Prophets of Smoked Meat A Texas BBQ book

The Prophets of Smoked Meat is not a new book having been published in 2013, but I am still not sure there is a book with more detail about the Texas BBQ scene in the bookshops and thus makes it worthy of not only this review but also a place on your bookshelf.

Described on the cover as a ‘journey through Texas barbecue’,  it not only looks at the history behind some of the BBQ joints, some profiles on some of the pitmasters but also you’ll find some recipes from the best of the best too. What’s not to love already? How can you not want to delve into pages 372 epic pages and drool over the mouth watering and wondrous photos by Nicholas McWhirter and atmospheric text by Daniel Vaughn, known to most by his social media handle of @bbqsnob There is arguably no-one better to have written a book like this than Daniel who, even back then was probably the most travelled man for Texas BBQ but by now even more so.

As you turn the pages you’ll learn about the styles of BBQ that exist even within the state of Texas alone, through the cuts, the joints around at the time and most that still exist now, wood, smoke and everything in between. If you have any interest in BBQ in general but especially in the US then this is a great book to start with as everything is bigger in Texas, including the road trip needed to try all of these BBQ spots. 10,343 miles to be precise.

With so many recipe only books about BBQ around these days this makes a welcome change to go back and learn a little more about where it all started, and the faces still firing up the pits to this day including Aaron Franklin of world renowned Franklin BBQ in Austin, Wayne Mueller of Louie Mueller in Taylor, Roy Perez of Kreuz Market in Lockhart right through to the now more famous than ever Tootsie Tomanetz of Snow’s BBQ in Lexington. It’s a book you don’t really want to put down, a book with photos than really pull you into the road trip and one that’s better suited on your coffee table than tucked away on a bookshelf.

The Prophets of Smoked Meat is still widely available despite its 2013 release date so check with your local book shop to see if they can order you a copy. Failing that the book is currently available from Wordery online or Amazon UK for around £22.

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