Fire it up; a black man and his grill, some meat and a secret sauce--it's a beautiful thing.

It's summertime, the weather's warm, and you're hungry. You know what you need to do: fire up that grill, grab some meat, spices and sauce, and have a barbecue.

While cooking out seems like a relatively easy process, there's a world of difference between ho-hum grilled meats and a memorable, mouthwatering barbecue. To achieve the latter, you need the right tools, a little practice and a really good recipe.

First, what type of barbecue do you want to cook? There are at least two distinctive American styles from which to choose: The "wet," or Kansas City Style, is characterized by sauce that is basted on during grilling and served on the side as a condiment; and the "dry," or Memphis Style, is crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside, and sauce free. Instead, dry barbecue is flavored with a "rub"--a blend of spices patted into the meat.

Once you have your style in mind, look through some cookbooks for a little inspiration. The secrecy and improvisation customary in this style of cooking once made recipes hard to find. Barbecue recipes were rarely written down; after all, if you have mastered the art of the 'cue,' you don't want anyone to run off with your formula.

Fortunately, some cooks are generous enough to share their barbecue knowledge in cookbooks. (It seems most are men, perhaps because outdoor grilling over an open flame is traditionally if not exclusively male turf.)

The latest is Real Men Cook: Rites Rituals and Recipes for Living by K. Kofi Moyo (Fireside/Simon & Schuster, June 2005, $24.95, ISBN 0-743-27242-0). Moyo is cofounder of Real Men Cook for Charity, a Father's Day event that began in Chicago in 1989 and spread to other cities. More than 30,000 men participate in the events around the country to raise money and encourage African American men to be strong role models.

In this glossy book, 50 men from a variety of backgrounds and professions share stories and recipes. Among them is Robert Mays's Lamb Da-Ra-Ja, grilled over coals and served with any favorite barbecue sauce. Mays, who has joined his brothers in participating at Real Men Cook for years, recalls learning front his father, a cook on the Santa Fe Railroad. (His relatives own the Chicago Rib House.)

Robert's brother Rick Mays also offers a chapter of "Tips for Making Great Food on the Grill." Ron Miller, a real-estate broker offers his Chicago-Style Ribs: Ribs So Good, You Don't Need Sauce, and his keys to making great barbecue, including constant basting with vinegar and water.

United States Congressman Danny K. Davis, 7th District, Democrat of Illinois, presents a recipe for Special Barbecue Raccoon (really!) as a reminder that our forerunners and contemporaries have often hunted and fished for their supper. Another of the "real men," Jimmy Toles, shares his "On-Time Barb-que Meats," a kind of naked grill with three types of ribs, including beef and pork, and chicken pieces; and Jerry Lacy weighs in with a Bar-B-Q Pot Roast.

George Foreman, who has published several cookbooks in recent years on grilling for indoors and outdoors, is offering one on audio this season: The George Foreman Cookbook: How to Get Up Off the Canvas When Life Knocks You Down (Simon & Schuster Audio, April 2005, $15, ISBN 0-743-52908-1). The paperback of his indoor grilling guide George Foreman's Indoor Grilling Made Easy: More Than 100 Simple, Healthy Ways to Feed Family and Friends (Simon & Schuster, November 2004) is due out in November 2005. His earlier books include George Foreman's Big Book of Grilling, Barbecue and Rotisserie (Simon & Schuster, October 2000).