Pitmaster and chef Matthew Register proudly announces his first cookbook — Southern Smoke, debuting May 7, 2019.

Matthew Register and his wife Jessica opened Southern Smoke BBQ in 2014 in Garland carrying on a family tradition of smoking pork the old fashioned way – low and slow over an oak wood fire in their custom designed smoker, “Jezebel.” Since, Register has become equally well known for his seasonal, Southern sides, elaborate feasts offered through South Catering, his South Supper Series and Southern Smoke BBQ food truck.

For years, Register has been obsessed with the history of southern recipes. Armed with a massive collection of cookbooks from the 1900s and overflowing boxes of recipe cards from his grandmother, Register has cooked his way through these timeworn classics and made them his own, sharing them alongside his North Carolina pulled pork and Memphis style pork ribs at Southern Smoke BBQ. Locals and tourists alike flock to his restaurant in Garland (population 700) for these old Southern dishes and wood-smoked barbecue. Register’s first cookbook will share the barbecue, sides and deep-rooted Southern food traditions he celebrates every day at Southern Smoke BBQ, as well as the time-honored stories that accompany so many Southern dishes.

In “Southern Smoke,” Matthew explores the dishes and foodways from iconic barbecue regions – North Carolina, the Lowcountry, Memphis and the Delta – sharing anecdotes along the way about everything from Eastern versus Western based BBQ sauce to the origins of Marigold Tomatoes in the Delta and pitmaster tricks-of-the-trade. Southern breads find a home here as well, including everything from skillet cornbread and benne seed biscuits to chocolate chess pie and pecan-studded bread pudding.

• Start off in North Carolina, the home of slow-smoked pork and tangy vinegar sauce. Other highlights include chicken quarters with church sauce, barbecue potatoes, collard chowder, and pork belly hash.

• Travel the Lowcountry, where seafood meets barbecue. Go all out with frogmore stew, pickled shrimp, and fire-roasted oysters, or sample unique recipes like funeral grits, likker pudding, and James Island shrimp pie.

• Then take a trip to Memphis and the Delta, a longtime barbecue hub known for dry-rubbed ribs. Other standouts might surprise you! Learn the secrets behind Delta tamales, Merigold tomatoes, okra fries with comeback sauce, and country style duck.

About the Author/Chef

Register and his wife own Southern Smoke BBQ, which has been featured in Food & Wine magazine, on The Today Show, and was named one of the top 25 BBQ restaurants in the US by Men’s Journal. They also own South Catering and the Southern Smoke BBQ food truck. Matthew has always had a passion for fine food and the outdoors, and he prides himself on incorporating fresh, local ingredients. Raised in rural, Eastern North Carolina, he grew up in a community that formed inseparable bonds through deep-rooted traditions at the dinner table. These traditions are ones that he hopes to sustain, not just for his three young children, but for his community and those who dine with him, as well.

Matthew Register of Southern Smoke BBQ in Garland will be releasing his first cookbook in May 2019.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_Register_1.jpgMatthew Register of Southern Smoke BBQ in Garland will be releasing his first cookbook in May 2019.

https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_southern-smok.jpg