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An Instant Classic Jun 7, 2009 (14 of 14 found this helpful)
I buy far too many cook books. I have everything from the Cooks Illustrated line-up to some Food Network/ PBS shows, etc.
This has to be the best instructional cook book I have read.
This book is not a sum total of recipes, nor is it a compilation of how the technique was developed... It is a lesson plan. It is very much a course in how to barbecue and after you have learned each lesson you will truly know how to read what is going on with your fire and food.
You won't have to go search a website to find out the amount of time you should leave ribs on and at what temperature. You won't have to purchase some digital thermometer or fancy temp control. No more guessing, speculating, or making things much more difficult than they need to be.
After all, should barbecue be that difficult? This is the book that will teach you how, it will give you the skills. You can use this with a weber smokey mountain, an offset, or... a kettle grill!
Now, there are also some great recipes in the book to boot! You'll learn some flavorful marinades and you'll learn the basics of a marinade so that you can whip one up from scratch! The same with brines and with rubs! Being able to create these things successfully from scratch is what separates the ok bbq'er from the great and confident one.
There is also a whole section on what to do with leftovers. I had some smoked chicken left over and used one of the recipes... now I smoke the chicken just to make left overs. By the way, it is the best chicken I've bbq'ed. And it is so fast and easy now that I've done it a couple times.
I can't say enough good things about this book! It is a steal for the price, GET IT!
On a side note, it is really damn fun to work your way through the lessons as well :)
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Awesome Book May 13, 2009 (11 of 12 found this helpful)
Wow...this book is awesome. I never really knew how to use a smoker, and this book is the bomb with easy to understand instructions. The best smoked meat I've ever had is now what I cook! There are also fabulous recipes for sauces, sides and so much more! This book would make a great Father's Day gift, but I bought one just for me!
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The Man Knows What He is Writing About Apr 24, 2009 (17 of 20 found this helpful)
Gary Wiviott's "LOW & SLOW" should be required reading with every smoker sold. Prof. Wiviott has been there, made the mistakes, learned from them and now passes on his experience and knowledge. Do what he says, because he has done it and knows it works, and you will turn out real Barbecue. The book is a complete walk thru on learning true Barbecue. Do it and you will be doing it right. Plus there is the added bonus of recipes that taste good. This author knows food, prepares food, and shares it all. I have no hesitation in a full reccommendation of "LOW & SLOW."
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A must have! May 8, 2009 (10 of 11 found this helpful)
This guy walks you thru the barbequing process like a drill sargent at a Marine Boot Camp. But when it's over you'll be glad you did it his way!
The book is all about the technique of smoking (on a Weber Smoky Mountain (best), or Kettle, or any type of smoker), but it has lots of recipes too.
Why go thru all the hassle of experimenting with different times, amounts of wood or charcoal, or opening and closing vents, when this guy has done it all for you, eliminating 95% of the guess work!
The book is hardly the price of a slab of ribs anyway, so just buy it!
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This book works! Sep 9, 2009 (5 of 5 found this helpful)
Well, I guess I'm going to have to apologize to Gary Wiviott! When I first got this book, I was turned off by what I perceived as his condescending tone, his know-it-all approach and his waste of charcoal. After going through the first four "lessons" in the book, I now realize that this book flat out WORKS for preparing fantastic BBQ! I prepared spare ribs yesterday following his instructions and recipes and they received rave reviews from my family. A couple of weeks ago, I prepared baby back ribs that were better than anything I've ever had in any restaurant! My chicken BBQ been great too!
Sorry Gary Wiviott! I was wrong, you were right!
For anyone who is not already aware, the book is organized as a series of 5 lessons in making great BBQ. The lessons were originally created for the fantastic Weber Smokey Mountain smoker and were published for free on his web site. This year, Gary expanded the lessons to include directions for an offset smoker and for a kettle grill. He also added numerous excellent recipes for various rubs, washes, marinades, and sauces as well as side dishes and recipes for using the leftovers. The only thing he doesn;t cover is brisket, but once you master the techniques he teaches, you won't have any trouble with brisket.
My next cook will be the pulled pork cooking a Boston butt roast. Based on my experience with the chicken and ribs, the pork butt is going to turn out great!
I have a Weber Smokey Mountain smoker, a Weber Kettle grill and a Weber gas grill. I have only followed the instructions for the Smokey Mountain. So, i can't comment on his other instructions, but I woulod bet that they are right on as well!
When you get the book, my advice is to ignire all the blustering. Also, know that you don't have to do everything EXACTLY as he says, but you shouldn't stray too far. For example, Wiviott says to ONLY use lump charcoal. I used Kingsford regular charcoal (NOT the Matchlight) and everything has turned out great. The timing he gives is not exact, but is close enough for you to do quite well. He also deliberately has you to use too much charcoal. I realize now, that this is so that you are not changing too many variables from one cook to the next. The main difference between the cooks is the timing and the vent settings. He wants you to learn your Smoker first, and then start trying other things like optimizing your charcoal amount. so go ahead and bu extra charcoal for now. You can adjust later.
One thing to definitely follow is to use the Weber Chimney starter to start your charcoal. I have used all available methods of starting charcoal and the Weber Chimney Starter is the best method, bar none. Just follow Wiviott's instructions and use three sheets of newspaper prepared as he tells you and your charcoal starting will be fool proof.
By the way, the best price anywhere for the Weber Smokey Mountain Smoker is on Amazon!