I owe a lot of thanks to a lot of nice folks who have taught me and helped me on this trial by fire:
All you readers who have commented and criticized drafts online. As my Daddy said, "Praise is cheap, but criticism is priceless."
My wife, the saucy Lou, Ph.D., a microbiologist and food safety expert who hates it when I use her kitchen, forcing me outdoors, and now fearlessly eats my cooking (well, most of it), offers honest feedback on my recipes (brutally honest), and has patience with me (most of the time).
My Mom and Dad, Norma and Jerry Goldwyn, and my sister Ann. Some of my first food memories are meals at their short-lived restaurant in Sarasota, Florida. When they bought the place, it had the romantic name of a local flowering bush, the Oleander. When they found out Oleanders are poisonous, it became Jerry’s restaurant. The food was good, especially the ice cream sundaes, and the paintings from the local artists that they hung were inspirational. They let me be a jerk when I was 13. A soda jerk that is. What a great start to a career in food, drink, and art.
Allen Kelson, one of my editors, who knows food, cooking, grammar, spelling, writing, and me... and makes me sound like a better writer than I am.
Brigit Binns, prolific cookbook author, a trusted editor and recipe tester, and confidant. She has taught me much, corrected my stupidities, and sent me recipes to test for her books that always bowl me over. Follow her at Roadfoodie.com.
Garry Howard, who runs the SmokeRing List, a free email mailing list about barbecue and cooking to which I subscribe. The talented cooks who hang out with there offer merciless feedback and are an amazing fount of information. Many have tested my recipes and corrected them, and more than a few have dug up typos and other errors. Among them, in alphabetic order: Sandra Aylor, Lucy Baker, Kevin Cleek, Bruce Cook, Erv Crain, John R. Crowley, Gerry Curry, Buzz Dean, John Douglas, Dave Frary, Dan Gill, Ed Hood, Greg Hunter & Nancee Gell, Rodney Leist, Stan Marks, Bill Martin, Scot Murphy, Merrill Powers, Mark Stevens, Jack Waiboer, Candy Weaver, Joe Wells, "Big Jim" Whitten, and Jack Wimberly. I am sure I have missed several for which I am very sorry.
Marlene Atkins, formerly of the Cooking & Hospitality Institute of Chicago (CHIC). She hired me to teach there and mentored me. CHIC is the local branch of the French culinary bastion, Le Cordon Bleu. That’s where I met Chefs Tim Bucci, Mark Stanley, Tom Beckman, and so many others who answered my stupid questions as I started this project.
Keith and Renee Miller, my friends, neighbors, dogsitters, and candid critics. I can always count on Keith for an honest opinion and, as a captain in the Pleasantview Fire Department, he brought me feedback from the firemen who survived my experiments.
Lake High of the South Carolina Barbeque Association who made me feel important and taught me more than I bargained for every time I asked him a question.
Bronson "Bronnie" Smith, also of the South Carolina Barbeque Association, my guide to the joints of South Carolina. He matched me bite for bite all week long. He also took me to Jackie Hite's Bar-B-Que. And now I can die.
Natalie Longo, my wife's niece and talented songbird, whose warbling you can hear on my theme song "You Can't Hurry Ribs".
Barry Sorkin of Smoque BBQ in Chicago, the best pitstop for miles around, for sharing insights, tips, lunches, and road trips with me.
Hermann Zanoni, now retired, and my butcher of many years in Broadview, IL. He taught me a lot about meat, and made sure I got the freshest, meatiest ribs with which to practice.
Dennis Morini, my new butcher or Morini's Meat Market in LaGrange Park, IL, and reluctant hand model.
Tom Marszelewski, my former neighbor, whose trash talkin' and challenge to a cookoff in 2003 got my competitive juices flowing, and started me researching ribs. This site is all his fault.
The helpful librarians I have met, especially Barbara Cline and Elizabeth Hansen at the LBJ Library and Museum in Austin, the librarians at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago, University of Tennessee in Knoxville, the Library of Congress in DC, the University of South Carolina's Caroliniana Collection in Columbia, the Florida State Library in Tallahassee, University of Memphis, and John Struble of the George Eastman House in Rochester, NY.
Myron Mixon, Chris Lilly, and the many other patient barbecue chefs I've met and quizzed at their restaurants and competitions across the nation.
Lynn and Tom Kimble of Leader Dogs for the Blind. They have been instrumental in helping us with our other great love, training dogs. Sport, Wags, Layla, Jazz, and Sunshine are now dragging blind people around, and they added so much to our lives when they lived with us.
Peter Parts, and industrialist and philanthropist, and amazing leader, who got me involved with Camp Good Days, an incredible summer camp for kids with cancer.
Jerry N. Uelsmann and John Paul Caponigro, my muses and guides to the world of art and creativity, and Kevin O'Connor who taught me some of the basics of food photography.
Julia Child, who, through the TV screen, told me in the '60s that I could cook. I remember watching her in black and white when I was in college and trying her recipes on my roommates. I was honored to be a guest in her house for a dinner in 1995, and she was everything you think and more. In her last television interview, with Sarah Moulton on the Food Network, in the summer of 2004, she said "I think food is important and if you don’t know how to cook, it’s tragic." Amen.
Barry Sorkin of Smoque in Chicago where they make some of the best brisket anywhere for reviewing my article on the subject.
Etienne Merle. Proprietor and chef of the late lamented L'Auberge du Cochon Rouge, a magnificent French restaurant in Ithaca, NY, who allowed me apprentice in his kitchen for a while, until he decided it was time to kill me. With good reason. I learned soooo much in such a short time. I have never met a more talented chef.
And the gods of grape, grain, and fire who have looked over me so far.
Tell Meathead what you think, or ask him a question
But please, please, please read this first:
1) Please use the sitemap or the search box, at the top of every page. There's a good chance the answer is already on this site.
2) Please read this article about thermometers.Chances are your thermometer is the problem! I cannot help you troubleshoot unless you tell me that you are using a digital oven thermometer at meat level (not in the lid), and/or a digital meat thermometer. You simply cannot believe your grill's built-in bi-metal dial thermometer. They are often off by as much as 50°F!
3) Please tell me everything I need to know to answer your question.
4) Please don't ask me "What grill (or smoker) should I buy?" Read my Buyer's Guides and follow the links. I've shared just about everything I know on those pages. I cannot pick the right cooker for you any more than you could pick the right car for me. But I've explained everything you need to know to make your decision.
AmazingRibs.com is all about the Zen of barbecue, grilling, and outdoor cooking, with great BBQ recipes and techniques: Barbecue baby back ribs, spareribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, steak, burgers, chicken, smoked turkey, lamb, barbecue sauces, rubs, and side dishes, with the net's best buying guide to barbecue smokers and grills. It is written, photographed, illustrated, and coded solely by Meathead.
My philosophy about food is simple. First of all it must taste great. It must be easy to make and emphasize fresh seasonal products with a minimum of processed ingredients. I think that people need to know why as well as how, and that there are no rules in the bedroom or dining room.
About Product Reviews and Meathead's Hot Stuff Awards. Meathead's Hot Stuff Awards are highly recommended products that I have tested personally or that have been tested by reliable sources. Awards are based on features, quality, and value. Rest assured that when I recommend a product, it is really because I like it, not because someone has paid me to say so or because the company is an advertiser or sponsor. I purchase most products I review although occasionally suppliers send me samples.
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Disclaimer. The information on this website is for educational purposes only. All material within comes without warranties of any kind. I am human, and capable of mistakes, so I make no guarantees as to the accuracy, completeness, or safety of the information. Under no circumstances am I liable for any damages that result from use of the site (so you can't sue me if you burn your tongue on hot ribs, or get a tummy ache, OK?).
GrillGrates are the best new product I have tested in years and the best thing to happen to beef since salt and pepper. The base superheats, eliminates hot spots, smokes, and blocks flareups. This is the concept behind the expensive new infrared grills. Click here for more about GrillGrates.
The Smokenator:
A Necessity For Weber Kettles
If you have a Weber Kettle, you need the amazing Smokenator and Hovergrill. The Smokenator turns your grill into a first class smoker, and the Hovergrill can add capacity or be used to create steakhouse steaks. Click here to read more.
ThermoWorks Pocket Thermometer - No More Guessing
A good thermometer is why I never serve overcooked or undercooked food. No more guesswork. This one has a very thin tip with a tiny thermocouple so it gives an accurate reading in just six seconds. I cannot recommend it more highly. It will improve your cooking overnight. And it is inexpensive. Click here for more about thermometers.
This link takes you to Amazon.com and tags anything you buy with my affiliate code so I get a small referral fee. It works on anything from grills to diapers and it has zero impact on the price you pay. Low prices, fast delivery (often free), good refund policies, and often there is no sales tax, are the best reasons to buy from Amazon.com, but clicking on that link before you shop helps me devote more time and money to you. Thanks!
" and her dad, Mike "The Legend" Mills of the 
With a $25 donation you'll get a 100% cotton brushed twill adjustable low profile cap with the AmazingRibs patch sewn on. I'll even toss in a small bag of 
