Regular readers of this blog with an interest in barbecue know I’m a fan of barbecue legend Mike Mills and his book, Peace, Love, & Barbecue: Recipes, Secrets, Tall Tales, and Outright Lies from the Legends of Barbecue. I learned today that Mike and daughter Amy Mills Tunicliffe have been nominated for the prestigious James Beard Award in the Food of the Americas category. Winners will be announced on May 8, 2006. These first time publishers are up against two heavyweight authors: Rick Bayless’ Mexican Everyday, and Joan Nathan’s The New American Cooking.

This book, and my conversation with Mike inspired me to compete at my first BBQ contest last weekend. Their tips and recipes helped us to a fifth place finish in the rib category at my team’s first attempt.

In the recipe for his Apple City Barbecue Grand World Championship Ribs (page 34). Mills advises that ribs “sweat” three times during cooking. If the ribs are mopped and reseasoned at these points, they absorb the flavors more deeply. I also modified Mills’ Magic Dust dry rub recipe (page 66), and tweaked a version of the Gates Family Kansas City BBQ sauce (page 60) for the contest. Clearly, the tips and recipes work.

This book stands above all other barbecue how-to books in the context of the Beard Award (the Academy Awards for the food media industry), because it chronicles the colorful characters in the uniquely American culture of competition barbecue. Good luck, Mike and Amy!