I purchased the book at over 75% off the cover price (normal price $50.85) and have since found it on Amazon.com in the new/used for about $15.00. I’ve tried several of the recipes in the cookbook, with many more to come, but to give you an example of one of my favorites, I’m chosing to share the “Smoked Hickory Rib Mop Sauce” (page 158).

I’ve been cooking ribs for years and still find little secrets here and there that just continue to make the ribs better and better. What makes this recipe special in my mind is the mop sauce recipe. I did deviate a little by using pork spareribs instead of baby back ribs. The reason for this is simple: spare ribs have more meat on them and the flavor just can’t be beat.

Hickory Rib Mop Sauce

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 yellow onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (15oz) tomato sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 tbs Dijon mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Kosher salt/black pepper to taste

In a sauce pan, warm the oil over medium heat adding the garlic and onion and sauté until tender. Next, stir in the ketchup, vinegar, orange juice, brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper bringing them to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cook until thick, about 15 minutes. Mop the sauce onto the ribs during the last 20-30 minutes of the cooking process, leaving the remaining sauce to be served with the finished ribs.

This sauce is one of my favorite finishing sauces for ribs, and one I plan on using this year during the KCBS competitive BBQ contest season. Another option that works well is using this sauce on chicken and beef.

If you have an opportunity to see this book first hand and thumb though its pages, I predict you will have a new cookbook to add to your collection. It makes a great end table or coffee table book that will be looked at over and over again with many conversations and meals to come.

The pictures alone tell a culinary story and help you visualize what each recipe should look like, leaving you only wishing that cookbooks like this one could come with scratch-and-sniff pages! I highly recommend this book for any enthusiast that loves outdoor cooking and desires further ideas and inspiration.

One of the recipes I’ve enjoyed is found on page 64, Marvin Lange’s Barbecued Chicken. What I like most about this recipe is the use of Wishbone Italian Dressing as a marinade. It’s hard to argue that this isn’t a barbecue tip to try when it’s reported that Marvin Lang has won ten trophies for his barbecued chicken!

Marvin Lang’s Barbecued Chicken
1 whole fryer, about 3 ½ pounds
¼ cup dry rub of your choice
6 cups Wishbone Italian dressing

Prepare your chicken by removing the giblets and cleaning the cavity of the chicken. Next, butterfly the chicken using a pair of poultry shears, cutting the chicken along the backbone. Rinse the insides of the chicken and season with dry rub. Next, place the chicken in a freezer bag with 3 cups of Italian Dressing and marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and discard the marinade. If desired, re-season with dry rub and prepare for the smoker. Place chicken bone side down on the grill and smoke at a temperature of 225-275 for about 3 hours or when the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

The picture above is an example of this receipe and my last contest entry of 2006. My BBQ team won an 8th place ribbon out of 78 entries using Marvin Lang’s technique!  I hope this review has inspired you to read this wonderful book, giving a glimpse of the history, tastes and people that have contributed to the delicacies of barbeque.

“The Bacon Cookbook” contains more then 150 recipes from around the world focusing on bacon and the many ways in which we all can enjoy it to the fullest.  The cookbook is truly unique, dedicating itself to the different styles, tastes and recipes with bacon being the main ingredient. James Villas starts by telling us what exactly bacon is, how it is made and cured and how using different types of techniques, such as using apple, hickory, oak, beach or maple wood for smoking the bacon, can give it added depth and flavor.

I found the section covering the different international styles of bacon very interesting. Countries covered include America, Great Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Hungary, Denmark, and China. Who would have guessed that a simple food such as bacon could be found in so many different variations than what we are accustomed to here in the United States?

When viewing the table of contents, you will see that Mr. Villas covers everything from appetizers to deserts. This intrigued me very much and made me evaluate my own life experiences and the different situations in which I found myself eating bacon. Growing up as a child, it was not uncommon to come home from school to find that a BLT sandwich was our family dinner, and that was not met with any objection from us!  Then there were times that waffles and bacon with warm maple syrup and whipped cream was our family dinner, but for us kids, it seemed more like dessert for dinner, the answer to any kids prayers!

So with my own reflections and experiences from childhood, I chose a recipe from “The Bacon Cookbook” that I knew I would enjoy, but also that my family would enjoy as well. The recipe we chose was “New England Apple and Bacon Griddlecakes.” For this recipe, I used Granny Smith apples and apple wood smoked bacon. This recipe is found on page 63 of “The Bacon Cookbook” and serves four individuals. It’s very good, and with that said, I would HIGHLY recommend doubling the recipe!

New England Apple and Bacon Griddlecakes

1/2 pound apple wood bacon 
1½ cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
½ cup whole milk
2 Granny Smith apples peeled, cored and coarsely grated
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted plus extra for serving.
Pure maple syrup (preferably Grade B)

In a large skillet, fry the bacon till crisp, drain on paper towels, and crumble.  In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and stir till well blended. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk, add to the flour mixture, and stir till the batter is just well blended. Stir in the grated apples and crumbled bacon.

Heat a griddle or large, heavy skillet over moderately high heat till hot and brush it with butter. Drop the batter by ¼ cup measures onto the griddle and cook till bubbles appear on the surface and the edges begin to brown, about 2 minutes. Turn with a spatula and cook till golden, about 1 minute longer. Transfer the griddlecakes to a platter, and keep warm in a low temperature oven, continue to make more griddlecakes in the same manner. Serve hot with butter and maple syrup.

This was a HUGE hit with my family! The flavor of the apple wood smoked bacon with the warm maple syrup and butter added to the texture of the shredded apple and griddlecake mix. My son made a comment that I hadn’t thought of before; he said “Dad, this makes sense, how many times do we have pancakes and bacon, and we just haven’t put it all together like this.” Smart kid! But it goes to show how something so simple can be made truly better with a little creativity.

Other recipes that our family will be creating with the help of “The Bacon Cookbook” include Bacon-Banana treats (pg 29), Danish Potato, Tomato and Bacon Omelet (pg 56), Mexican Squash, Yam, and Bacon Soup (pg 95), Canadian Meat Pie (pg 152) and Canadian Bacon Maple Custard (pg 262).

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who truly enjoys bacon. I found the recipes easy to follow and truly insightful. Many “uh-huh” moments were experienced when reading the different recipes, which was a refreshing change from cookbooks that are normally purchased that have a couple of recipes worth trying where I quickly find myself losing interest or enthusiasm for the book.

The only thing I would change personally would have been to include more pictures.  A majority of the population, including myself, tend to eat with our eyes first. If it looks good, chances are we’re going to eat it and want to make it in the future.  Adding more food photos would only enhance this book even more.  With that said, the book itself and the pictures that are included are exceptional. I would rate this book a solid 5 stars and intend on purchasing a few as Christmas presents for the bacon aficionados in my life!