Chef’s cookbook celebrates whole-hog barbeque

Q: I SEE THAT YOU SPELL BARBEQUE WITH A “Q,” RATHER THAN THE MORE POPULAR “C.” CAN YOU TELL ME WHY YOU MADE THAT DECISION? A: Ryan: Our spelling, “barbeque,” comes from a sort of plantation

creole, influenced by French and Portuguese. Q: RYAN, WHAT DO YOU THINK SETS YOUR DAD’S BARBEQUE APART FROM THE REST? A: Ryan: He’s an elder statesman, or the last of a dying breed, in the

sense that he’s committed to cooking over wood and charcoal. We don’t use any gas cookers for our whole-hog barbeque, and that alone separates our craftsmanship from a lot of others. And

aside from just the recipes, he’s just seen more than anybody else. He’s one of the last guys who has actually had a hand in barbeque since the ’40s or ’50s. He’s been around a lot more

cooking styles and a lot more types of ingenuity. He’s seen [barbeque] go from cooking in-ground [in pits]. … We’ve traveled around the country and seen pretty much every type of smoker

there is. Q: ED, HOW WOULD YOU ANSWER THAT QUESTION? A: Ed: Well, I’m passionate about what I do. If you’re going to get in the game, you need to get in there to win it. It’s not something

you do for show. You do it because you want to make sure you can be the very best at what you do. I’m very adamant about being the best I can be. I think that’s what has separated the men

from the boys. Q: YOUR BOOK IS FULL OF BARBEQUE HOW-TOS, BUT WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE _ONE _THING THAT EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT MAKING GOOD BARBEQUE? A: Ed: Well, if you’re doing it

traditional-wise, you want to get your coals right, your wood right, your temperature right. Look, just give fair attention to what you’re doing. Ryan: Heat is the one thing you have to get

right — your temperatures. Every protein cooks at a different temperature. I see guys just throw seafood on top of, you know, 300-degree flames, and that’s going to burn up really fast.

You’ve got to know what you’re doing.