Real barbecue has little to do with a grill and a bottle of KC Masterpiece; it involves marinating the meat and cooking it for hours over indirect heat with a generous slathering of any number of sauces. Killer Ribs: Mouthwatering Recipes from America's Best Rib Joints offers up the most authentic recipes for savory ribs, from bona fide barbecue joints from all over the United States and Canada. The author visits the hidden treasures, from Leatha's in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to Crosstown Bar-B-Q in Elgin, Texas, to reveal their mouth-watering secrets. Killer Ribs highlights the regional differences in barbecue style and ingredients. Texans love beef, pork spare ribs rule in Memphis, while Kansas City serves up pork babybacks. While New Mexico and Arizona like a good chili powder rub, devotees in North Carolina prefer vinegar-based sauces, and the Pacific Rim goes for a rub of spice and pepper and a honey-ginger sauce. With scrumptious, backcountry recipes, professional secrets to make those perfect tender ribs, and 50 full-color photographs of the featured restaurants and their delectable ribs, the essential Killer Ribs will undoubtedly fire up the art of your barbecue.

Nancy Davidson is a food and travel writer. Her work appears in Cooking Light, Saveur, Gourmet, and Gastronomica, and she reviews cookbooks for Publishers Weekly.