Bludso's BBQ Cookbook Review

Bludso's BBQ Cookbook: A Family Affair in Smoke and Soul

With summer just around the corner, it is time to start reviewing some new Barbecue Cookbooks. In this week's cookbook review, we bring you the first cookbook from Kevin Bludso - Bludso's BBQ Cookbook.

This is low and slow Texas BBQ done right, from the founder of famous Los Angeles-based Bludso's BBQ. With information on everything from choosing, seasoning, and cleaning your pit to selecting your brisket, ribs, and sausages, as well as more than seventy-five delicious recipes (including all the essential rubs and sauces) and Kevin's incredibly personal story, this premisses to be one of the best barbecue cookbooks of the year.‍‍

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The Art of Good Barbecue

Kevin was born and raised in Compton, California, by a Black Panther–supporting mother and a police officer father. To stay out of trouble, he spent his summers in Corsicana, Texas, where he was schooled on the art of barbecue and worked long hours on the pits at his granny's legendary BBQ stand.

In 2008, Kevin opened his own Bludso's BBQ, a small walk-up stand in the heart of Compton that has led to multiple locations in California, Texas, and even Australia.

Kevin's love for food shines throughout this beautifully crafted book as he takes you to step by step through the art of smoking meat. You begin your journey on what kind of smoker to have, what kind of rubs to make/use, and start with chicken before investing in your bigger slabs of meats.

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A Great Variety of Recipes

In his first book, Kevin teaches you everything he learned over the years around the pits. Things like choosing your barbecue pit, selecting the best woods, or tending your fire are just some of the fundamentals you'll learn here.

Kevin gives you recipes for rubs and sauces that will elevate your flavors, but he also shares his rules for success. Bludso's BBQ 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 journey does not stop there. You are brought to Jamaica for Spicy Curried Oxtails, Mexico for Smoked Tri-Tip Tacos with Pico de Gallo & Guacamole, Vietnam for Rasheed's Smoked Pork Pho, and of course, Texas for Sunday dinner with Smothered Chicken and Gravy.

That's just a snippet of the journey you will experience. There's still seafood, side dishes, breakfast, and a lot more. Let Kevin sit you down and tell you the story of Bludso's BBQ, and you will become another friend along the journey.

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Final Thoughts

Bludso's BBQ Cookbook can teach you how to choose 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.

This is a book with a large variety of recipes from meats, fish, breakfast, sweets, and secret family recipes. With Kevin's valuable instruction on how to get things right and with stories of Kevin's life, this is a book for the fans of great barbecue.