Peace, Love, & Barbecue: Recipes, Secrets, Tall Tales, and Outright Lies from the Legends of Barbecue
by Mike Mills, Amy Mills Tunnicliffe
Review by Chef James
This book is not about backyard grills - it is about Barbecue with a capital 'B' - "a savory and succulent slab of meat that has been....smoked over charcoal and wood at medium-low temperatures....in a moist environment for an extended period of time until it is at once perfectly tender and exceedingly juicy and brimming with flavor."
It is the most fascinating and informative book on the background, culture, characters, and folklore of Barbecue I have come across - and you couldn't ask for better sources for the recipes. Mike Mills is a 3 time Grand World Champion pitmaster, and the stories, conversations, sidebars, vignettes and recipes are all from and about fellow champion Barbecue buddies.
As anyone who spends time on the Food Reference website knows, I love food history - and I loved this book - for the stories and for the 100 recipes equally.
When you buy this book (and you should) be sure not to lend it out to a friend - you will never get it back!
Description
A one-of-a-kind collection of recipes, photographs, and behind-the-scenes stories from legendary pitmaster Mike Mills.
In this unique combination of cookbook, memoir, and travelogue, Mike Mills, the unrivalled king of barbecue, shares his passion for America's favorite cuisine--its intense smoky flavors, its lore and traditions, and its wild cast of characters.
Through conversational anecdotes and black-and-white photographs, readers meet a diverse circle of colleagues and friends and join Mills in a behind-the-scenes tour of the barbecue contest circuit, with stops at some of the best "shrines, shacks, joints, and right-respectable restaurants."
Also included are prizewinning recipes that have earned Mills his fame and fortune as a barbecue maestro. These 100 recipes will enable anyone with a grill to achieve champion barbecue flavor right in their own backyard. The selection features Mills' own secret concoctions and treasured family recipes as well as choice contributions from his pitmaster friends, and it covers all manner of barbecued meat and fish, sauces and dry rubs, as well as the sides, soups, and down-home sweets that complete any great barbecue feast
With its folksy, fun-loving tone and its unique insider's take on a hugely popular--and deeply American--subject, this volume will appeal to barbecue lovers, food mavens, and cooks of all stripes.
About the Author
MIKE MILLS is the only person to win three Grand World Champion titles at the Memphis in May International Barbecue Festival. He is also barbecue guru and partner at Danny Meyer's Blue Smoke restaurant in New York City and owner of six notable barbecue joints, two in Southern Illinois and four in Las Vegas.
AMY MILLS TUNNICLIFFE is a journalist and publicist. She also conducts training seminars and is a sought-after public speaker. She lives near Boston.
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