Pig Stand in Hartselle is featured in a new book “Alabama Barbecue.”

More than 75 barbecue restaurants in 52 cities across the state are featured in the colorful 128-page hardcover book that was produced by the Alabama Media Group in cooperation with the Alabama Tourism Department. The book covers the state by geographic region, starting in North Alabama and ending with the Gulf Coast.

The book is designed as a road trip guide for barbecue lovers, said Lee Sentell, state tourism director. Included in the book are legendary barbecue restaurants, promising newcomers, a profile of the “Top Ten Barbecue Folks” in the state and a special recipe section.

“A recent survey revealed that the highest percentage of restaurants in Alabama are barbecue versus those in any other state. That gives our state the bragging rights to declare ourselves The Barbecue State. Now that’s not official, but nobody else can match our claim to be so devoted to one food group, assuming that barbecue is a food group. If it isn’t, it should be,” Sentell said.

Author Annette Thompson and photographer Art Meripol traveled Alabama visiting all of the featured restaurants and exploring the unique barbecue culture of the state. Thompson is a former travel editor for Southern Living and serves as president of the Society of American Travel Writers. Meripol’s photographs have appeared in People, USA Today, The New York Times and other publications worldwide.

Alabama Barbecue is available at Books-A-Million stores across the state and online at www.alonlinestore.com and Amazon.com. Alabama Barbecue can also be purchased at select barbecue restaurants, the Governor’s Mansion Gift Shop and at The Goat Hill Museum Store inside the Alabama State Capital in Montgomery. The retail price of the book is $20.