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Pitmaster: Recipes, Techniques, and Barbecue Wisdom
Step up your barbeque game. Pitmaster is the definitive guide to becoming a barbecue aficionado and top-shelf cook from renowned chefs Andy Husbands and Chris Hart.
Barbecue is more than a great way to cook a tasty dinner. For a true pitmaster, barbecue is a way of life. Whether you're new to the grill or a seasoned vet, Pitmaster is here to show you what it takes to truly put your barbeque game on point. Recipes begin with basics, like cooking Memphis-style ribs, and expand to smoking whole hogs North Carolina style.
There is no single path to becoming a pitmaster. Barbecue lovers are equally inspired by restaurants with a commitment to regional traditions , competition barbecue champions , families with a multi-generational tradition of roasting whole hogs, and even amateur backyard fanatics.
This definitive collection of barbecue expertise will leave you in no doubt why expert chefs and backyard cooks alike eat, live, and breathe barbecue.
Pitmaster
Barbecue is more than a great way to cook a tasty dinner. For a true pitmaster, barbecue is a way of life. Whether you're new to the grill or a seasoned vet, Pitmaster is here to show you what it takes to truly put your barbeque game on point. Recipes begin with basics, like cooking Memphis-style ribs, and expand to smoking whole hogs North Carolina style.
There is no single path to becoming a pitmaster. Barbecue lovers are equally inspired by restaurants with a commitment to regional traditions , competition barbecue champions , families with a multi-generational tradition of roasting whole hogs, and even amateur backyard fanatics.
This definitive collection of barbecue expertise will leave you in no doubt why expert chefs and backyard cooks alike eat, live, and breathe barbecue.
Pitmaster
224 pages, Hardcover
Published March 15, 2017
147 people are currently reading
128 people want to read
About the author
Andy Husbands
6 books1 followerAndy Husbands is the award-winning chef, author and Pitmaster behind The Smoke Shop, Boston’s acclaimed barbecue restaurant, and two-time winner of Boston Magazine’s “Best Barbecue” in 2018 and 2019, as well as The Improper Bostonian’s “Boston’s Best” Award for “Best Barbecue”. Currently with three locations in Cambridge’s Kendall Square, Boston’s Seaport District, and Assembly Row in Somerville, MA, Husbands is “smoking” the competition. With a career spanning nearly 30 years in the restaurant industry, Husbands serves as one of the city’s most celebrated culinary leaders and foremost authority on regional Barbecue and live-fire cooking in New England.
A long-time passion project for Husbands, The Smoke Shop is a culmination of his early years as a Pitmaster under James Beard Award-winning chef Chris Schlesinger at East Coast Grill, and nearly two decades on the competitive barbecue circuit, showcasing his modern approach to slow-cooked, competition-style barbecue, also dubbed by Husbands as “City Q”. He is the co-founder of internationally-recognized team, IQUE BBQ, which became the first in the Northeast to win the Grand Champion title at the Jack Daniel’s 2009 World Championship Invitational Barbecue in Tennessee, as well as the co-author of five coveted cookbooks, including Wicked Good Burgers, Wicked Good Barbecue, Grill to Perfection, The Fearless Chef, and his latest, Pitmaster: Recipes, Techniques & Barbecue Wisdom, awarded “Book of the Year” by National Barbecue News in 2017, with plans to release his sixth cookbook in Spring 2020.
Hailed “Boston’s Meat Maven” by The Boston Globe, Husbands first came into the national spotlight competing on Season 6 of FOX Television Network’s fiery Hell’s Kitchen, and has since appeared on CBS This Morning, Food Network, FOX & Friends, Cooking Channel’s Burgers, Brew & ‘Que, and most recently, as a celebrity guest judge on Season 1 of Food Network Canada’s Fire Masters.
Deeply rooted in the community, Husbands passionately drives awareness for Share Our Strength, the nation’s leading childhood hunger relief organization, serving as honorary chair of its annual Taste of the Nation fundraiser. He is also an active board member of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, for which he was honored as MRA’s Chef of the Year in 2014, as well as a Rodman Celebration Restaurant Chair and avid volunteer at local women’s shelter, Rosie’s Place.
source: Amazon
A long-time passion project for Husbands, The Smoke Shop is a culmination of his early years as a Pitmaster under James Beard Award-winning chef Chris Schlesinger at East Coast Grill, and nearly two decades on the competitive barbecue circuit, showcasing his modern approach to slow-cooked, competition-style barbecue, also dubbed by Husbands as “City Q”. He is the co-founder of internationally-recognized team, IQUE BBQ, which became the first in the Northeast to win the Grand Champion title at the Jack Daniel’s 2009 World Championship Invitational Barbecue in Tennessee, as well as the co-author of five coveted cookbooks, including Wicked Good Burgers, Wicked Good Barbecue, Grill to Perfection, The Fearless Chef, and his latest, Pitmaster: Recipes, Techniques & Barbecue Wisdom, awarded “Book of the Year” by National Barbecue News in 2017, with plans to release his sixth cookbook in Spring 2020.
Hailed “Boston’s Meat Maven” by The Boston Globe, Husbands first came into the national spotlight competing on Season 6 of FOX Television Network’s fiery Hell’s Kitchen, and has since appeared on CBS This Morning, Food Network, FOX & Friends, Cooking Channel’s Burgers, Brew & ‘Que, and most recently, as a celebrity guest judge on Season 1 of Food Network Canada’s Fire Masters.
Deeply rooted in the community, Husbands passionately drives awareness for Share Our Strength, the nation’s leading childhood hunger relief organization, serving as honorary chair of its annual Taste of the Nation fundraiser. He is also an active board member of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, for which he was honored as MRA’s Chef of the Year in 2014, as well as a Rodman Celebration Restaurant Chair and avid volunteer at local women’s shelter, Rosie’s Place.
source: Amazon
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 1, 2017
I live in Kansas City, where we take our barbecue seriously. Really seriously. We have competitions. We have a museum of barbecue. You can't swing a pair of barbecue tongs around without hitting several barbecue restaurants. We don't fool around here.
So when I saw a cookbook called "Pitmaster," I had to know more. And having seen what these authors have to offer us, I'd say that they don't fool around either. Chefs and authors (Wicked Good BBQ, Grill to Perfection) Andy Husbands and Chris Hart have done their homework. They are both winning competition barbecue competitors, and Husbands has a barbecue restaurant also.
Pitmaster is divided into six sections: Backyard Barbecue, North Carolina, Kansas City, Texas, The North, and Competition Barbecue. And each section does a phenomenal job of providing recipes and tried-and-true tips for creating amazing dishes. With interviews and articles by barbecue phenoms across the country, Pitmaster also takes you behind the scenes in each major barbecue outlet and walks you through what makes each region's food unique and special.
Of course, they talk about the meats. There are recipes for brisket, pork, burnt ends, chicken, duck, goat, and of course, ribs and ribs and ribs. There are rubs and sauces, and sides of all flavors--potato salad, cole slaws, macaroni and cheese, beans, pickles, cornbread, fries, and hush puppies. And if that's not enough to round out the meal, they even included recipes for drinks and desserts.
Words cannot do Pitmaster justice. All I can do is say that these guys have put together a legitimate barbecue cookbook and encourage you to pick it up and look at it yourself. The photographs are so mouth-watering, you can almost smell the smoke. And do I really have to spell out what a great gift this would make for the pitmaster or wannabe in your life? Buy Pitmaster, trust me. The rewards you'll get from your smoker will more than pay you back.
Galleys for Pitmaster were provided by Fair Winds Press through Edelweiss, with many thanks.
So when I saw a cookbook called "Pitmaster," I had to know more. And having seen what these authors have to offer us, I'd say that they don't fool around either. Chefs and authors (Wicked Good BBQ, Grill to Perfection) Andy Husbands and Chris Hart have done their homework. They are both winning competition barbecue competitors, and Husbands has a barbecue restaurant also.
Pitmaster is divided into six sections: Backyard Barbecue, North Carolina, Kansas City, Texas, The North, and Competition Barbecue. And each section does a phenomenal job of providing recipes and tried-and-true tips for creating amazing dishes. With interviews and articles by barbecue phenoms across the country, Pitmaster also takes you behind the scenes in each major barbecue outlet and walks you through what makes each region's food unique and special.
Of course, they talk about the meats. There are recipes for brisket, pork, burnt ends, chicken, duck, goat, and of course, ribs and ribs and ribs. There are rubs and sauces, and sides of all flavors--potato salad, cole slaws, macaroni and cheese, beans, pickles, cornbread, fries, and hush puppies. And if that's not enough to round out the meal, they even included recipes for drinks and desserts.
Words cannot do Pitmaster justice. All I can do is say that these guys have put together a legitimate barbecue cookbook and encourage you to pick it up and look at it yourself. The photographs are so mouth-watering, you can almost smell the smoke. And do I really have to spell out what a great gift this would make for the pitmaster or wannabe in your life? Buy Pitmaster, trust me. The rewards you'll get from your smoker will more than pay you back.
Galleys for Pitmaster were provided by Fair Winds Press through Edelweiss, with many thanks.
September 13, 2021
This is a fantastic cookbook with full-color photos throughout. Many different styles of barbeque are covered along with many different rubs, sauces, sides, desserts and even cocktails. I've tried several of the recipes and have been impressed with the outcome, even though I'm cooking on a pellet grill/smoker instead of lump hardwood charcoal.
Looking forward to trying out the cocktail recipes and many of the sides as well as every last one of the BBQs on offer.
Looking forward to trying out the cocktail recipes and many of the sides as well as every last one of the BBQs on offer.
March 3, 2021
I love reading books about bbq-ing during the winter. It's a good time to seek out new recipes. I found a few new regional ones I'd like to try come spring, summer. Not the best book I've read, but it was interesting enough.
I received a Kindle from Edelweiss above the treeline in exchange for a fair review.
I received a Kindle from Edelweiss above the treeline in exchange for a fair review.
June 5, 2019
I liked this book but I’m not 100% sure why. There were some recipes I liked but others were more eh. Not tons of background info like some of the other books I’ve read. Maybe it was the pictures or some of the pitmaster profiles which were both pretty nice.
June 19, 2022
Some of the best photography I've seen in bbq. Also, the layout of the recipes by location makes you feel like your onna trip around the world discovering all of these great regional bbq recipes
December 10, 2025
Loved the Steven Raichlen cameo. He got older in the last 20-30 years.
June 25, 2021
An interesting book! It's split up into 6 sections; Backyard Barbecue, North Carolina, Kansas City, Texas, The North, and Competition Barbecue. I wouldn't say this is a book for a beginner, but more for the specially interested. Not sure how creative these recipes are as I'm not really familiar with this cuisine, but there's lots of good recipes, even for sides, desserts and drinks, so you could whip up a big feast only using this book! It looks good, but I probably won't be using this much.
May 27, 2019
Great ideas
The regional recipes are great but I liked the competition recipes seeing what a real effort it is to prepare.
The regional recipes are great but I liked the competition recipes seeing what a real effort it is to prepare.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews