Rodney Scott: T+L’S 10 BEST BEACH READS OF 2021 FOR FOODIES AND TRAVELERS

Here’s your summer reading list.

By 
May 14, 2021

IF YOU STILL CAN’T TRAVEL THIS SUMMER — or even if you can — below are 10 books to reacquaint you with the world’s wondrous sights, mellifluous sounds, fascinating smells and mouthwatering tastes. From chasing butterflies in Mexico’s ancient sacred oyamel fir forests to pondering your existing on a sinking ship under Norway’s Northern Lights, these books, listed in no particular order, are sure to kickstart your wanderlust.

Rodney Scott’s World of BBQ: Every Day Is a Good Day: A Cookbook

By Rodney Scott

Rodney Scott

Much has been written about American barbecue, but very little of it by African-Americans, who arguably invented America’s iconic cuisine. In the first cookbook by a black pitmaster, James Beard Award–winning chef Rodney Scott tells stories about his family traditions and reveals an eagle-eyed dedication to the culinary craft of ‘cue. Growing up in South Carolina’s Pee Dee region, Scott cooked his first whole hog by age 11 and went on to cook his lowcountry style barbecue in places like Uruguay and France, eventually nabbing a role on Netflix’s Chef’s Table.

The first part of the book contains straightforward essays providing historical context of Scott’s tobacco, squash, okra picking childhood on his parent’s farm, followed by technical info on his preferred types of woods, styles of barbecue, burn barrels, and notes on sandwiches. But the photographed recipes in the book’s second part really sing: smoked catfish dip, chicken perloo, smoked prime rib, and fried chicken tap into an American soul food that seldom gets the ink it deserves.

Available now; Clarkson Potter

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