Writer Jessica Dupuy weaves together history, recipes, black magic in Salt Lick Cookbook

I popped into the Salt Lick last spring. Looks good, right?

All this talk about barbecue got me thinking about my friend Jessica Dupuy‘s new ‘cue book, the Salt Lick Cookbook (about $26 from Amazon). And like good bbq, the book is tastier than the sum of its ingredients. Part biography, part photoessay and part recipe collection, Salt Lick scion Scott Roberts and Dupuy weave a rich, smokey history of the iconic Driftwood, Texas smokehouse with many of the recipes that made it successful. More than 600,000 customers visit the Salt Lick every year. Dupuy explains why.

“In one year,” writes Depuy, “the Salt Lick uses 950,000 pounds of brisket.” Truth be told, there are many barbecue joints in Texas that turn out much better ‘cue than the Salt Lick, but for ambiance and lore, you can’t do any better. (Salt Lick’s smoked brisket recipe starts on page 186.)