Memphis Barbecue: A Succulent History of Smoke, Sauce & Soul

The lifelong Memphian and food blogger “examines the history of the city one plate of barbecue at a time” (High Ground). The city’s blues and soul music have lifted spirits, while barbecue has been a serious business ever since pork first entered the culinary landscape of Memphis with Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto, who brought the New World its first herd of pigs. Succulent pulled pork and ribs have become part of the fabric of life in Bluff City, and today they are cooked up in kitchens ranging from the internationally acclaimed, like Corky’s, to the humblest of roadside dives. Told through the history of its barbecue is the story of the city of Memphis, from legendary joints like Leonard’s Barbecue, where Elvis Presley hosted private parties, to lesser-known places like William’s Bar-B-Q in the West Memphis, Arkansas neighborhood where wild, late-night blues juke joints served as a red-light district across the river from Beale Street in the 1950s and ’60s. Sink your teeth into this rich history chock-full of interviews and insights from the city’s finest pitmasters and ’cue gurus who continue the long tradition of creating art with meat and flame. “There are some amazing moments in Memphis Barbecue—like Jim Neely speaking quite frankly about his TV celebrity nephew Pat Neely and John Willingham’s widow remembering the barbecue legend’s last day.” —Memphis Flyer