Volume One
After Dark BBQ, Volume One: Twenty Long Nights. Henry, Lena and Mara in a gravel yard behind a shuttered workshop.
Every chapter and letter on After Dark BBQ that turns on this, newest first.
All the chapters · Technique · Calculators
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Crispy Skin at Two in the Morning — Smoked Wings
Two dozen wings, past midnight, and nobody making a move toward their keys. The last car left at three and the fire was still warm at five. Read it
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Quick, Hot, and Rare in the Middle — Smoked Tri-Tip
The one cook in this story that punishes a man for waiting. Ninety minutes, then ninety seconds a side, and she takes the first slice off the thick end without offering it around. Read it
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She Wanted It Hand-Packed — Smoked Meatloaf
She finds the loaf pan and puts it straight back in the drawer. Free-form on a rack, bare on every side, and a glaze that goes on late. Read it
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Score It Deep and Let It Open Up — Smoked Cream Cheese
Three cars in the drive and nothing ready. Thirty seconds of scoring, two hours of leaving it completely alone, and it was gone in eleven minutes. Read it
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I Took My Time With the Whole Bird — Smoked Chicken
She says the skin is not worth the trouble. He spends a night in the refrigerator and two hours on the pit proving otherwise, and she eats it off his half. Read it
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Cubed, Sauced, and Back On — Pork Belly Burnt Ends
Three hours bare, then an hour and a half shut in a pan with butter and honey. They came off into a bowl between two people who had each said they were only having one. Read it
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Just the Breast, All Evening — Smoked Turkey Breast
No holiday, no table of relatives, one breast and a brine that runs all night. Five degrees is the whole window, and he takes it off early on purpose. Read it
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Snap When You Bite It — Smoked Sausage
She hangs them in front of a fan for an hour before she will let him put wood on. Everything after that is in service of the half second when it snaps. Read it
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Creamy, Covered, and Under the Lid — Smoked Mac and Cheese
The brisket is resting and there is nothing left to do with his hands. She comes out of his own kitchen with a pound of elbows and takes over. Read it
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She Liked It Cold and Slow — Smoked Salmon
A fire so low a brisket man would swear it had gone out on him. A night in the refrigerator doing nothing at all, and the kitchen door still open in the morning. Read it