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Barbecue Diplomacy at LBJ’s Texas White House

LBJ in the buffet line with Nellie Connally (left) and Mrs. Guillermo Sevilla-Sacasa, Latin American Ambassadors' Weekend, 4/1/1967, by Yoichi R. Okamoto, with permission of the LBJ Library & Museum.

President Lyndon Johnson loved barbecue and with his chef, the self-proclaimed “Barbecue King” Walter Jetton, LBJ invented barbecue diplomacy. Read the historical tales, see the photos, and get some recipes from LBJ’s West Texas barbecues that featured whole animals cooked over open pits and plenty of greasy palms.

The Best Competition Chicken Ever, Tips from Top Competitors

Eight sauced chicken thighs with parley in a styrofoam competiton BBQ turn-in box.

If you’re planning on entering a BBQ contest then this guide to smoking perfect award winning chicken is a must read. Ask competitors which category keeps them staring at the ceiling at night, and most will answer “chicken.” From prep to flavor profiles, here is what’s competition teams are doing with chicken.

Barbecue Sauce History

georgia bbq sauce

How was barbecue sauce invented? By whom? When? Learn the fascinating history of how BBQ sauce evolved from Chinese sweet and sour sauce. You’ll find out about the first written mentions of barbecue sauce (in the 1800s), the first written recipes, and the evolution of today’s best loved commercial bottled BBQ sauces.

Salt Potatoes Are A Unique Specialty Of Syracuse, New York

Small potatoes embellished with parsley and butter.

This delicious salt potatoes recipe is based on a traditional upstate New York side dish. Salt potatoes came about in the 1800s when, legend has it, Irish salt miners made lunch by putting potatoes in baskets and lowered them into the kettles of boiling brine. The spuds were then crowned with gobs of butter.