing ploy, that face on the package was real. He died in 1995, but his legacy (of making fingers everywhere all sauced-up) extends to the music world. He was as obsessed with music as he was with smoked meats. NPR's Kitchen Sisters has a nice profile on Stubblefield, whose Austin barbecue joint (also, conveniently, called Stubb's) doubles as a concert venue, and was hot this week on the four-day SXSW music fest circuit. From Neko Case to Ben Harper, plenty of... More