Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling

Fantastic!!! I have used the Amazing Ribs website for YEARS and it turned me from a mediocre BBQer to an expert. I can now make steak, burgers, chicken, pulled pork, ribs, etc, as good as anything ANY restaurant or ANY of you reading this can make. I have made pulled pork for people in years past that have literally made people weak in the knees. I've made ribs before that people REFUSED to believe that I didn't buy and that I actually smoked them myself. This book is basically a summary of all of the great articles from amazingribs.com and combined into 1 place. I LOVE that. It's so nice to have all of the information I normally refer to online in an easy to use book. The look of the book is also extremely attractive. You'll be surprised at how wrong you are about a lot of things regarding cooking when you read this book. He debunks a LOT of popular myths using science which is superb and extremely interesting to learn. It's also a fun book which is important as well to learning and remembering information. I simply cannot recommend this book more highly. This IS the BBQ bible. If you consider yourself a person who likes to BBQ you NEED this book. It will change your life. Indirect heat is what separates the men from the boys when it comes to cooking. Mastering indirect heat is how you can move from simply a guy who "grills" to a professional who makes world class BBQ. He coves a lot of great gear and accessories to purchase that will help with your grilling. I have a lot of what he recommends and I won't waste your time with reviewing each and every piece of equipment he talks about but I will recommend this one thing. The Maverick ET-733 is the best piece of BBQ equipment I own. (aside from my Weber Smokey Mountain and 22" Weber grill of course...) I'm sure you've had the "well, I slightly overcooked the steak...but I'll get it next time." NEVER AGAIN if you own this thermometer and learn how to use it. You can make perfect food each and every time you cook using this thermometer. Even if I'm making something extremely simply like a single burger I will STILL use this. I will NOT cook any food on the grill without it. It takes practice to understand how deep to insert the probe, etc, but once you cook with it for a while and you master using it, and along with the information contained within this book you'll have the power to become a competition winning Q'er. PS. I'll put my pulled pork up against ANYONE in the world including the author of this book. My pulled pork in my specialty and it's unbeatable. I'm going to start entering the competition scene to prove it. See the pictures I added to see what the best pulled pork in the world looks like. That is, of course, a custom homemade rub as well.

With the new book out I decided to come over and review this one, I bought it 10 years ago and it’s still one of the staples in my kitchen, whenever I want do ribs and briskets, I go back to it and make sure my intuition is right. While there are recipes, where this book shines is in explaining the science of barbecue so that you can understand what you’re doing and take it beyond just repeating the steps. You’ll understand how and why a bark is formed, when stall happens and the options you have to go beyond it and how rubs are going to affect the outcome of your cooking. For instance, it hadn’t occurred to me how important sugar is in forming a nice black crust on the food. This book gave me the tools and understanding to barbecue almost every weekend and come out with perfect results every single time. The smoke is your friend and low and slow is the way!

Great BBQ Tips.

I have lots of BBQ books. This is definitely one of my favorites. The book covers everything from cookers to fuels, to meat science. Many people can repeat something they hear someone else say without having an understanding of the topic. This book will help you "understand" barbecue! I love that they test (and debunk) many barbecue myths in this book. There are lots of recipes. I haven't made anywhere near them all, but the ones I have made have been excellent. I do think every BBQ enthusiast should be making their own rubs. This book has several great rubs to get you started on journey into making your own rubs. Buy this book - you will NOT be disappointed! All your friends will be envious of how you can talk (and more importantly, cook) BBQ.

Firstly this was a great book, an entertaining read and full of tips & advice from Meathead. I really enjoyed the style with different sections and loads of information at the start of the book. My one dislike is that some of the science/experiments behind the myth busting doesn’t quite stack up. It may well be partially true, but I would have liked to see or read a few more details to be convinced. For example the study using dyes to show that marinades won’t penetrate meat will depend largely on the type of dye used, some dyes have larger molecules than others, and when doing the meat resting experiment I have seen many others do the same experiment to prove that resting the meat does result in loosing less juices and doesn’t cause carryover cooking, science experiments should be repeatable otherwise they don’t count. Having said all that Meathead may well be right and perhaps the argument is more just that marinades won’t penetrate all the way or that resting the meat doesn’t make a big difference, but does make some difference...

There are many excellent BBQ and grilling cookbooks if you are primarily interested in recipes. Meathead brings us not only recipes but more importantly educates both the novice and experienced cook on the science behind cooking meat and does so brilliantly. Meathead, AKA Mr Goldwyn, does not run a BBQ restaurant, he runs the premier BBQ website/forum on the interweb: AmazingRibsdotcom. This "cookbook" is a distillation of all the expertise and scientific exploration of BBQ and grilling that the author and his colleagues have accumulated over decades. It is emphatically not a "this is the way Big Bob always did it" cookbook but rather an exploration of the science behind the magic that excellent BBQ cooks have developed. Big Bob had to develop his skills through trial and error, the rest of us can now learn from Meathead why certain techniques are better than others without having to devote decades honing the craft. Importantly the book also dispels many many myths that are reiterated in numerous other BBQ cookbooks. I just got the book and haven't had a chance to cook the recipes yet (but I have cooked recipes from Amazing Ribs which is where this book has its genesis). I don't think this is the only BBQ cookbook you'll ever need as other books explore additional styles and recipes but this book is a huge contribution to BBQ because it provides the novice and experienced cook alike the scientific basis for good BBQ. And, this is not just the latest wild theory but rather a collection of tried and tested experiments to support Meathead's teachings. I wouldn't call Meathead a guru because gurus don't use evidence. Meathead's BBQ book is more like the Cook's Illustrated kitchen approach which is empirically and scientifically based. I think anyone starting with BBQ should definitely get this book as a definitive text on how to understand BBQ cooking. Any experienced cook should also get it to challenge themselves to understand why their inherited methodology may or may not make the most sense. This book will be considered an authoritative text on BBQ for many years to come.

I get asked frequently "What cookbooks should I buy?" Well, I bought this one recently and I believe it has immediately floated to the top of my list for recommendations. I consider myself to be near expert level with barbecue and grilling because of my time and experience in the hobby. I often find it difficult to admit that I have learned something new because I think I know it all already. This book humbled me within the first five minutes of browsing it. I intended to browse it for a few minutes before going to bed last night and ended up putting it down four hours later. I have an extensive collection of books on this subject and THIS book is my new favorite already. It's a 'cover-to-cover' read... not just a recipe book. The recipes are just added bonuses to what you will learn from this trove of barbecue and grilling love... push the ADD TO CART button now! 5/20/2016 UPDATE: I finished this book cover-to-cover yesterday. I did not find any content in the book that I would consider to be 'wrong' in any way. There is, as with any book of this nature, some content that is open for interpretation. After all, this is a book about barbecue and grilling. Preferences vary. After finishing this book cover-to-cover, it has become my number ONE recommendation for any barbecue and grilling enthusiast who wants to do more than follow a recipe. If you want to understand barbecue and grilling to the point where you become the master of your equipment AND your recipes, then this is the book for you. The recipes included in this book are adequate. Some of them look to be fantastic and others look OK to me. This book is not so much about the recipes. It's about helping you understand what is going on inside your grill and inside the food you put on it. Having that level of understanding will make you a great cook in your own rite. This book should not be the ONLY book on your shelf, but it should be one that you have read cover-to-cover :)

If you’re an individual who seeks a scientific understanding as to what happens to the meat you’re barbecuing or grilling, and why, this is the book for you. No wonder Meathead Goldwyn was elected into the Barbecue Hall of Fame. He’s a genius. With lots of entraining humor, Mr. Goldwyn explains everything from the different types of heat; to equipment, to collagen breakdown, the stall, to how rubs (and some unnecessary foreign substances) interact with tissue…or do nothing at all. Then he backs everything up with science and experience. Bonus: there’s even pictures and illustrations. Mr. Goldwyn also debunks many BBQ myths. You know, those not so secret tips you heard from a friend who has a cousin, who knows someone that said, well, [ insert eye rolling nonsensical bbq tip here ]. I was a virgin in the world of low and slow barbecuing. Okay, I was dumber than dirt! In the past I had only cooked using the direct and indirect methods on my wee Kettle. Having just purchased a WSM, 22 inch (don’t laugh) I needed knowledge, lots of beautiful knowledge. Whoever said, “you can’t teach an old dog a new trick” should be sent to their room without barbecue. Personally, I found exactly what I was looking for in “Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling.” Not once did I find myself mentally asking, “But why?” Nor was the content difficult to comprehend. Did Mr. Goldwyn’s book magically transform me into an expert Pitmaster? No. It gave me something better. His book gave me the knowledge and confidence I needed for my first cook and a solid foundation on which to build. With Meathead as my wingman, my very first low and slow cook didn’t go down in flames. I highly recommend this book to everyone from Padawan to Pitmaster.

Excelente calidad, y mejor aún el contenido y la información que proporciona.

A must have If you’re into grilled and smoked meat.

Apprendre l utilisation d un fumoir. La mise en page date un peu mais l essentiel voir plus est là. La pratique de l outil n est pas inné mais la lecture de cette ouvrage permet d accélérer l apprentissage de cet art.

Love the book, only hoped it had arrived in a better condition.

Purchased Meathead based on recommendation from a friend. Excellent book. It goes into the science of the how and why when grilling and barbecuing. Written in a form that is easy to understand. Goes way beyond a bunch of recipes, covers what to look for in equipment, accessories, covers the why meat cooks as it does on the BBQ and how to get the best outcome. I have tried a number of the techniques and recipes. The boss has been pleased and she doesn't say 'no' if I offer to try something! If you use your BBQ a lot - get this book, well worth the investment.