Review by Booklist Review
Asheville, North Carolina, has earned a stellar reputation for its barbecue, thanks to the successful efforts of restaurateur Moss. Moss takes his barbecue very, very seriously. He prefers doing a whole hog at a time, smoking the beast at a low temperature for hours in a carefully prepared pit till it absorbs the smoke and the spice rub has penetrated and mellowed the savory carcass. Moss offers full instructions for building one's own barbecue pit from concrete blocks, but he acknowledges that not everyone has the land and the time for so massive an undertaking. So he shows how a determined pit master armed with little more than an electric drill can create an efficient small smoker from a Girl Scout mess kit. Barbecue demands side dishes, but Moss demands they be no afterthoughts. His red-cabbage and blue-cheese slaw worthily complements his smoky baby back ribs.--Knoblauch, Mark Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Moss, the chef at Asheville, N.C.'s Buxton Hall Barbecue, shares his considerable knowledge on the craft of Carolina pit smoking, known for its delicate flavors and the use of freshly charcoaled wood rather than live fire. This book has instructions for constructing large and small versions of backyard pits made of cinder block, and Moss also shows how to convert aluminum hotel pans, or even a Girl Scout mess kits, into portable smokers. Next, bring on the pig, or the chicken, or the smoky tofu with mushrooms. Ribs, wings, pulled pork, and, of course, a whole hog are offered up in the first half of the book. Going low and slow, baby backs reach perfection in five to six hours, and a lamb shoulder takes about four before its ready to be sauced. The book's second half is filled with side dishes such as sour cream potato salad with freezer peas and basil, desserts such as buttermilk pie, and a chapter titled "Buxton Favorites," featuring treats from the restaurant such as catfish stew and a fried chicken sandwich. Art director Cindy Samargia Laun employs some 150 color photos to make sure that smoke gets in your eyes in pleasing ways, with close-ups of nearly all the eats. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Moss is the James Beard Award-nominated head chef and co-owner of Buxton Hall Barbecue in Asheville, NC. This debut offering features clever methods for producing mouthwatering smoked and barbecued meats on a small and large (whole hog) scale. For DIY-inclined readers, there are instructions on how to construct tabletop and portable smokers, cinder block pits, and burn barrels, which are necessary for recipes such as pulled turkey (brined in a seasoned mixture of sweet tea and hot sauce). However, there are plenty of dishes that can be made in conventional kitchens. Sauces, entrees, sides, and desserts (e.g., white barbecue sauce, fried chicken sandwich, embered creamed corn, apple cheddar pie) are made almost exclusively from scratch, and they're accompanied by gorgeous matte photographs. VERDICT -Motivated barbecue enthusiasts can learn a lot from this cookbook. © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
