Review: Southern Living's Big Book of BBQ

Creator: Southern Living (Time Inc. Lifestyle Group)
Requirements: Compatible with iPad. Requires iOS 3.2.2 or later.

Cost: $7.99 (Price increasing to $12.99 after July 4, 2012)
Link: Big Book of BBQ


A few years ago I took one of Chef Troy Black's BBQ classes, he is the Southern Living Pitmaster. It was a great class and I learned a lot about competition BBQ from it. A couple months later, I found out he had worked on the Big Book of BBQ for Southern Living. I saw it at Books-a-Million on day and flipped through it. It looked good but I didn't have it in the budget to purchase it. A couple weeks later, I was looking through iPad apps and came across the Big Book of BBQ app. I thought it sounded very familiar so I looked at the information about it and it was the app of the same book. At $7.99 I figured it would be worth the purchase. It was.

The Big Book of BBQ app has everything the printed book does but with some extras. The app is laid out with a table of contents that make it easy for you to find what you are looking for. Chef Troy starts out with the basics of "How to BBQ." He explains how to set up your grill, start your fire, what types of woods to use, direct and Indirect grilling and then explains the two biggest BBQ meats; pork shoulder and brisket. The book then moves on to recipes to use your new found knowledge on. From the main course and sides to desserts. This app has recipes for cooking a whole meal for friends and family.

Table of Contents

The best part of this app is the videos. Troy shows and explains how to do things. This is something the book can't do and makes the app worth it. He also has audio tips and directions for some of the recipes. Both the video and audio make the recipes and directions easier to understand.

I recommend this book for beginners or seasoned veterans. The beginners at BBQ will learn a lot from it in how to set up their cooks and what tools are need to how to cook meat properly. The veterans may learn a new trick or two but the recipes will add to their repertoire  of good food.

On the Gibbs Ribs scale* I give this app a full rack of ribs with some baked beans on the side. It is a great cook book and instructional app. It's easy to find what you need in it and you will want to use it over and over. Get the Big Book of BBQ and cook something great.