The Prophets of Smoked Meat: A Journey Through Texas Barbecue

by Daniel Vaughn, Nicholas McWhirter (Photographer)

Overview

The comprehensive, must-have guide to Texas barbecue, including pitmasters' recipes, tales of the road—from country meat markets to roadside stands—and a panoramic look at the Lone Star State, where smoked meat is sacred

Brisket. Spareribs. Beef sausage. Pulled pork. From the science of heat to the alchemy of rubs, from the hill country to the badlands, The Prophets of Smoked Meat takes readers on a pilgrimage to discover the heart and soul of Texas barbecue.

Join Daniel "BBQ Snob" Vaughn—host of the popular blog Full Custom Gospel BBQ and acknowledged barbecue expert—and photographer Nicholas McWhirter as they trek across more than 10,000 miles to sample the wood-smoking traditions of the Lone Star State's four distinct barbecue styles:

• East Texas style, essentially the hickory-smoked, sauce-coated barbecue with which most Americans are familiar.
• Central Texas "meat market" style, in which spice-rubbed meat is cooked over indirect heat from pecan or oak wood, a method that originated in the butcher shops of German and Czech immigrants.
• Hill Country "cowboy style," which involves direct heat cooking over mesquite coals and uses goat and mutton as well as beef and pork.
• South Texas barbacoa, in which whole beef heads are traditionally cooked in pits dug into the earth.

Including recipes from longtime pitmasters and new barbecue stars, The Prophets of Smoked Meat encompasses the entire panorama of Texas barbecue. Illustrated throughout with lush, full-color photographs of the food, the people, and the stunning landscapes of the Lone Star State, The Prophets of Smoked Meat is the new gospel of Texas barbecue, essential for neophytes and seasoned experts alike.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062202956
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/17/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	389
Sales rank:	742,324
File size:	213 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Daniel "BBQ Snob" Vaughn is an expert on Texas barbecue. He is the author and editor of the respected blog Full Custom Gospel BBQ and BBQ editor at Texas Monthly. A trained architect, he lives in Dallas with his wife and children.

Table of Contents

The Making of a Prophet 1

Chapter 1 Few and Far Between in the Texas Panhandle 13

Chapter 2 Weekend Barbecue in Southeast Texas 31

Chapter 3 Cowboy-Style Barbecue in the Hill Country 51

Chapter 4 A Long Search Through East Texas 93

Chapter 5 Barbacoa in South 139

Chapter 6 West Texas: From Fort Worth to El Paso 199

Chapter 7 Eating with Our Hands in Central Texas 241

The Texas Triangle 305

Pitmaster Profiles 329

Acknowledgment 355

The Best 356

Bibliography 357

Photography 359

Editorial Reviews

The Anthony Bourdain Books series makes an auspicious launch with this new guide to Texas eateries by self-avowed "barbecue snob" Daniel Vaughn. The delightfully finicky proprietor of the Full Custom Gospel BBQ knows all the finer points of smoke line, sauce, crust, and sugar cookies, so his canonical reviews about Lone Star grill restaurants possesses the level of detail that eager carnivores crave. The perfect front seat companion.

The first release on Anthony Bourdain’s line for Ecco is from self-described “BBQ snob” Vaughn. expert on the various styles of Texas barbecue who offers page after page of exhaustive dissertation on the intricacies of brisket, sausage, and other smoked meats, as he traverses the state. The book is divided into four sections based on region (east, central, west, and south) that each have their own specialties, and Vaughn and photographer Nicholas McWhirther work their way through plate after plate of barbecue with nary a vegetable in sight. Vaughn offers detailed, informed critiques of countless eateries with varying results. Though an admitted Yankee from Ohio, his expertise is unassailable. Vaughn’s got over 500 BBQ joints under his belt and he’s a fair judge of the good, the bad, and the mediocre when it comes to smoked meat. Unfortunately for some of the proprietors listed, a great many joints end up in the “mediocre” category, as he holds them to a justifiably high standard. Vaughn does an admirable job of keeping readers’ interest with asides on rubs, and a meditation on the role of rotisseries in barbecue. The book also contains studies of some of the cuisine’s colorful proprietors (many of whom provide recipes in the book’s appendix), but it’s the hardcore barbecue nerds and Texans who will get the most out of Vaughn’s efforts. Casual smokers will likely find the book to be repetitive and maybe even depressing as the indictment of bad briskets, overcooked ribs, and commercially produced sausage mounts. (May)

Publishers Weekly

★ 
This exploration of barbecue by Texas Monthly magazine barbecue editor Vaughn reads more like a love story than a cookbook. With a restaurant guide and collective bibliographies of the who’s who of pit masters and some of their secret recipes, Vaughn’s homage to smoked meat is full of cadence, and the accompanying photos are so luscious and seductive they will tempt even the least likely fan of smoky brisket, pulled pork, beef sausage, and ribs. In this first book in Ecco’s Anthony Bourdain series, Vaughn describes place by place the fare he encountered as he traveled throughout the state. According to the author, there are four major types of barbecue: East Country (smoky with sauce), Hill Country (cowboy style), South Texas (barbacoa, or whole cow heads cooked in pits), and Central Texas (rubs and indirect heat). Whether readers are looking to replicate these techniques, experiment with different woods, or take a trip to Texas for themselves, this book is likely to be the closest thing most will have to visiting the mecca of meat in person.

Verdict A great gift for the barbecue enthusiast and a gorgeous book for display.—Jane Hebert, Glenside P.L. Dist., Glendale Heights, IL
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