"We're going through tough times, " says Adam Perry Lang, author of a new cookbook, "Charred and Scruffed" (Artisan, May 2012).

WSJ: Move Over Bacon: Foodies Just Want the Smoke

Smoked dishes are "nostalgic food that touches us and says 'everything is going to be OK, ' " says Mr. Perry Lang.

WSJ: Move Over Bacon: Foodies Just Want the Smoke

"Instead of pan-roasting 10 chickens, with barbecue you're cooking a large piece of meat all at once, it's a bit more efficient, " says Mr. Perry Lang, founder and former owner of Daisy May's BBQ in New York City.

WSJ: Move Over Bacon: Foodies Just Want the Smoke