AmazingRibs.com is supported by our Pitmaster Club. Also, when you buy with links on our site we may earn a finder’s fee.
Click to see how we test and review products.
Meet AmazingRibs.com’s Team Of BBQ And Grilling Experts (38 Articles)
Published On: 2/14/2019 Last Modified: 6/16/2025
In the past, all the articles, recipes, tips, and technique on AmazingRibs.com were written exclusively by Meathead. That’s no longer the case. In 2017, we added some knowledgeable writers and editors to provide new recipes and reviews. While most of the content is still my own, I stand on the shoulders of some very helpful people, listed below. I would also like to thank a few other folks who have helped me along the way, all of which you can find here.
Clint Cantwell, President Of AmazingRibs.com
Clint Cantwell is President of AmazingRibs.com, charged with overseeing day-to-day operations of the website, as well as content creation.
David Joachim, Editorial Director
Editor of AmazingRibs.com from 2017 to 2021, David Joachim has authored, edited, or collaborated on more than 45 food books.
Max Good, Vice President of Product Reviews & Keeper of the Flame
As AmazingRibs.com's Vice President of Product Reviews & Keeper of the Flame, Max Good is the man in charge of finding the best products.
Bill McGrath, Thermometer Tester
Bill McGrath is AmazingRibs.com's Thermometer Maven. He has sophisticated equipment, an electrical engineering degree from Cornell University, and an MBA (almost) from UC Berkeley, all of which position him as a leading authority in the thermometer performance testing space.
Charlotte Wager, Marketing Consultant
As AmazingRibs.com's Marketing Director, Charlotte Wagner is the guardian of the site's overall brand. After working in motorcycles, fine art film, beauty, and financial services, she's thrilled to marry her love for food, drink, and all things marketing to help broaden the reach of the AmazingRibs.com message.
Aaron “Huskee” Lyons, Manager of The Pitmaster Club, Moderator
Huskee is the manager of our Pitmaster Club and Comments Moderator on our public site. A KCBS Certified Barbeque Judge (CBJ), he experimented for a few years with a cheap Brinkmann cabinet charcoal smoker before graduating to a Yoder Wichita offset smoker. His arsenal has since expanded to nine cookers.
Brigit Binns, Contributing Author And Culinary Consultant
Brigit Binns is an editorial contributor. She is the author of more than two dozen cookbooks and runs a B&B and cooking school.
Prof. Greg Blonder, Science Advisor, Mythbuster, Co-Author Of Our First Book
Professor Greg Blonder is AmazingRibs.com's resident science advisor, myth buster, co-author of the site's first book.
Henrik Oscarsson, Moderator
Henrik Oscarsson is an AmazingRibs.com Pitmaster Club moderator. He was born in the southern part of Sweden and he lives in Stockholm, the capital. He has a house in the country side where the smoker resides, so he's there almost every weekend. He spent his senior year in high school as an exchange student in the US.
Sheila Ann Anderzunas, Moderator
Sheila Ann Anderzunas is one of the moderators of AmazingRibs.com's Pitmaster Club. Originally from Chicago, Sheila Ann now calls Long Beach, CA home. She began her smoking and grilling hobby on a rusty Char-Griller Barrel style grill but is now the proud owner of a 22” Weber kettle charcoal grill; a Kamado Joe, Jr.; and a Char-Broil gas grill.
Ray W. Johnson, Webmaster
Ray Johnson is AmazingRibs.com's lead vBulletin programmer, having heavily customized the software that runs the site's Pitmaster Club.
Tamar Haspel, James Beard Award Winning Columnist
In addition to her work with AmazingRibs.com, James Beard Award winner Tamar Haspel writes the Washington Post column Unearthed. She’s also written for Discover, Vox, Slate, Fortune, Eater, and Edible Cape Cod.
The Flat Top King, Recipe Developer
Neal Williams, a.k.a. The Flat Top King, fires up griddle recipes and cooking tips for the outdoor flat top griller!
Chef Stef, Recipe Developer
Chef Stef is a lifelong barbequer and home chef with a passion for all different types of food, cooking, and techniques. Always hungry for more, Chef Stef thrives on creating fresh spins on old favorites and sharing her knowledge, tips, tricks, and recipes with anyone that will listen.
Sterling “Big Poppa” Ball, World Champion Pitmaster
Sterling "Big Poppa" Ball’s passion for cooking outdoors has led him to have his hand in almost every aspect of the barbecue world over the past 30 years and he now brings that expertise to AmazingRibs.com.
Dan Gertsacov, Roving Correspondent
Dan is on a life quest to learn 50 cuisines from around the globe and to share those adventures with the AmazingRibs.com audience. Over the past 20 years, Dan has attended 30 cooking schools in 20 countries and the travels continue! When not on the road, he serves as President of Big Green Egg.
Chef Rick Gresh, Product Tester
Rick Gresh is currently the Director of U.S. Culinary Operations for AceBounce. He is frequently asked to speak and demonstrate as a culinary expert at events around the country.
Robert F. Moss, Barbeculture Writer
Robert Moss is a highly respected authority on food, drink, and travel with a Ph.D in English. Working from his home base in Charleston, South Carolina, he is the founder and publisher of The Southeastern Dispatch, was a Contributing Barbecue Editor for Southern Living and a frequent contributor to publications including Serious Eats, Saveur, Early American Life, Garden & Gun, The Local Palate, and the Charleston City Paper.
John “Spinaker” Bowlsby, Moderator, Cast Iron Expert
John "Spinaker" Bowlsby serves as AmazingRibs.com's Comments Moderator. Spinaker is also an expert on cast iron cookware.
Jerod Broussard, Moderator, Poultry Expert
Jerod Broussard serves as a Comments Moderator for AmazingRibs.com. He is a maestro of the drum smoker and Texas barbecue.
Malcom Reed, Pitmaster Supreme
Malcom Reed is one of the most respected men in barbecue and his many videos make him a genuine YouTube Star. His love for BBQ inspired him to build his website, his YouTube channel, and a podcast. We don’t know how, but he still finds time to compete on the BBQ circuit with his team, Killer Hogs.
Kris Coppieters, Fixer
Kris Coppieters is AmazingRibs.com's Lead Developer, managing the site's servers, all coding, and all technical troubleshooting.
Alvaro, Senior WordPress Developer
Alvaro is a Senior WordPress developer, with an expertise in many programming languages including PHP, Python, Ruby, and Perl.
Jason King, Videos
In addition to serving as a video content creator for AmazingRibs.com, Jason King loves to cook and shoot videos.
Jerry King, Pitmaster Club Cartoonist
Acclaimed cartoonist Jerry King creates original barbecue and grilling cartoons exclusively for AmazingRibs.com's Pitmaster Club.
Lisa Lynott, Artist & Illustrator
An artist and illustrator for AmazingRibs.com, Lisa Kolek studied illustration and graphic design at the American Academy of Art, Chicago, and scientific and botanical illustration at the Morton Arboretum. A senior designer at the Brookfield Zoo, Lisa's animal and plant illustrations have appeared in zoo exhibits.
Nate Maliwacki, Video Recipes
Nate Maliwacki serves as a content creator for AmazingRibs.com, filming, editing, and producing instructional recipe videos for the site and for his own YouTube channel, White Thunder BBQ. His goal is to teach and inspire viewers to cook with live fire and to have fun while doing so.
Dr. Antonio “The Meat Geek” Mata, Meat Scientist
A meat scientist known as "The Meat Geek", Dr. Antonio Mata, PhD (10/7/50 - 1/14/22) was a contributor to AmazingRibs.com and a Consulting Technical Coordinator to the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. Mata discovered the Petite Tender and Las Vegas Strip Steak as well as being involved in the discovery of the flatiron steak.
Jeff McNear, Senior WordPress Developer
Jeff McNear is our lead WordPress guy
Greg Rempe, Pitcaster
Known around the world for his two hour broadcast, the BBQ Central Show, Greg Rempe also produces a 30 minute weekly podcast for AmazingRibs.com Pitmaster Club members called The Pitcast. Each week he offers the latest news from the food and barbecue world. He also does occasional product reviews for AmazingRibs.com.
JT (Jeff Tracy), The Cowboy Cook, Interviewer Extraordinaire For The Pitmster Club
Known as “The Cowboy Cook” and a capable griller in his own right, JT (Jeff Tracy) loves to interview great cooks like Aaron Franklin, Steven Raichlen, Tuffy Stone, Wayne Mueller, Amy Mills, Meathead, and other notables from the BBQ world. These interviews can now also be found in AmazingRibs.com's Pitmaster Club.
Paul Sidoriak, Griddling Expert
Paul Sidoriak's official title with AmazingRibs.com is Fire Starter because he makes things happen in his role as Director of Relationships. Sidoriak is also the author of Exclusively Kamado and The Flippin’ Awesome Backyard Griddle Cookbook and has previously served as a BBQ consultant to several major brands.
Candy Sue Weaver, Moderator
One of the best known and most respected people in the world of barbecue, Candy Sue Weaver is an AmazingRibs.com moderator. In addition she is President Emeritus of the Kansas City Barbeque Society, the largest barbecue association, and VP of Sales and Marketing for BBQr's Delight, a maker of food grade wood pellets.
Chef Ryan Udvett, Recipe Tester
Chef Ryan Udvett is a classically trained chef from Le Cordon Bleu in Chicago and serves as an official recipe tester for AmazingRibs.com. Chef Udvett has managed several restaurant kitchens and is currently the Product Development (R&D) Manager at CBQ, LLC a subsidiary of Carl Buddig and Company.
Rick Browne, Ph.B.
Rick Browne oversaw product testing, reviews, and ratings for AmazingRibs.com. A renowned TV cooking show host, photojournalist, and author.
Jim Maivald, Former SVP And Chief Technology Officer
Jim Maivald was head of our technical team for 15 years until he died in November 2023. He was an Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) and Adobe Certified Instructor (ACI) with over 30 years of experience working with graphic design. He has written 10 books and hundreds of articles on graphic design and electronic publishing.
Norma Goldwyn, Copy Editor
Norma Goldwyn is an AmazingRibs.com's copy editor and is Meathead's mom. She stays active editing, and guides art museum tours.Related articles
- Meet Meathead, The BBQ Whisperer, Mythbuster, And Barbecue Hall Of Famer
- Clint Cantwell, President Of AmazingRibs.com
- Brigit Binns, Contributing Author And Culinary Consultant
- Max Good, Vice President of Product Reviews & Keeper of the Flame
- Bill McGrath, Thermometer Tester
- Jim Maivald, Former SVP And Chief Technology Officer
- Aaron “Huskee” Lyons, Manager of The Pitmaster Club, Moderator
- Charlotte Wager, Marketing Consultant
- Prof. Greg Blonder, Science Advisor, Mythbuster, Co-Author Of Our First Book
- Tamar Haspel, James Beard Award Winning Columnist
- The Flat Top King, Recipe Developer
- Chef Stef, Recipe Developer
- Sterling “Big Poppa” Ball, World Champion Pitmaster
- Dan Gertsacov, Roving Correspondent
- Chef Rick Gresh, Product Tester
- David Joachim, Editorial Director
- Robert F. Moss, Barbeculture Writer
- John “Spinaker” Bowlsby, Moderator, Cast Iron Expert
- Jerod Broussard, Moderator, Poultry Expert
- Malcom Reed, Pitmaster Supreme
- Ray W. Johnson, Webmaster
- Kris Coppieters, Fixer
- Alvaro, Senior WordPress Developer
- Jason King, Videos
- Jerry King, Pitmaster Club Cartoonist
- Lisa Lynott, Artist & Illustrator
- Nate Maliwacki, Video Recipes
- Dr. Antonio “The Meat Geek” Mata, Meat Scientist
- Jeff McNear, Senior WordPress Developer
- Henrik Oscarsson, Moderator
- Candy Sue Weaver, Moderator
- Greg Rempe, Pitcaster
- JT (Jeff Tracy), The Cowboy Cook, Interviewer Extraordinaire For The Pitmster Club
- Paul Sidoriak, Griddling Expert
- Chef Ryan Udvett, Recipe Tester
- Rick Browne, Ph.B.
- Norma Goldwyn, Copy Editor
High quality websites are expensive to run. If you help us, we’ll pay you back bigtime with an ad-free experience and a lot of freebies!
Millions come to AmazingRibs.com every month for high quality tested recipes, tips on technique, science, mythbusting, product reviews, and inspiration. But it is expensive to run a website with more than 2,000 pages and we don’t have a big corporate partner to subsidize us.
Our most important source of sustenance is people who join our Pitmaster Club. But please don’t think of it as a donation. Members get MANY great benefits. We block all third-party ads, we give members free ebooks, magazines, interviews, webinars, more recipes, a monthly sweepstakes with prizes worth up to $2,000, discounts on products, and best of all a community of like-minded cooks free of flame wars. Click below to see all the benefits, take a free 30 day trial, and help keep this site alive.
Post comments and questions below
1) Please try the search box at the top of every page before you ask for help.
2) Try to post your question to the appropriate page.
3) Tell us everything we need to know to help such as the type of cooker and thermometer. Dial thermometers are often off by as much as 50°F so if you are not using a good digital thermometer we probably can’t help you with time and temp questions. Please read this article about thermometers.
4) If you are a member of the Pitmaster Club, your comments login is probably different.
5) Posts with links in them may not appear immediately.
Moderators