Of barbecue and grilling expert Adam Perry Lang, Food & Wine
magazine wrote, "What do you get when you put a French-trained chef
from New York City in charge of the barbecue pit on a Wild West
ranch? Some of the best baby back ribs and pulled pork the locals
have ever tasted." Baby back ribs and pulled pork are just a taste
of Adam Perry Lang's repertoire, though. Adam's experience and
expertise extends to barbecue and grilling in both the professional
and home kitchens. After graduating with distinction from the
Culinary Institute of America and working his way through the
kitchens of top-rated French restaurants including Le Cirque and
Daniel in New York City; and Restaurant Guy Savoy in France, Adam
left his pursuit of reviewer's stars to follow his passion for
barbecue. Realizing that New York City lacked a great rib shack,
Adam opened his first restaurant Daisy May's BBQ and became a
pioneer in urban barbecue. Knowing that credibility in the barbecue
world only comes from winning competitions, Adam set off to make
his mark. In his first year on the national barbecue circuit, Adam
won Grand Champion honors at the World Pork Expo and first place
for his Pork Shoulder at the Kansas City American Royal, a.k.a.
"The World Series of BBQ."
While working in barbecue, Adam began avid study of beef and animal
husbandry. His learnings led him to add "meat maestro" to his
resume. He is a consulting partner in Mario Batali's Carnevino in
Las Vegas, where he is responsible for sourcing all the beef and
training the staff on proper cooking techniques. His latest
restaurant project takes him across the pond where he is creating a
completely unique grilling concept in London with celebrity chef
Jamie Oliver called Barbecoa and opening in October 2010.
Desiring to make barbecue and grilling as accessible for the home
cook as he had for the customers in his restaurant, Adam's first
book, Serious Barbecue: Smoke, Char, Baste and Brush Your Way to
Great Outdoor Cooking, was a New York Times bestseller. Adam was
also featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, The
Today Show, CBS Early Show, Fox and Friends, Power Lunch; The Food
Network's Iron Chef America, What's Hot, What's Cool and BBQ with
Bobby Flay.
Praise for the first edition: From Publishers Weekly
Lang is serious about being serious, and that starts with his
credentials. His career began at Le Cirque; he then moved on to
Daniel, Carnevino in Las Vegas, and a stint as a private chef.
Along the way, he opened Daisy May's BBQ, one of Manhattan's best
barbecue shacks. Thus, with four-star knowledge, he brings pork,
beef, lamb and the lowly chicken to the open flame with a mix of
science, anecdote and a wide array of seasonings. The chapter on
pork begins not only with a look at the importance of fat but also
the importance of collagen and the differences between commodity
and heirloom pork. There's an interview with Dave Arnold of the
French Culinary Institute that explores the relation between heat
and meat and why foods stick to hot surfaces. His recipe for a
marinated wet-aged rib eye explains that the wonders of
Worcestershire sauce have to do with the flavor-enhancing qualities
of anchovies and tamarind. Nearly every entry is composed of
several brief preparation recipes, since each meat is uniquely
paired with a seasoning combination for specific reasons. Before
cooking the spit-roasted spring lamb, for instance, one must make a
basting butter, seasoning blend, herb bundle and glaze. Even
something that looks simple, like the delicious classic, burnt ends
(a take on barbecued brisket), involves a mustard paste, a
seasoning blend, a wrapping mixture and a finishing sauce.
Seriously. (May)
Copyright (c) Reed Business Information, a division of Reed
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist In his
introduction, Lang immediately lays out some confrontational
assertions: "Barbecue does not just mean the slow-cooked, smoke
perfumed meats of the South. It also means the charred, juicy
direct-grilled meats . . . what I'll call 'Yankee barbecue.'" He
applies himself just as rigorously to this high-heat, backyard
grilling as he does the indirect, leisurely methods of traditional
barbecue, which leads to a nicely balanced book that may offend
some purists but could well become the go-to resource for those who
only care about the divine marriage of meat and fire, no matter the
form. He goes on to outline the fundamentals in a remarkably
thorough manner, covering grill types, differences in smoking
woods, and blueprints for marinades, brines, and sauces. Each
subsequent chapters focuses on a certain meat, including a
discussion of their barbecue-friendly characteristics, tips on
selecting the best cuts, and a wealth of recipes that should be
comfortable for most dabblers in outdoor cooking. An enlightened
guide that cares more about killer food than long-held beliefs.
--Ian Chipman
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