Slow Fire: The Beginner's Guide to Barbecue

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.Smoke & Spice by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison - OK technical, but once you have that down good recipes and good guidance on time and temperature,Championship Barbecue by Paul Kirk - Good technical compliment to the first two above. This however is more a smoke and grilling cookbook as more than half the recipes are grilled ones. He also has a habit of trying to replicate indoor recipes to the grill. I have no idea why you would do that. A lot of the recipes seem like let me throw this against the wall and see what sticks. That said he has some good smoked ones and his mustard slaughters really work, Thought everything using them would taste like a hot dog, but they enhance the flavor with no mustard taste. Obviously I am a little conflicted by this book.BBQ USA by Steven Raichlen _ more of a grilling cookbook, but he has some good smoker recipes. I am a fan of his for grilling; I have five of his cookbooks. Again from a smoking perspective this is the last of the five, but it and his others are great if you grill as well.Last do poke around the website amazingribs.com. It is not just about ribs and has a wealth of information.Do not assume that any of these recipes will be spot on in terms of your particular grill. As all the authors say you have to learn your grill so do not try any recipe for the first time for company. As many of the authors say smoked BBQ will be ready when it is done.Again it is all about learning about time and temperature for your particular grill.

I ordered this book back in June of 2016 and I have been using it since. after three and half years, I thought I should try different books from different chefs, so I did get few books from well known chefs like Backyard BBQ by Richard McPeake, Smoke & Spice by Cheryl and Bill Jamison and A Meat-Smoking Manifesto [A Cookbook] by Aaron Franklin. after reading those books I felt obligated to write a review for Slow Fire by Dr. BBQ. let me tell you they can not even come close to Slow Fire by Dr. BBQ. The recipes and rubs in this book are easy to assemble, the ingredient are easy to find and the instructions from measuring the ingredients to cooking time and temperatures are so accurate that every time I cook, the results are the same. This book has recipes for every meat and vegetable that we consume on daily bases. he has broken the process to the simplest and easiest way that it is almost impossible to make a mistake. There are many grate chefs that are master in cooking but not necessarily are good authors, but Dr. BBQ is both.Give this book a try, you would not be disappointed.

I got into the hobby of smoking meats when I bought a kamado grill about a year ago. Not knowing anything about the subject, other than I love the taste of great barbecue, I thought A good book or two might enlighten me on some helpful techniques for creating some quality product. "Slow Fire" by DR. BBQ Lampe was the very first book I purchased. And although I've purchased several other bbq cookbooks since then, this book is always the one I keep coming back to. What am I saying ? This book is about the ONLY one I really needed. The book is well put together, the recipes are pretty simple and straightforward, and the pictures are excellent. Do what this book tells you and you'll soon be turning out food that will make you forget all about eating out at your favorite bbq joint. Seriously, I ate at a decent bbq place in Arlington, VA a while back but my very first attempt at a Boston Butt (pulled pork) had me saying to myself, "Shoot, I can do better than this".The book begins by telling about different types of smokers and continues by explaining how different types of woods affect the flavor and color of your meats. It then provides recipes for a couple of basic rubs and several different types of barbecue sauces; a couple of red barbecue sauces, my personal favorite...a yellow (mustard) bbq sauce, Dr. Pepper bbq sauce, banana ketchup (you heard me right), and some others. I've tried both of the rubs and several of the barbecue sauces. The yellow barbecue sauce goes so good with pulled pork, it'll make you want to slap yo mamma; while the banana ketchup also goes good with pork. But it wasn't something I'd make a habit of. It is different though and worth a try. The barbecue sauce recipes I did try from this book were all good and, of course, those and the rubs can be modified to suit your own personal taste. But the book gives you a good point from which to start. And they are good enough that you will be turning out good quality barbecue if you don't change them at all. I guess I spend so much time talking about barbecue sauces because anybody who knows me also knows that I have to eat some kind of sauce, hot or bbq, on everything I eat.The book then goes on with chapters, each containing several recipes for preparing different types and cuts of beef, pork, poultry, and a special chapter on nothing but ribs. Like I said, the recipes and techniques are pretty basic and easy to follow. They're nothing fancy but I don't need fancy. I want barbecue that I'd be proud to serve my friends. And that's what you'll find in this book. I highly recommend trying the recipe for the competition-style pork butt on one of your first cooks. You'll be wanting to do one every weekend. Even my wife, who is not that fond of pork, will eat the crap out of this stuff !Lastly, there is a chapter about side dishes and desserts to serve with your barbecued product. I have tried a few of the side dish recipes. And, while most of them have been just okay for my taste, you might find them quite good. Me...I prefer to make my side dishes with recipes I already have or others I find elsewhere. But face it, this is a book about barbecue and that's where it excels. In fact, I like this book so much, I was compelled to add my "five star" review to all the others. Beginner or old pro, there's something you can learn in this book. So, if you're into barbecue and smoking meats, BUY THIS BOOK !

This book has been my intro manual to the BBQ world and is a great place to start. This will start you off with good basic BBQ knowledge, technique, and recipes to build your foundation and get your feet off the ground.My favorite parts are the good simple rubs with the classic BBQ meat cuts like ribs, pork butts, chickens, etc...My guests give the "Fired Up Fajita Rub" on pork butt the highest praise. And I am jacked to try the coffee brisket flat recipe! (a great way to start out with brisket).Ray Lampe is a true BBQ master who doesn't feel the need to sing his own praise - very refreshing in the BBQ world. I'll be learning from him for years to come.

I purchased Slow Fire a few months back as a treat to accompany a new Weber grill, and I've found parts of it invaluable. The range of rib recipes is nothing short of phenomenal and worth the price of entry (the dry ribs are the best I've tasted), and the rest of the meat recipes are decent too although there isn't quite as much variation. The theory on grilling techniques etc is also fairly handy, although if starting from scratch as a beginner I'd buy something like the Pitt Cue Co cookbook to learn how to get the temperatures right.

Impressed with this book. The rubs are flavourful and the sauces tasty.Really loved the beef recipies. Tricky and time consuming but the results are excellent. A great starter to the world of smoking

Really good recipes for my Kamado Joe. Everything is in US measurements and temperatures so be prepared to do some conversions.

nice book

Great book, I'm a novice barbeque smoker and this book was recommended to me to get started. I strongly recommend it to anyone beginner or more experienced as the recipes and advice are worth it.