SO I have not been posting content from my new book, The Meathead Method, because a lot of it hit the cutting room floor. I wrote enough for TWO BOOKS and pitched Harper Collins on a 2-book set. Never been done for BBQ. Turned in the manuscript on time in May 2023. After a lot of debate, they said they didn't think they could sell it. Too expensive. I argued that it would send a powerful message, that this is an important set. They nixed it so we pushed the deadline back to May 2024. I spent a year trimming and sculpting a book, and saving enough for another. The manuscript has gone through editing, layout, design, and proofing, and the final final proof is due any day now. We are on schedule to hit the shelves in May 2025. WHEW!
Yes. Alton Brown wrote the foreword. Prett ycool! Here it is:
I am seriously not happy with the author of this book. When he sent me the most recent version, I opened it and, after reading about ten pages, slunk to my office, retrieved the first three chapters of my own manuscript on outdoor cooking, and shredded it.
Meathead got there first. The Meathead Method is his grand opus, which is saying something considering his output on the subject. What’s worse (for the likes of me) is that it’s probably the only book on outdoor cookery you’ll ever need.
The problem with most barbecue literature is that lore, myth, heaps of “historical” hyperbole, and tall tales of various dimensions have passed into canon. Plainly put: B.S. abounds. Just drop by any American barbecue festival or competition and you can literally marinate in a litany of lies, all told with the kind of tent-revival conviction that you know you just ought not waste time arguing with.
As I read The Meathead Method (snappy title) I got the sense that Meathead has heard all the lies and crazy carryings-on about “smoke lines” and “stalls” and “barks,” and having carefully considered each, has calmly lined them up and tested each and every one. Now, I won’t pretend that I agree with him on every single point of science, and I might even take issue with one or two of the processes described, but overall I’d say everything herein is righteous, true, reasonable, and put to paper in such a clear and cogent manner that anyone with a piece of meat and a match could profit from its full and careful consideration.
My only suggestion is that they publish it in a waterproof/heatproof edition, because I feel certain that like my last half-dozen or so digital thermometers, I’m going to keep this one out at the smoker.
I will be sharing some of the content here and when I hear if they will be taking advance orders I'll let you know. I know a lot of you have been waiting for this and giving me strength. Here is the back cover:
This book goes where barbecue goes next. Meathead, the BBQ Hall of Famer and New York Times bestselling author of Meathead, The Science Of Great Barbecue And Grilling, is back with The Meathead Method — a toolbox to elevate all your cooking with fire and smoke. And as always, he busts myths, teaches science, shares hot tips, and introduces new methods, tools, ingredients, and recipes.
Methods: The science of smoke. How enzymes work. Wok cooking on a charcoal chimney. Cooking with logs, pellets, charcoal, and gas. Smoking with tea, herbs, and spices. Why foods stick to metal. Why you shouldn’t cook whole animals. How to use dampers and flues on grills and smokers. The Maillard reaction, caramelization, and blackening. Why salt is the magic rock. Dry brining. The truth about marinades. Brinerades. Beware of the boundary layer. Cooking at altitude. Uncured bacon is a scam. A handy food temperature guide to hang on the fridge. Safety from store to table. How different types of energy produce different results. The inverse square law. The Warp Scale. The hockey stick. 2 and 3-zone setups. The genius of the reverse sear. How to buy a grill, smoker, pizza oven (and some faves). Sous vide que, combining sous vide and the grill and smoker. Why you should flip often. When pressing on hamburgers is a good idea. Butter basting doesn’t work like you think it does. Neither does beer can chicken. How the stall works and how to beat it. The grill is the perfect place to make fried chicken. Beware of cooking with wine, beer, spirits. Aging beef. The afterburner. Propane torching. The vigneron method. Improve browning and crisping with baking powder. Close proximity smoking. Make your kamado into a tandoor. The Smoking Gun. Koji, the magic mold. MSG. Umami. Beware of fake soy sauce. Why there should be no salt in a rub. The 5 Ss of a rub. Basic injections. Ponassing and spatchcocking (get your mind out of the gutter).
114 inspiring creative recipes including: The secret recipes that competition champions use. Butter-Injected Turkey. Ultimate Sous Vide Que Prime Rib. Black Cod a la Nobu. Smoked Vichyssoise. Grilled Caponata. Smoked Pho. Skewer-Free Kebabs. Chicken And Turkey Skin Cracklins. Nashville Hot Chicken. Oklahoma Onion Burgers. Peter Mayle’s Flaming Fish. Smoked Fettucini. Brine simmered charred octopus. Crawfish Dirty Rice. Smoked Tomato Raisins. Roasted Pepper Risotto. Pineapple Foster. And out of the BBQ box ingredients including black garlic, gochujang, yuzu, miso, zhug, tare sauce.
I wanna know how we get your John Hancock on it! We oughtta do an auction with numbered copies and Meathead's personal greasy BBQ fingerprints on the pages! lol
I'm happy for you and the relief you must feel having put this one to bed! I'll be eagerly awaiting the books release and I hope I can get in on the first printing.
LSG Adjustable Grill/Smoker, MAK Pellet Grill, Large BGE with Several Attachments from the Ceramic Grill Store, Weber Gasser, Cast Iron Pans & Griddle, Grill Grates, Mostly Thermoworks Thermometers, Anova SV Stick, BBQ Guru Controller and Fan
MAK 2 Star pellet
Big Green Egg
Fuego gasser
Pitboss ceramic griddle
Eastman Outdoors wok burner
Ooni 16 pizza oven
Cast iron chimenea with pizza steel
Breeo smokeless fire pit, with Titan rotisserie and Titan Santa Maria style adjustable grate
Oklahoma Joe Bronco
Good. Even without the book, this site reflects a tremendous, and wide-ranging deep effort, to provide substantive content.
And a significant collateral benefit is that you have accumulated a group of followers with widely varying talents and experience, which serve as a resource for dealing with all sorts of oddball issues.
Large Big Green Egg, Weber Performer Deluxe, Weber Smokey Joe Silver, Fireboard Drive, 3 DigiQs, lots of Thermapens, and too much other stuff to mention.
Ha! You KNOW I’m getting it, and buying copies for friends and family!
Does this mean you’ll make it to the MeatUp in a couple weeks? Like, take a vacation to Texas, eat recklessly and regret it later, and stay up late drinking and eating cheese and award winning kielbasa and telling tall tales?
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