Backyard BBQ: The Art of Smokology
by Richard W. McPeake
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Book Summary Information
Author: Richard W. McPeakeEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-01-31
ISBN: 0971801428
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: Richard W. McPeake
Book Reviews of Backyard BBQ: The Art of Smokology
Book Review: This book desperately needs an editor
Summary: 3 Stars
I really, really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately I just can't give it any more than two stars. Why? Because this book DESPERATELY needs an editor. Have any of you looked at the cover picture here on Amazon and noticed that it looks grainy and unprofessional? Well, it is... this has to be an independent, self published book, and its flaws and lack of polish really impede its overall usefulness.
Here are some examples.
A) The author often says one thing and then immediately contradicts himself. For example, he says clearly in his terminology section that the phrase "mop" is not the same thing as "sop", but then he goes on to use them interchangeably in some of his recipes. He will also often say things like "use the standard rub" in a recipe and then immediately say in the next sentence "basic rub". So wait, which rub am I supposed to use here? You said "standard", then "basic", and then "standard" again, all in the same paragraph!
B) The author's recipes can be extremely confusing, and sometimes it seems like he double counts the time periods he is talking about. A recipe should just be a series of steps... 1, 2, 3, etc, not a rambling circular paragraph. His recipe for twice smoked pulled pork is a perfect example. He says it has won him a lot of awards, so I really wanted to try it, but the circular "recipe" doesn't make it clear how to really make this pulled pork. Even worse, he recommends adding "finishing" flavors to this recipe at the end. The problem is, he has a list of about six or more different "finishing flavors" in his ingredients list. They don't look to me like they go together, so I would think I should just pick one of them to add, but he doesn't specify. There is no way to tell if they should all be added or if you should just pick one finishing flavor.
C) Recipe times. They are WAAAAAY off. I tried cooking his recipe for backyard barbecue ribs in my smoker. He said 3-4 hours would be needed for this recipe at a temp of 225 degrees. There is absolutely no possible way that your ribs will be done that fast at this low of a temperature. NO way. I cooked mine for about six hours and they still weren't done. So I did some polling... and I found other recipe books saying at least 250 to 300 degrees are needed to cook ribs, and they often gave a longer time period. I asked other cooks, such as my mom, and she said she probably wouldn't go lower than 325 to get ribs done in that amount of time. And I believe her, because after six hours of smoking ribs at 225 they definitely weren't even close... we had to throw them out. Oh, and he also recommends that you mop these ribs every 15 minutes... so every 15 minutes you take the lid off the smoker and let all the heat escape while spraying them down. My guess is that this is another issue of not having an editor or tester. He probably meant a different total cooking time, or a different temp, or a different time for mopping, but accidentally made a typo. I may still try this recipe again at some point, but I'm definitely not cooking it at 225.
So to summarize, this product gets two stars. I suspect most of the positive reveiws on here are from people who have attended his cooking classes (he is a professional chef in Kansas City), learned there how he cooks, and then have bought the book. Perhaps at that point you can fill in the gaps when you hit a circular recipe or a time that doesn't look right. But due to the lack of an editor, this book is terrible for beginners. The only reason it gets two stars is that there is some seemingly good background information on smoking (though still full of typos, grammar mistakes and other inconsistencies) at the beginning of the book.
Summary of Backyard BBQ: The Art of Smokology
BACKYARD BBQ The Art of Smokology is in it's Fourth Printing This book covers all the barbecue basics of Backyard Smoking, as taught in Chef McPeake's barbecue classes. Hence the name: The Art of Smokology. From starting your fire, to buying, selecting, trimming and smoking meats. Also chapters covering terms, rub making, sauce making, brining and the proper procedures for smoking seafood.Plus some of his favorite recipes like: Hell Fire Brisket , Sweet & Spicy Cherry Ribs, Duck Pastrami, Oriental Smoked Porkloin, Twice Smoked Pulled Pork, Take Your Breath BBQ Sauce, Passion BBQ Sauce, Mustard & Pepper Spiced Beef Tenderloin, Honey Maple Brine for Salmon, Honey Marinated Lobster Tails, Coconut Curried Scallops, Margarita Mop for Chicken,
Nawlins' Butter Mop, Warm Jalapeno Corn Relish, Gazpacho Salsa, Zesty Backyard Baked Beans, Wisconsin Cheddar Potato Salad Jambalaya Rice much more! No stone is left unturn in this book
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