Book excerpt: Step up your barbeque game. Pitmaster is the definitive guide to becoming a barbecue aficionado and top-shelf cook from renowned chefs Andy Husbands and Chris Hart. Barbecue is more than a great way to cook a tasty dinner. For a true pitmaster, barbecue is a way of life. Whether you're new to the grill or a seasoned vet, Pitmaster is here to show you what it takes to truly put your barbeque game on point. Recipes begin with basics, like cooking Memphis-style ribs, and expand to smoking whole hogs North Carolina style. There is no single path to becoming a pitmaster. Barbecue lovers are equally inspired by restaurants with a commitment to regional traditions, competition barbecue champions, families with a multi-generational tradition of roasting whole hogs, and even amateur backyard fanatics. This definitive collection of barbecue expertise will leave you in no doubt why expert chefs and backyard cooks alike eat, live, and breathe barbecue. Pitmaster features: Specific tips and techniques for proper smoker operation—the cornerstone of all successful barbecue recipes—using Weber, Offset, Kamado, and other classic smoker styles A backyard cooking chapter offering the basics of becoming a successful barbecue cook Spotlights on specific regional barbecue styles, such as Texas, Kansas City, and the Carolinas, which set the stage for more advanced barbecue techniques and recipes, such as Butterfly Pork Butt Burnt Ends and Central Texas Beef Ribs An exploration of new styles of barbecue developing in the North Chris and Andy’s secret competition barbecue recipes that have won them hundreds of awards Regional side dishes, cocktails, and simple desserts A guest pitmaster in each chapter who is an expert in their given region or style of barbecue cooking. Guest pitmasters include: Steve Raichlen (author and host of Project Smoke on PBS), Jake Jacobs, Sam Jones (Skylight Inn and Sam Jones Barbecue), Elizabeth Karmel (Carolina Cue To Go), Tuffy Stone (Q Barbecue), Rod Gray (eat bbq), John Lewis (Lewis Barbecue), Jamie Geer (owner of Jambo Pits) and Billy Durney (Hometown Bar-B-Que)