Life of Fire: Mastering the Arts of Pit-Cooked Barbecue, the Grill, and the Smokehouse: A Cookbook

I have always wanted to pit-cook a whole pig. But the first page I open to upon receiving my new beautiful book, and…. there it is, a full-blown 4 letter curse word. The sentence would work fine if that word were just struck out. Yes, I’ve been known to use the S word on occasion, but who wants to see it in a cookbook? Now I won’t give this book as a gift.And instructions are contradictory. On page 263 it says to fix slimy ham, you clean the nasty parts with vinegar or wine, and then pack it with salt. Yet on page 264 it says to pack it with peppercorns and red pepper flakes. So which is it? Slimy ham is not something I want to take a chance on. So the ham section of this book can’t be relied upon. No cured ham for me.There is no index entry for mold, nor for slime, and yet these are critical subjects. You’ll have to hand-annotate the index if you want to find this information when you need it. The editor gets a failing grade, for this and grammatical inconsistencies.I would have loved this book, including for the information on Southern culture. I already sleep with Franklin Barbecue under my pillow. This would have replaced it.

Beautiful pictures, covers history and cultural differences in cooking by state, great recipes and shows you how to build an awesome smoking pit!

The book is great Mr.Martin gives you great stories that go along with the techniques and recipes. Its not like he tried to cram a million recipes that overwhelm you. Growing up in middle Tenn there are some parts of the book I was like "preach bother that's how bbq is done!"

good detail and lots of non BBQ recipes and food info with how to make it.

Pat Martin’s LIFE OF FIRE: MASTERING THE ARTS OF PIT-COOKED BARBECUE, THE GRILL, AND THE SMOKEHOUSE is a well-written, beautifully photographed, and comprehensive guide/look at cooking with fire. It is also an homage to West Tennessee whole hog barbecue before it disappeared forever, as he is one of three that continue the process.Martin says in the introduction he wanted to teach everything he knows, similar to the way Julia Child’s books teach French cooking and I think he done a fine job. Each page shows the love and respect he has for what he’s doing. The chapters are titled with each step of a fire’s life and the chapters include step-by-step instructions for using the fire at the level, as well as recipes to cook. I think comprehensive might be an understatement with the level of detail Martin provides.I read this cookbook with interest with my stomach grumbling, wondering how much of my Southern California yard I could dig up to create a large grill, and maybe even a pit. If you are interested in cooking with fire, don’t miss this cookbook!Thanks to Clarkson Potter for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own and freely given.#LifeofFireMasteringtheArtsofPitcookedBarbecuetheGrillandTheSmokehouse #PatMartin #WestTennesseeWholeHogBarbecue #cookingwithfire #ClarksonPotter

Meat lovers rejoice! This BBQ cookbook delivers a lot of heat!There is so much to learn from Pat Martin. In addition to recipes and full-color photos, this book ventures on coffee-table-style because it's one to flip through leisurely. Sure, there are lots of meat/grill recipes, but there are lots of instructional sections as well as some styles to meat delivery that I haven't seen elsewhere, like "Sock Sausage." The foil packets section was unique, as was the ash-roasted recipes (not one I'll necessarily try, but still fun to see). A bonus is the dessert section in the back of the book.BBQ devotees will always be critical of technique and approach, so take all of this will a grain of salt: this book peels back the curtain so home grillers have have a peek from the pitmaster. Glad to learn from him!

After having read through this book, I would definitely agree that Pat Martin is a master in the art of pit-cooked barbeque as well as grilling and in smoking meats. I'm a novice when it comes to grilling. I've done the basic grilling in a Weber Original Kettle. Martin has clearly provided an in-depth look at how to prepare a fire and the different stages of cooking from hot to cooling down ashes and embers. He has included some mouth-watering recipes along with some eye-pleasing pictures. I've received a free copy from Clarkson Potter in exchange for a free and unbiased review.

Thank you Ten Speed Press for the ARC to read and review.Considering I have a Martin's Barbecue in my town, I was excited to receive Pat Martin's Life Of Fire. This is a magnificent resource for anyone who wants to learn the methods of cooking with open fire.Beautiful photography and written by a true master of the craft of barbecue.