Kevin Bludso comes from a storied family. And he’s got the stories. His mother was a Black Panther. His father was a police officer in L.A. is honorary grandmother in Texas ran a speakeasy (with other backrooms that made her money in various ways). Bludso was a corrections officer himself before he became a chef. He grew up in Compton, and while his parents worked hard to keep him out of danger, not everyone in the family got the same consideration.

But it was those summers in Texas that taught Bludso everything he needed to know about barbecue. Winnie Mae Fields, who he called Granny, woke him up early every morning to cook. He learned how to make a mean brisket, but he also learned the power of hard work. And when he got to college and needed some extra money, he did what he knew. He started cooking chicken dinners and making himself some cash.

After college, Bludso went to work in the corrections department, but he was restless. He was unhappy. It wasn’t until he went into cooking as a full-time (150 hours a week or so) chef, smoking meats and pairing that with comfort food sides that he found where his heart truly was. Because his first restaurant was in Compton, not a place known for its barbecue restaurants, there were some early slow years. But he kept putting out good food, and people started taking note. He started getting some love on the review apps, but when legendary critic Jonathan Gold gave Bludso’s food a rave review, the lines stretched out down the block for his food.

From there it was media gone crazy, and reporters were lining up to interview Bludso on their radio shows and newspaper articles, their magazine profiles and their television shows. And as more and more people came in to try the food, Bludso expanded his restaurant empire, spreading his food love far and wide. Now, he’s going a step further and opening his recipes up to us all, while entertaining us with stories of his family.

Bludso’s BBQ Cookbook can teach you how to chose a smoker and how to get the best out of it, but it also teaches the importance of standing up for what and who you believe in. He gives readers recipes for rubs and sauces that will elevate your flavors, but he also gives his rules for success, which include giving back and giving credit where credit is due. The cookbook has a lot of recipes for smoking everything from brisket to lamb, ribs to chicken, sausage to seafood, but there are also recipes for sides, breakfasts, and desserts.

The truth of Kevin Bludso’s legacy is his exceptional barbecue recipes. If you want to learn how to do it right, even if you only have a grill, you can use this cookbook to find out how (chapter: OG BBQ). If you want to learn how to cook soul food, then you can learn that here too (chapter: Soul Food Sundays) . But if you want to learn to cook from the heart, like you were taught by a legacy of great chefs, then you are at the right place for that too. If you want to cook fish like someone who grew up on a lake, or if you want to add the perfect sides to your smoked chicken, or if you want to learn to bake Mom’s Strawberry Cake that screams summer, then you can find all that too. But most of all, you will find in the pages of this book Kevin Bludso’s heart and soul, rubbed with black pepper and garlic salt and more than a little heat, smoked to perfection, and served up for anyone who is hungry for more than just food.

I come from a part of the country known for its barbecue, north of Texas and East of California, so I love to read a barbecue cookbook. I love to learn more about technique and about the blending of heat and sweet, of rubs and sauces, that create unique flavor combinations. And Bludso’s BBQ Cookbook certainly has that. But I was so moved by the family stories, I can’t wait to try some of the other recipes here. The Smothered Chicken and Gravy, Sunday Short Ribs, Down-Home Mac and Cheese, and Thelma’s Cheesecake all sound amazing. But there is a recipe for Bacon and Sausage Gravy with Biscuits that his granny used to make that I can’t think about without my mouth watering. It just sounds like it’s probably one of the most delicious iterations of biscuits and gravy, and I can’t wait to make a special Sunday breakfast with it because that is the kind of recipe that is so infused with love (and bacon) that it can’t help but make the meal special. That’s the kind of cookbook this is.

I received a free copy of Bludso’s BBQ Cookbook from Ten Speed Press in exchange for a free and unbiased review, with many thanks.