Adam Perry Lang is a man of passion and detail in all things barbecue. His audience bridges the gap between meat-happy grilling devotees and self-professed foodies looking to grill their latest esoteric protein find. That’s because Lang knows it all—where to get it, how to prep it, and, most importantly, what kind of heat to singe it on. In Serious Barbecue, Lang dealt with more specialized, elaborate barbecue recipes, but BBQ 25 is exactly what the name suggests – the 25 barbecue recipes that are most common to the griller’s repertoire. What Lang does for these tried and true barbecue favorites is infuse them with the kind of “3D flavor” he’s known for. Lang is unapologetically straightforward with his recipes, emphasizing the quality of the product over everything else. (A simple mantra repeated throughout the book: “Butcher over supermarket, local over outsourced, organic over other.”) Useful techniques, rustic, satisfying recipes, and an ultra-straightforward set-up—the book is divided between proteins—not to mention sturdy, sauce and spice-friendly pages, make this the barbecue guide to beat.

Fried chicken and a glass of Champagne? Yes, please. Chef Lisa Dupar’s IACP award-winning cookbook explores both the hometown and haute elements of the cuisines Dupar holds most dear. A Georgia girl, who cooked across Europe and landed in the Pacific Northwest, Dupar grew up eating Southern Fried Chicken but quickly developed a taste for life’s more refined and worldly flavors. And she combines high- and low-brow foods with gusto in Fried Chicken and Champagne. Her recipe for “Frogmore Stew: Shrimp, Crab, Andouille Sausage, Sweet Corn in Shellfish Broth” combines elegant ingredients with a touch of rustic sloppiness. And Ginger Molasses Cookies have all the homey simplicity you could want from a cookie—but Dupar isn’t afraid to add black pepper for kick. If by some stretch of the imagination, you can’t find something you’re dying to try from Fried Chicken and Champagne, it’s quite possible you simply don’t like food.

Written by Steve, Raichlen, the multi-award-winning cookbook author whose boundless enthusiasm took him 150,000 miles across 5 continents to discover the world's best grilled food, The Barbecue Bible is a 556-page, over-500-recipe celebration of sizzle, smoke, and secret sauces, summer afternoon cookouts, dads in aprons, and everything we love about cooking over fire. Welcome to the fire pits of South America, home of Argentinean Veal and Chicken Kebabs, and the shoebox-size grills of Asia, with their Balinase Prawn Sats and Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Sesame Dipping Sauce. To Mexico's Yucatan-Style Grilled Fish, Italy's famous Bistecca alla Fiorentina (Florentine Steak), Thai Sweet and Garlicky Pork Chops, Senegalese Grilled Chicken with Lemon Mustard Sauce, and the best Memphis Ribs, Texas-Style Barbecued Brisket, and North Carolina Pulled Pork. In addition there are grilled sides, grilled starters, grilled desserts. And gleaned from the hundreds of pit jockeys the author visited, the Ten Commandments of Perfect Grilling, including master recipes for cooking a perfect steak, a perfect chicken, a perfect fish, a perfect vegetable.