Interesting how things have changed in the past 30 years.
Because everyone has to do something.. I am going through my shelves and drawers and etc, and I found this, from 1988.
I don’t want to get into too much about how almost everything in it has changed. Famularo was a very well respected cookbook author. And most of the things different are what we take for granted: lower final temps for chicken and pork, higher grill temps for steaks, dry brining, etc. But it’s fun to read and think about some of the techniques, "Nope. Not even close."
The recipes, though, are pretty damn good. For example, and you know burgers are my favorite,
Grill/Smoke/Roast = SnS Grills Kettle + SnS Deluxe Insert & Drip n' Griddle
Grill/Smoke/Roast = Hasty-Bake Gourmet Dual Finish with HB rotisserie and Grill Grates
Smoke = Weber Smokey Mountain 22.5"
Pizza = Blackstone Propane Pizza Oven (Stacy's, but she let's me use it sometimes)
Indoor Cooking = LG Studio 30" gas range
Camp Cooking = Coleman 2 burner white gas stove
Thermometer = FireBoard FBX2 with 2 ambient and 6 meat probes
Thermapen Mk IV = Light blue
Thermapen Mk IV = Black
PID Controller = Fireboard Drive + Auber 20 CFM Fan (FB gen 1 fan)
PID Controller = Fireboard Drive + Fireboard 20 CFM Fan (FB gen 2 fan)
Knives
Wusthof Classic Ikon set: 9" carving knive, 2X 8" Chef's Knife, 7" Santoku and three utility knives
Kamikoto Kuro set: 7" Santoku, 6.5" Nakiri, 5" Utility
Amazing Ribs Brazilian Steak knife set
Favorite wine = whatever is currently in the wine rack
Favorite beer = Sam Adams Boston Lager or Shiner Bock
Favorite whisky = Lagavulin Distiller's Edition 16 year old single malt
Best Cookbooks - Meathead's "The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling", Chris Lilly's "Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book", Aaron Franklin's "Franklin BBQ"
Cookbooks to check out - Raichlen's "Brisket Chronicles" and anything by Adam Perry Lang.
Current fanboy cookbook - "Chasing Smoke: Cooking Over Fire Around the Levant"
What is really interesting is that other types of cook books haven’t changed a whole lot. There is very little difference between Julia’s "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and more modern French cookbooks, for example.
This would be the only major non-trend stuff I would think. History repeats and true innovation is sparse. Not a knock on anyone, just almost everything has already been done. It's how you phrase it. Obviously temps will fluctuate like the food pyramid, science
My buddy from across the street grills spare ribs just like his dad did. So I bought him a Weber kettle! He STILL hadn't used it though. I guess change is hard.
So that butt I had in the fridge for a week gained some weight from sitting around? 😂
I guess we can expect a revised edition of Meathead’s book, one without the pulled pork recipe? 🤣
Some of us that have been around for the better part of two hands worth of decades maybe get just a bit more enjoyment out of historical references such as this...………………….and not just in the food world. Current or "conventional" wisdom is always in flux. People who foolishly say something along the lines of "I 100% disagree with____________________." will often end up with egg on their face (knowingly or not) when the arc of time reveals more "truths" than they can imagine. Life is a learning experience, with the goal posts being moved.....sometimes for the good, sometimes...…...not so much. Try to smile when you become aware.
What it cool is that, armed with updated knowledge and accurate thermometers to avoid overcooking, those good recipes will be fantastic and likely better than the authors even enjoyed.
I don’t know what surprises me more that A.) so much has changed in ~30 years, or B.) how little we knew about cooking until recently. Seems like we are constantly learning new ways to prepare food. We’ve been doing this for thousands of years now. You would think we would have it all figured out by now?
Uncle Bob I couldn’t agree more with you. As a world collective, I wish we’d be a little more humble in our knowledge and understanding of things. I spend a little bit of time in NYC throught the year. If you ever need to know the definitive answer to anything, walk the streets of Manhattan for 15 minutes.
I don’t know what surprises me more that A.) so much has changed in ~30 years, or B.) how little we knew about cooking until recently. Seems like we are constantly learning new ways to prepare food. We’ve been doing this for thousands of years now. You would think we would have it all figured out by now?
Uncle Bob I couldn’t agree more with you. As a world collective, I wish we’d be a little more humble in our knowledge and understanding of things. I spend a little bit of time in NYC throught the year. If you ever need to know the definitive answer to anything, walk the streets of Manhattan for 15 minutes.
The other thing is, food was (probably) still really good back then. A lot of what we do different either makes it easier, or it is a collection of nuances that, taken collectively, make a difference. For example, you can oil the grate, but it’s easier and less problematic to oil the meat.
Even in Meathead’s book, there is a chapter on various cookers and tools. How do we know what cookers will look like 30 years from now? We have seen some interesting trends in just the last few years with pit barrels, gravity feed charcoal cookers, the newer pellet cookers (including the Weber, which might still end up being a game changer), the KBQ gravity fed wood burner, and others. Who’s to say older designs like the Weber bullets will survive 30 years? At the price point isn’t a PBC at least as good a choice? When I bought my BGE 10 years ago, it was the only kamado you read about. Now there are probably a couple dozen manufacturers, with innovations like the S&S making them more and more versatile.
I hope we never see the end to innovation and change. It’s fun to see where we came from, where we are, and to think about where we are going. I think I was just reading about pressure smokers the other day.
I have several mid-century cook books and pamphlets, it is fun to look at what people were cooking in the '50s versus today. A lot of the foods were pretty tame seasoning-wise back then. Tastes and cooking styles are always in flux which makes things interesting in my opinion.
That is one of my favorite sites. I almost fell out of my chair laughing at his description of "mashed potato surprise" in the Knudsen's Best pamphlet.
Comment