Holy Smoke The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue

Holy Smoke The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue

North Carolina is home to the longest continuous barbecue tradition on the North American mainland. Authoritative, spirited, and opinionated (in the best way), Holy Smoke is a passionate exploration of the lore, recipes, traditions, and people who have helped shape North Carolina’s signature slow-food dish.

Three barbecue devotees, John Shelton Reed, Dale Volberg Reed, and William McKinney, trace the origins of North Carolina ‘cue and the emergence of the heated rivalry between Eastern and Piedmont styles. They provide detailed instructions for cooking barbecue at home, along with recipes for the traditional array of side dishes that should accompany it. The final section of the book presents some of the people who cook barbecue for a living, recording firsthand what experts say about the past and future of North Carolina barbecue.

Filled with historic and contemporary photographs showing centuries of North Carolina’s “barbeculture,” as the authors call it, Holy Smoke is one of a kind, offering a comprehensive exploration of the Tar Heel barbecue tradition.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Well Researched
This book is an excellent overview of North Carolina barbecue. What sets this book apart from others on the subject is the amount of detailed research. The authors not only did their homework, they interviewed many of the major figures in North Carolina barbecue first hand.

The unique structure makes the book very readable. First they give a detailed history of barbecue in North Carolina while touching on the debates that echo within the state as to what constitutes “real” barbecue and what does not. This ranges from the style of sauce and what cut of the pig is used, to what fuel does the cooking (wood vs. gas, electric, etc.) Second, they go into the food in detail giving many excellent recipes and enough detail that even a barbecue novice could produce their own ‘cue. Finally (and my favorite part) are the interviews. The authors scoured the state, interviewing the important restaurant owners and pitmasters who make North Carolina the epicenter of barbecue as we know it.

Highly recommended for fans of good food and history.

5 Stars Wonderful book!
This is a great book on North Carolina barbecue and is worthy of a spot next to “North Carolina Barbecue” by Bob Garner, another good read. They make you want to hit the NC barbecue trail!

5 Stars holy smoke!!
I got this book as a gift for my husband for Christmas. Let me just say that we LOVE North Carolina barbecue. My husband has thoroughly enjoyed Holy Smoke. It is a great reference for the historical and cultural aspect of NC barbecue and also includes some very interesting and authentic recipes. The pictures are great too. He has several other books dedicated to North Carolina barbecue, but this one is unique.

5 Stars Great book for BBQ fans
Bought it for my father-in-law for Christmas. We took turns reading it over the holiday. He and I agree of all the BBQ books we’ve read, Holy Smoke might just be the best.

It covers every aspect from history to recipes to making excellent BBQ at home. Highly recommended for fans of North Carolina barbeque.

5 Stars BBQ Odyssey
Bob from Baltimore:

I am a native of Baltimore, Maryland; a state that was the most northern of the southern culture and most southern of northern industry, I have a foot (or toe) in both. I first sampled Carolina Barbecue (BBQ) in the mid 1970’s after a sister-in-law married into a North Carolina family. Initially a culinary culture shock; that defied my notion of BBQ, but over the years I came to love the unique local food and the small family restaurants that purvey it. I had the opportunity of meeting the authors of Holy Smoke at a book signing near Chapel Hill, NC. Their knowledge of Southern food and cultural history runs deeper than their most recent work. The book is highly read-able and cleverly illustrated with old images of BBQ “joints”, advertisement and other themes. John and Dale Reed aided by Bill McKinney have connected the dots of this pit cooked North Carolina Odyssey to reveal a portrait of tradition, community and rivalry. The only this missing was a scratch and sniff of hickory smoke.

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