Reached by phone at his home on Chappaquiddick, or “Barbecue Central” as Steven Raichlen calls it, the prolific writer and barbecue expert admitted to being a bit shaky on just how many books he has written.

“I think this one is 31, give or take,” he said.

He was referring to The Brisket Chronicles published this summer. On Wednesday he will host an author event at the Bunch of Grapes Bookstore, accompanied by Sea Smoke serving mouth-watering brisket to hungry readers and fans.

Mr. Raichlen has been writing books since the 1970’s, starting out as the restaurant critic for Boston Magazine and gradually morphing into the master of all things grilled — although he didn’t write his first grilling book until 1998, with The Barbecue Bible.

But it wasn’t until he finished writing The Brisket Chronicles and began giving author talks that he realized his latest project was in essence a memoir, “an autobiography seen through a slab of meat.”

“The first solid food I ate was brisket,” he said, recalling his childhood in Baltimore. He also worked at a deli in college where brisket was everywhere — think pastrami, corned beef, both variations of curing brisket. And during his long career as a writer and television host he continued to encounter brisket in various forms throughout the world.

The book begins with barbecuing brisket but quickly heads down many other tasty avenues, ranging from Italy to France and Vietnam, from brisket tots and brisket hash to brisket bahn mi and pho.

Mr. Raichlen said he spends a large part of every year on Chappaquiddick, where he lives from May to October and gets most of his writing done. He even wrote a novel called The Hermit of Chappaquiddick (originally titled An Island Apart). In addition to writing, he does a lot of research and recipe testing on Chappy. Then in the winter he heads out on tour with his television show and begins germinating ideas for his next book.

He said Wednesday’s event will include a talk about the book, the history of brisket and a question and answer session, where all things brisket, barbecued and meaty will be discussed.