smokymtnjonny
Knows what a fatty is.
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2014
- Location
- East Tennessee
The recipes is John Willingham’s book are very different and worth the price. He was a good friend of mine and I learned a lot from him.
The only BBQ books that really felt "outside the box" and changed the way I cook on both the smoker and the grill is both Adam Perry Lang's SeriousBBQ and Charred and Scruffed.
I agree with this. Looking at my bookshelf, I'd say that what I've read really followed my level of development as a smoker (which will hopefully never stop). I appreciate the books that say Why versus just giving a recipe, but both are important. I'm now looking into buying a couple listed here, so thanks Brethren.
Paul Kirk's Championship BBQ
https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Kirks-Championship-Barbecue-Lip-Smackin/dp/1558322426
that is what I gathered. I went through his 100 different sauce recipes and it was just too much and nothing really stood out as interesting. Plus, to be honest, I really don't find Paul Kirk to be the most likeable person and his writing style kind of turned me off.
I really liked the secretes to smoking on the Smokey Mountain
+1 for Serious BBQ by APL. It's well understood that he tends to make things more complicated / longer list of ingredients, but I like bringing a lot of his principles / techniques to my cooking. I found that the biggest lesson I learned and still try to impart today is bringing flavor at every step of the way - why not?
+1 for Aaron Franklin's book.
Being from NC, I also really enjoyed reading Sam Jones' Whole Hog BBQ. There's some good history in there and reads like a novel at times, and it imparts some good wisdom (both from a whole hog and general smoking).
@WhitesideJC
Sam's Jones book is a VERY good book and I totally forgot about it. I went to his restaurant and book signing on the day the book released. Sam's a great guy and genuinely one of the nicest (and maybe funniest) guys in BBQ. Great book with a ton of history and it will certainly get you going in cooking whole hogs.
@WhitesideJC
Sam's Jones book is a VERY good book and I totally forgot about it. I went to his restaurant and book signing on the day the book released. Sam's a great guy and genuinely one of the nicest (and maybe funniest) guys in BBQ. Great book with a ton of history and it will certainly get you going in cooking whole hogs.
Lotsa great mentions here, kinda surprised not to see more of this one, which is pretty much my go-to. More about recipes than technique (I think Franklin's book has technique sewn up pretty damn good), but very versatile and lots of great dishes in it.
Lots of truth to what Ronbrad62 said.
I preface this by saying that I attribute Steven Raichlen for increasing my interest in barbecue many years ago...what seems like a lifetime ago, and I’ll still watch his shows and enjoy it if I happen across it on PBS.
The books below tell a much better story than Raichlen’s or “Meathead’s”, in my opinion. I’ve bought quite a few books over the years due to Brethren recommendations and these are all good. There’s more than just recipes in these books.
I have these four as well. All good books. I really like the Pitmaster book,, especially from a competition perspective.