Bludso's BBQ Cookbook: A Family Affair in Smoke and Soul by Kevin Bludso
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unfiltered greatness
This book is not for the faint of heart! Mr. Bludso keeps it real and i'm so glad the editors let him. This is not from the sweet fields of Ina Garten but more so an amazing read from a truly talented cook who has perfected good 'ol southern cuisine. I've enjoyed reading excerpts to friends when making some of the recipes....it's very entertaining. I guess you wanna know about how the recipes are. Well this is the first mac and cheese recipe my boys have finally given me a thumbs up on...i've never been able to beat the daycare's mac and cheese. The pulled pork recipe is great as well. Kevin sets you up for success and your friends will be impressed. This would be a great gift to any food lover. I've received a free copy from Ten Speed Press in exchange for a free and unbiased review.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Nothing Better Than Amazing.
I brought Kevin’s Book, and started immediately using it. My ribs and chicken came out way better than normal. In my opinion, anyone who bar b ‘s, NEED his cookbook. His book even got Soul Food in it. This book stays in my kitchen in plain sight.Thank God for Bludso’s Bar-B-Q. George Hudson
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Pretty book, too much butter and sugar
This is a beautifully photographed cookbook, clearly written with a lot of love. I received a free copy from Ten Speed Press in exchange for a free and unbiased review. If you are a fan of next level bbq and accompanying dishes, then this cookbook might pique your interest. I found the recipes too filled with butter and sugar for my personal tastes and cooking preference. For example, the Shrimp and Grits - which involved making a stock and a roux called for a total of a cup of butter, and the LA Tips also called for that quantity. The Baked Banana Pudding looked delicious and sounded wonderful until I read the 2 ¼ cups of sugar. Unfortunately, after all the effort that went into the Shrimp and Grits, the finished dish was met with “well, that was ok”.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
BBQ and Family Combine Deliciously
I read Kevin Bludso’s new cookbook cover to cover and it’s a story about his growing up, his family’s influence on him not only as a cook but a person and about barbecuing. I love cookbooks that let me get to better know the author so I can enjoy the recipes even more. Kevin was raised in Compton, CA but spent summers in Texas where he learned from his Granny, how to barbecue. His passion for cooking came out as he helped his Granny run her “illegal, bootleg BBQ-stand.” Now if that’s not intriguing, I’m not sure what is. In one part he mentions that his family paid for a little neighborhood girl’s casket and he wrote something profound that will stick with me for a long time. “I don’t give to be blessed. I’m blessed so I give.” If we could all adopt that and live by that, the world would be a better place, but I digress from the point of the book. Keven’s cookbook is for anyone wanting new recipes or barbecuing methods. He uses a smoker and since I don’t have one, I’ll modify as best I can. But I will definitely make the rubs he includes that I could almost taste just by reading the ingredients. He does have some ingredients I don’t have in my pantry but I’m going to buy seasoning salt because he explains the importance of this simple ingredient. One recipe I can’t wait to make is his Mac & Cheese. I’ve found that people who know barbecue know their mac & cheese. Plus his recipe for “Smothered Chicken and Gravy” sounds so good I can’t wait to make it and mop up the plate with mashed potatoes and bread. If you love barbecue and if you want new ideas and recipes, this book is for you. I’ve received a free copy from Ten Speed Press in exchange for a free and unbiased review.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
BBQ & more!
I've received a free copy from Ten Speed Press in exchange for a free and unbiased review. Bludso's BBQ Cookbook is a great resource for a variety of recipes, not just BBQ. There are awesome recipes for rubs, smoked meats, Soul Food, holidays & desserts. I love the tips for cooking equipment, types of wood to use, and timing of the recipes. Every recipe included is mouth-watering & easy to create. The ingredients for these recipes are easy to find and incorporate in dishes. The Red Velvet cake is amazing! I also love the photos included - some show Kevin Bluso's family & the stories that accompany them explain their influence in his cooking. The photos of the food are terrific & inspiring. Love all the recipes - ribs, steak, seafood boil - they're all here & they're fantastic!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Texas bbq at home
Bludso’s BBQ Cookbook by Kevin Bludso with Noah Galuten features the barbeque techniques and recipes of Kevin Bludso, the founder of the Los Angeles Texas-style barbeque restaurant. This cookbook teaches you what you need to barbeque of all kinds of meat, poultry, and seafood on your backyard grill. Kevin Bludso shares his personal family story of growing up in Compton, California and spending the summers working at his grandmother’s Texas barbeque restaurant where he learned the secrets of her legendary family restaurant. Bludso didn’t expect to become a barbeque chef, but fell back on what he learned in Texas to share in his hometown. Eventually he gained attention from Los Angeles food critics and TV food shows. He is the star of Netflix’s The American Barbeque Showdown and has appeared in many other food shows like Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. The book’s chapters take us step-by-step from making spice rubs, to BBQ techniques for brisket, spareribs, sausage, and chicken, to side dishes like macaroni and cheese and coleslaw, to breakfast foods including grits and pancakes, to desserts like banana pudding and red velvet cake. I’ve tagged several recipes to make soon: --Grilled Mojo Shrimp --Shrimp and Grits --Mashed Potatoes with Ranch Dressing --Spicy Creole Cabbage --Down Home Macaroni and Cheese --Kalin’s Fish Tacos --Mom’s Blackberry Cobbler The book is illustrated with clear photographs of the dishes by Eric Wolfinger and Demetrius Smith. The instructions are helpful and detailed, ensuring success with each recipe. This cookbook would be a great Mothers’ or Fathers’ Day gift for someone who would like to explore home barbeque, or any cook who would like to try Texas-style barbeque at home. Kevin Bludso’s experience and respect for barbeque is inspiring and at the same time, accessible for all cooks. Thanks to Ten Speed Press Ambassador Program for the free advance copy! I have enjoyed reading and cooking from this beautiful new book!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Delicious and heartfelt BBQ book!
True BBQ is a way of life and Kevin Bludso grew up learning how to make BBQ from his Granny at her illegal BBQ restaurant at a very young age. He’d spend summers with her in Corsicana cooking with her, and then the rest of his time was spent in Compton. This is such a great cookbook full of stories all about him and his family. Kevin’s BBQ style is full of flavor and generous portions, and it really inspires me to get out and smoke for my family and friends. This book is great for beginners to advanced, all the steps are clearly instructed with lots of gorgeous photographs, he also encourages people to have fun while they do it. There are 75 recipes in this book, which is fantastic for a BBQ book. So many different varieties of things besides the smoked meats, like a breakfast chapter, lots of delicious sides, fried fish, and a great dessert chapter. I would buy this book just for the red velvet cake recipe! I’ve received a free copy from Ten Speed Press in exchange for a free and unbiased review.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
legacy, L.A., love, and legendary barbecue
Kevin Bludso comes from a storied family. And he’s got the stories. His mother was a Black Panther. His father was a police officer in L.A. is honorary grandmother in Texas ran a speakeasy (with other backrooms that made her money in various ways). Bludso was a corrections officer himself before he became a chef. He grew up in Compton, and while his parents worked hard to keep him out of danger, not everyone in the family got the same consideration. But it was those summers in Texas that taught Bludso everything he needed to know about barbecue. Winnie Mae Fields, who he called Granny, woke him up early every morning to cook. He learned how to make a mean brisket, but he also learned the power of hard work. And when he got to college and needed some extra money, he did what he knew. He started cooking chicken dinners and making himself some cash. After college, Bludso went to work in the corrections department, but he was restless. He was unhappy. It wasn’t until he went into cooking as a full-time (150 hours a week or so) chef, smoking meats and pairing that with comfort food sides that he found where his heart truly was. Because his first restaurant was in Compton, not a place known for its barbecue restaurants, there were some early slow years. But he kept putting out good food, and people started taking note. He started getting some love on the review apps, but when legendary critic Jonathan Gold gave Bludso’s food a rave review, the lines stretched out down the block for his food. From there it was media gone crazy, and reporters were lining up to interview Bludso on their radio shows and newspaper articles, their magazine profiles and their television shows. And as more and more people came in to try the food, Bludso expanded his restaurant empire, spreading his food love far and wide. Now, he’s going a step further and opening his recipes up to us all, while entertaining us with stories of his family. Bludso’s BBQ Cookbook can teach you how to chose a smoker and how to get the best out of it, but it also teaches the importance of standing up for what and who you believe in. He gives readers recipes for rubs and sauces that will elevate your flavors, but he also gives his rules for success, which include giving back and giving credit where credit is due. The cookbook has a lot of recipes for smoking everything from brisket to lamb, ribs to chicken, sausage to seafood, but there are also recipes for sides, breakfasts, and desserts. The truth of Kevin Bludso’s legacy is his exceptional barbecue recipes. If you want to learn how to do it right, even if you only have a grill, you can use this cookbook to find out how (chapter: OG BBQ). If you want to learn how to cook soul food, then you can learn that here too (chapter: Soul Food Sundays) . But if you want to learn to cook from the heart, like you were taught by a legacy of great chefs, then you are at the right place for that too. If you want to cook fish like someone who grew up on a lake, or if you want to add the perfect sides to your smoked chicken, or if you want to learn to bake Mom’s Strawberry Cake that screams summer, then you can find all that too. But most of all, you will find in the pages of this book Kevin Bludso’s heart and soul, rubbed with black pepper and garlic salt and more than a little heat, smoked to perfection, and served up for anyone who is hungry for more than just food. I come from a part of the country known for its barbecue, north of Texas and East of California, so I love to read a barbecue cookbook. I love to learn more about technique and about the blending of heat and sweet, of rubs and sauces, that create unique flavor combinations. And Bludso’s BBQ Cookbook certainly has that. But I was so moved by the family stories, I can’t wait to try some of the other recipes here. The Smothered Chicken and Gravy, Sunday Short Ribs, Down-Home Mac and Cheese, and Thelma’s Cheesecake all sound amazing. But there is a recipe for Bacon and Sausage Gravy with Biscuits that his granny used to make that I can’t think about without my mouth watering. It just sounds like it’s probably one of the most delicious iterations of biscuits and gravy, and I can’t wait to make a special Sunday breakfast with it because that is the kind of recipe that is so infused with love (and bacon) that it can’t help but make the meal special. That’s the kind of cookbook this is. I received a free copy of Bludso’s BBQ Cookbook from Ten Speed Press in exchange for a free and unbiased review, with many thanks.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com