Myxon & Meathead

[Okie Sawbones]

Anyone care to review their books:

Myron Mixon's BBQ Rules: The Old-School Guide to Smoking Meat

Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling

 

[crgshum]

I've spent a lot of time around amazingribs.com and meathead definitely knows his stuff. I'm an Engineer by trade so I like to see how stuff works, not just that it works. Meathead always takes the time to explain the science behind why things are done the way they are or why meat reacts the way it does and that really resonates with me.

I actually skipped straight to Franklin Barbecue: A Meat-Smoking Manifesto. So far I've really enjoyed it. It's inspiring to hear about how he got started and he does a great job explaining the differences between cookers, meats, rubs, sauces, styles, methods, etc. He doesn't lay out recipes, but general guidelines to follow along the way. I would recommend it to any BBQ book collection.

 

[sfrancis353]

Don't have Mixon's book, but have Franklin and Meathead's.

Franklin: If you are cooking an offset with mostly wood...run, don't walk and get this book. He gives invaluable advice. If you are cooking on a different setup there is still a ton of good stuff, but basically he says he's explaining how he cooks and that's how he does it. That being said, it's a very good and entertaining read beyond all the info that it gives you. I read it cover to cover in about a day.

Meathead: If you've gone to amazingribs and spent any time there then you already know what Meathead's book is going to be. It mostly stuff from the website but in book format. There is extra stuff in there, mostly recipes. It's great to have everything together in one book but there wasn't a lot of "new gems" that isn't on the website, especially if you are already in their pitmaster's club. That being said, I believe it is a must have on the shelf because the advice is solid and well tested not just through bbqing but also from a scientific perspective.

Mixon: Again, I don't have his, but from what I've been told it's really geared towards people that want to run hot and fast and have the necessary equipment to do so correctly. Mixon runs on insulated vertical system and uses water pans to make sure he has high moisture content. I believe he cooks in the 300-350 range. I don't know if it's a good beginners book, but would be something I'd add to the arsenal if I felt I wasn't getting great results where I was at or wanted to learn some other techniques.

My 2 cents

 

[al_pastor]

I bought all 3 of those this weekend.

I read the Franklin book cover to cover, found it very interesting. Lots of his history, which I found cool, how he builds his pits. Covers cooking on offsets, for each cut.

Meathead's book I found to basically be the book version of his website. I am glad I bought it because I want to give him something for his work. Everything I know about bbq I learned on his site for free, which is super cool. I may look more closely at it and try to find something new, but quick glance it was all on the site. Covers most everything bbq related.

Myron Mixon, I'm sure there is lots of good info in there. He obviously knows how to cook a pig. I will definitely read it more closely when I feel motivated. It was mostly about stone pit cooking with coals, process for each cut of meat.

I also bought Raichlen's Project Smoke which covered everything bbq, heavy on recipes. Read many of the recipes, looked good. Of course there are 100s of recipes online for free, but I am happy with the book.

Steve

 

[Okie Sawbones]

I have Franklin's book. Good read. I have also looked over Amazing Ribs articles, so it might be nice to have it in book form.

I have cooked briskets hot and fast, but I prefer low and slow. Don't care to cook on a block pit, so I may pass on Myron's book.

Thanks all.

 

[nickmv]

Meathead: If you've gone to amazingribs and spent any time there then you already know what Meathead's book is going to be. It mostly stuff from the website but in book format. There is extra stuff in there, mostly recipes. It's great to have everything together in one book but there wasn't a lot of "new gems" that isn't on the website, especially if you are already in their pitmaster's club. That being said, I believe it is a must have on the shelf because the advice is solid and well tested not just through bbqing but also from a scientific perspective.

Agreed, it's mostly stuff from the website, but honestly having it in hardcover book format is WAY more handy. Something about books with pictures for BBQ versus browsing the web.

 

[Fwismoker]

Don't have and haven't read them but one is from a competition point of view and one from just a normal bbq point of view....apples and oranges

 

[sfrancis353]

Agreed, it's mostly stuff from the website, but honestly having it in hardcover book format is WAY more handy. Something about books with pictures for BBQ versus browsing the web.

Agreed, I love the hardbound version. It's a nice book

 

[Roast Beast]

Don't have and haven't read them but one is from a competition point of view and one from just a normal bbq point of view....apples and oranges

Myron's latest book is about old-school, coal-shoveling BBQ, not competition BBQ.

 

[BillN]

Just finished Meatheads book, as others already stated it is a one stop compilation of the website so in my opinion is good for that reason alone. Franklin's book is my inspiration and my favorite food/cook related book of the 50 or so that I have. Project Smoke is a rehash of all the others but has many great recipes that I am anxious to try.

 

[IamMadMan]

I bought all 3 of those this weekend.

I also bought Raichlen's Project Smoke which covered everything bbq, heavy on recipes. Read many of the recipes, looked good. Of course there are 100s of recipes online for free, but I am happy with the book.

Steve

I have 2 of Steve Raichlen's books (BBQ BIBLE and SAUCES). I think he goes to extremes just to fit stuff into the book, including recipes, even with a lot of non-related topics.

However, these are good books to inspire thought and new ideas. Although I have not used his recipes directly, they have inspired many new ideas to build upon for other items to cook.