Slow Fire: The Beginner's Guide to Barbecue Author: Ray "DR. BBQ" Lampe | Language: English | ISBN:
1452103038 | Format: EPUB
Slow Fire: The Beginner's Guide to Barbecue Description
About the Author
Ray "Dr. BBQ" Lampe has been barbecuing professionally for over 20 years and is a cook-off champion. He has written 5 cookbooks, including Ribs, Chops, Steaks & Wings. He lives in Florida.
Leigh Beisch is a San Francisco-based photographer whose work can be found in Ribs, Chops, Steaks & Wings.
"Famous Dave" Anderson, founder of the successful barbecue restaurant chain Famous Dave's of America, is a grilling and bbq expert, best-selling author and motivational speaker.
- Hardcover: 176 pages
- Publisher: Chronicle Books (April 11, 2012)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1452103038
- ISBN-13: 978-1452103037
- Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 8.8 x 0.8 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
I was recently sent a review copy of Slow Fire: The Beginner's Guide to Barbecue, the latest book from Ray "Dr. BBQ" Lampe. I've long been a fan of Ray's books, going back to his first, which I used as a guide when I started competing in barbecue cook-offs.
Ray is a very accomplished trucker-turned-barbecue-man. You can read the long list of his achievements at his site. What I like about Ray is his unpretentious and no-nonsense approach to barbecue. He has strong opinions and, true to his Chicago roots, he's not bashful about telling you what's on his mind. In other words, he keeps it really real, and I dig that.
It's interesting to me to see how Ray's books have continually matured through the seven years that he's been writing. Slow Fire really highlights that maturation. The first thing I noticed is that this is a beautiful book. The layout is pleasantly clean and the photography is gorgeous. You can immediately tell that this isn't your average barbecue cookbook.
As the title indicates, this book is intended for beginners. Barbecue is a paradox. It's a simple cuisine that can be deceptively complicated and intimidating. Over time cooks have managed to complicate what started as a very simple and humble cooking process, so much so that the average Joe is afraid to tackle it. This book cuts through the smoke and gets back to basics.
A beginner's book has to walk a fine line. It has to be simple and approachable while providing enough knowledge to build confidence, but not so much that it scares folks away. That is especially true in barbecue. One can very quickly get bogged down by expensive equipment, arcane terminology and philosophical arguments. That's not the case here.
If you are new to BBQ smoking in my opinion there is no one book you can buy. Everyone that writes one has a point of view. What I have found is you really need a core of three books I have found helpful and then possibly two more. Also there is a lot on the web, but there is one site I have found particularly helpful. That said if you only buy one buy this one.
I have tried smoking before with bullet grills with some success, but it takes a lot of minding. I finally broke down and bought the Texas Traeger pellet grill just for smoking. I love it. Now the problem is most cookbooks on smoking do not address this type of smoker head on so if you want to lean how to really use one I have found you need to look at a variety of sources.
Here is my take:
Once you understand temperature in relation to smoke and timing you can translate any indirect recipe to a pellet grill or any other type of smoker. There are some tricks/tips that will enhance the cooking, but in the end it all comes down to temperature and time.
Here are the books that I have found most helpful in descending order. I would invest in all five if you are serious about this. I look at two things; technical information and recipes.
Slow Fire by Ray "DR. BBQ" Lampe - Excellent from a technical standpoint. A great foundation in terms of understanding smoking (slow cooking) and good basic recipes. It is the first book I would buy.
Backyard BBQ The Art of Smokology by Richard W. McPeake - Great in terms of technical. If you study this book along with Lemke's you will really get a handle on the technical aspects of smoking. The recipes are pretty basic, but that is OK if you are new at this.
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