AmazingRibs.com is supported by our Pitmaster Club. Also, when you buy with links on our site we may earn a finderโ€™s fee. Click to see how we test and review products.

The Meat Buyers Guide: Meat, Lamb, Veal, Pork and Poultry by NAMI (North American Meat Institute)ย 8th Edition

Edited by NAMI (formerly NAMP), this is the definitive reference on all the different cuts of meat, with charts, excellent photos, a glossary, and nutritional info.

Catching Fire, How Cooking Made Us Human by Richard Wrangham

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

In the book "Catching Fire, How Cooking Made Us Human" (Basic Books, 2010), Richard Wrangham describes how cooking changes the chemistry of food and how that made it easier for proto humans to chew, digest, and extract energy and nutrients. It also includes insight for us who love to hang out at the grill.

Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual by Michael Pollan

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

A short paperback that you can easily swallow on a short airplane trip, Pollan, the author of such important books as the Ominvore's Dilemma, In Defense of Food, and The Botany of Desire, summarizes what he has learned about good eating habits in the form of "rules" which he describes in a few sentences.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma byย Michael Pollan

This may be the most important book about food since Upton Sinclair's The Jungle drew back the curtain on the Chicago stockyards in 1906. Both books take an analytical and critical look at how food gets to our table. The New York Times named The Omnivore's Dilemma one of the 10 best books of 2006.

The Science of Good Food by David Joachim and Andrew Schloss

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

The authors explain what ingredients are made of, how they behave when cooked, and how various methods work. A very thorough A to Z encyclopedia of food science.

Keys to Good Cooking: A Guide to Making the Best of Foods and Recipes by Harold McGee

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

From the country's foremost expert on the science of cooking, Harold McGee, Keys to Good Cooking is a concise and authoritative guide designed to help home cooks navigate the ever-expanding universe of ingredients, recipes, food safety, and appliances, and arrive at the promised land of a satisfying dish.

On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

If you want to know why we do what we do in the kitchen, not just what to do or how to do it, this fat tome is a must have.

The Food Lab, Better Home Cooking Through Science byย J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

This is the best cookbook I own. It has also won the Cookbook of the Year from the International Association of Culinary Professionals, and a James Beard Award.

The Bacon Cookbook by James Villas

By:

Meathead, AmazingRibs.com Founder And BBQ Hall of Famer

The standards such as quiche, carbonarra, BLT, are there among 168 intriguing recipes by an experienced cookbook author.

The Chili Cookbook by Robb Walsh

If you're a fan of chili in its various forms then this is the book for you! Discover recipes for such dishes as classic Texas chili, Cincinnati chili, four alarm chili, and so much more.

The Hamburger: A History byย Josh Ozersky

A cleverly written, well researched, fun tale of the history of the hamburger and how it has evolved in step with American culture.

Hamburger: A Global History

This definitive little book unwraps the mystery of the origin of the hamburger and its name, and traces its spread across the globe.

Hamburger America, A Tour Of The Nation’s Top Burger Stops

George Motz has traveled the four corners of the nation to find the best and most interesting burger joints.

Hamburgers & Fries: An American Story

This book follows him cross country as he seeks regional styles and historical techniques that will help him unravel the story of the All-American hamburger.

Hot Dog: A Global History

A well regarded culinary historian and Professor Emeritus of History and Humanities at Roosevelt University in Chicago.

 

High quality websites are expensive to run. If you help us, weโ€™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 donโ€™t have a big corporate partner to subsidize us.

Our most important source of sustenance is people who join our Pitmaster Club. But please donโ€™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

grouchy?

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 50ยฐF 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

  Max

Spotlight

These are not paid ads, they are a curated selection of products we love.

All of the products below have been tested and are highly recommended. Click here to read more about our review process.

Use Our Links To Help Keep Us Alive

Many merchants pay us a small referral fee when you click our “buy now” links. This has zero impact on the price you pay but helps support the site.