Posted on Wed, Apr. 30, 2008

-- David Gelin (say it JELL-in) sounds like the kind of guy who never meets a stranger.

"I'm a Jew from New York raised in Washington, D.C., who went to Atlanta to attend Emory (University)," and that's where he discovered barbecue.

"We don't have... this where I come from," Gelin says when we finally connect by phone. "I thought it was the most fabulous stuff - " His voice trails off, and we know he is lost, at least for a moment, in the reverie of recollection.

And so began Gelin's journey to collect information that he hopes will guide lovers of "que" - that's what he's likely to call it in print - to barbecue joints all over the South.

John T. Edge, director of Southern Foodways Alliance and a widely respected author/foodie, contributed the foreward to Gelin's book, and Edge takes exception to Gelin's loose definition of the South, though not enough to find fault with the exploration and exposure of joints most of us might never find otherwise.

Says Gelin, "I'm not a religious person by any stretch, but my life was miserable," and then he discovered that someone actually would pay him to do what he's done in "BBQ Joints, Stories and Secret Recipes from the Barbecue Belt" (Gibbs Smith Publisher, $15.95).

His initial tale is an unhappy one of failure - business, marriage, life. A serendipitous event having to do with trying to market a children's calendar happily turned things upside down and led to Gelin's three-book deal to write barbecue books. Good thing three, too, since he laments the limited space in the first one and says he has joints galore to help fill books two and three.

Gelin's definition of "real" barbecue is meat cooked for hours over hardwood coals, but he confesses, "It's all good. Just do it." To that end, he even includes instructions for making your own pit, passed on by a Kentucky teacher; materials list, drawings and complete instructions included.

Truth is Gelin admits to being a pretty mediocre barbecue chef, but he shares some insight worth heeding: "Just because someone has an expensive piece of equipment does not make them a great chef," he says. "That said, barbecue, to me and many others, means cooked with wood or charcoal. Gas just doesn't cut it. Save the gas for burgers and weenies."

His yearlong trek involved driving from state to state, city to city in a pickup with only his canine pal Buddy for company. They'd stop wherever the spirit moved them to eat and meet the real people who made real barbecue.

"If you think it's a great gig, living on a shoestring and sleeping in the back of a pickup truck, hoping to find a spot for the night where the cops won't bust in on you - then you and I are in complete accord. I absolutely love it," Gelin says.

"The best part has been making friends with those wonderful people. I may have only spent a couple of hours with them, but when I call them up, months later, they always remember me like it was yesterday."

Gelin visited 60 joints in 13 states. He collected side-dish recipes when he could persuade people to let him watch and write things down: barbecued rice from Arkansas, sweet potato pie from Oklahoma, even Elvis' Pound Cake from a guy who got it from a woman who lived next door to Elvis in Tupelo. Look for these three at the Sun Herald Web site today, or give those, below - one from Texas, two from Mississippi - a try next to your favorite barbecue or maybe your favorite fried chicken.

Speaking of Mississippi, we asked Gelin why he overlooked Darwell's and The Shed right here in our neck of the woods. Here's his answer: "I had some destinations in mind, but mostly I did it on the fly. In fact, you just contributed to my research. I will put (them) on my list and they just might make my follow-up book."

ABE'S COLESLAW

Gelin writes that this is slaw that enhances the taste of meat and doesn't overwhelm it. Courtesy Pat Davis Sr., owner/proprietor of Abe's Bar-B-Q, 616 State St., Clarksdale, 662-624-5367.

1 cabbage, cored and shredded, or use 2 pounds pre-shredded cabbage

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

6 ounces white vinegar

3 ounces vegetable oil

Mix all ingredients together; refrigerate at least 2 hours. Season more if desired.

DENICE JANOW'S

AUSTIN'S BBQ

MACARONI SALAD

Gelin says he's made this mac-salad recipe many times so it must be good, right? Austin's BBQ & Catering is at 507 East Main St., Eagle Lake, Texas, 979-234-5250.

1 box (16 ounces) macaroni

1 green bell pepper, finely minced

1 small yellow onion, finely minced

4 stalks celery, finely minced

1 cup mayonnaise

3/4 cup sweet pickle relish

2 tablespoons French salad dressing

2 tablespoons Italian salad dressing

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

Cook macaroni according to package directions; rinse and strain with cold water. Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Let set in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

MAMMA HAMIL'S

WATERMELON

RIND PICKLES

Mamma Hamil's may already have moved from its original cabin home to new quarters nearby, on Mississippi 51 in Madison, 601-856-4407.

Rind from 1 big melon

7 cups sugar

2 cups apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon oil

1/2 teaspoon clove oil

First day: After you eat the watermelon, trim the rind from the red meat and green outside. Cut into 1-inch cubes. Parboil for 10 minutes in enough water to cover. Drain off water and put rind in large bowl.

In another bowl, mix all other ingredients together. Bring mixture to a boil and then pour over rind; cover and let stand overnight.

Second day: Drain juice off rind. Heat that juice to a boil and then pour over the rind and let stand overnight again.

Third day: Drain juice off rind again and heat to a boil. Put in jars with rind and seal. Refrigerate and enjoy in 3 days.

Local joints

Here are a few Coast spots where David Gelin's kind of barbecue is served - or so we've been told:

BB's Bar-Be-Que & Snak Shak, 319 U.S. 90, Waveland, 467-2226.

Coop-A-Que, 908 U.S. 90, Waveland, 467-8058.

Stonewall's BBQ, 1113 U.S. 90, Bay St. Louis, 467-5769.

Darwell's, 127 East 1st St., Long Beach, 868-8946.

Ben's Bar-B-Que, 830 West Railroad St., Long Beach, 563-5050.

Coop's Rib Crib, 14129 Dedeaux Road, Gulfport, 831-1505.

Grate Grills & More, 1733 East Pass Road, Gulfport, 896-0140.

An-Jac's BBQ & Burger Company, 34A 29th St., Gulfport, 868-6514.

Bingo's BBQ Shak, 11438 D'Iberville in D'Iberville, 392-1418.

Tays Barbecue at four area locations:

Chevron station, Three Rivers and Dedeaux roads, North Gulfport, 539-4882.

Chevron station, Sangani Boulevard, D'Iberville, 396-5464.

Shell station, Miss. 63 south of I-10, Moss Point, 474-7050.

BP station, corner Pascagoula and Theodore Dawes, Theodore, 251-653-5455.

The Shed Barbeque, 7501 Miss. 57, Ocean Springs, 875-9590.

Pleasant's Bar-B-Q, 1415 Government St., Ocean Springs, 875-3384.

Buddie's House of Food, 4306 Main St., Moss Point, 475-0272 (open evenings only certain days, keep calling till you get an answer).

Online

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