Readers often ask what kind of grill I use. Well, I test recipes on several different cookers trying to anticipate the problems you might encounter. In addition, manufacturers frequently send me toys to test. As of 5/17/2010, my current inventory, with links to my reviews:
Chicago has a really fun and useful restaurant review show on WTTW Channel 11. They invite three foodies to pick a favorite restaurant, and separately, unannounced, all three try the other restaurants. Then they get together on air and discuss their experiences. I picked Honey 1 BBQ. Here's an excerpt from the conversation.
Words of wisdom
I remember, when I was a boy, sitting at the dinner table looking askance at something Mom had cooked that day. I mumbled "Something smells funny" to which my Dad instantly replied, "Take a walk around the block. If it follows you, you know what it is." I have always taken that to mean that when I have a problem, look for the solution in the mirror.
Dad was a serial entrepreneur (click here to read his WWII memoir). Not a bigtime wheeler dealer, just an ambitious hard worker trying to carve out a niche. He was always starting something. He started a dogfood processing plant after college, a frozen foods production company, a restaurant, a life insurance brokerage, a stock brokerage, and he made stops in between as a frozen foods sales rep, a women's hair products sales rep, food safety inspector for the USDA in a blueberry plant in Maine, at a shrimp processor in Tampa, and at an orange juice plant in Bradenton. I learned not to be afraid to make mistakes. When I found myself walking the same path and launching a wine magazine in 1984, I hung a guidepost on my office door. "Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Just don't make the same mistake twice."
Mom has a similar personality. She was an art major, and that clearly rubbed off on me. She did commercial art for a while and later became an elementary school teacher.
I once thought I could change the world. I have since learned I'm not as smart and powerful as I thought. I have learned that the universe is a giant puzzle, and before I leave I would like to put just one small piece in its place. I think this website has a chance of accomplishing that goal.
Dad also taught me "Praise is cheap. Criticism is priceless." So as much as I appreciate your kudos, if you spot errors, ambiguity, typos, please let me know!
My employees
The North Dakota Department government suspected a small farmer was not paying proper wages to his help and sent an agent out to investigate.
Agent. Tell me about your employees and how much you pay them.
Farmer. Well, there's my farm hand who's been with me for three years. I pay him $200 a week plus free room and board. Then there's the mentally challenged worker. He works about 18 hours every day and does about 90% of all the work around here. He makes about $10 per week, pays his own room and board, and I buy him a bottle of bourbon every Saturday night so he can cope with life. He also sleeps with my wife occasionally.
Agent. That's the guy I want to talk to! The mentally challenged one!
Farmer. You are talking to him.
Disclaimers for people with agendas
I have been asked what do I mean when I speak of "The Zen of Barbecue? What does this site have to with Buddhism?"
This is my cue to start pulling my hair out. Lookit, Zen is not some sort of pagan religion, OK? Zen is a state of enlightenment and comprehension brought on by deep thought. This is my message to readers: You can achieve culinary enlightenment by understanding the concepts rather than by following recipes. This site is not just how we do things, but why we do things. It is about concepts, thinking, Zen. It has nothing to do with religion.
I have also been asked about the fact that I describe myself as a "Hedonism Evangelist". Lookit, hedonism is not some sort of pagan religion, OK? Hedonism is the pursuit of pleasure and the happiness it brings. "Pursuit of happiness" is one of the goals of a nation founded in 1776 and it is carved into its Declaration of Independence. Much about food is about enjoyment. My evangelism is limited to spreading pleasure.
This site has nothing to do with religion, unless eating, drinking, and feeding loved ones is a religion. If it is, then I am a high priest.
Glad you stopped by. Sit a spell and take some time to visit. There's a lot to, ahem, consume on this site.
My given name is Craig Goldwyn, but everyone calls me "Meathead" or "Meat" for short. Sometimes they call me other things that I can't print here. Dad was the first to call me Meathead after watching Archie Bunker. You don't want to know what my editors and my wife call me. If you've read this far, you're my buddy and you can call me whatever you want.
Why do I produce AmazingRibs.com? Because I am a Barbecue Whisperer and Hedonism Evangelist. An eater, drinker, writer, photographer, and teacher and I loooovvvve cooking. Almost as much as eating. Especially outdoor cooking. The Roman god Bacchus is my paragon.
Along the way I have tried to share my love of the sensory with words and pictures. I was a journalism major at the University of Florida and I have written hundreds of articles about food and drink for consumers as a syndicated columnist for the Washington Post, and the Chicago Tribune, and scores more for Restaurant Hospitality, a trade magazine. The Trib and Post still occasionally buy rants on politics and whatever else ails me for their editorial pages, and I post them to my blog, "Thought for Food," on this site and on Huffington Post.
I've been helping folks learn about food and drink online since 1990 when I started Wine & Dine Online as part of LAOnline, long before anybody typed "w" three times in a row or a dot followed by a com. I then hosted the Food & Drink Network on America Online from 1992-2000, built Tastings.com in 1998, and then built this site in 2006.
I lectured for more than a decade on wine at Cornell University's famous Hotel School in Ithaca, NY, and I was an adjunct teaching art at Le Cordon Bleu in Chicago for three years. As founder of the Beverage Testing Institute I produced seven books on wine, beer, and spirits.
Somewhere along the way I studied photography with the great Jerry N. Uelsmann and picked up the world's first Masters degree in Art in Technology from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. My photos have been bought by a lot of folks from TIME to Playboy, and my first one man show was at the gallery at Robert Mondavi Winery. Here's an article about my food photography with tips on technique and a list of my tools.
Among my most powerful childhood memories is the seductive scent of sweetly-sauced ribs sizzling and crisping on Dad's grill. In cooler weather Mom would roast them in the oven and serve them swimming in sauce. My interest in cooking began when I was about 10 and Mom and Dad opened a restaurant and I got to be a real jerk, a soda jerk. They named the place after a beautiful flower, the Oleander. We later learned it was poisonous, and eventually the restaurant failed. If you ever hear that I'm opening a restaurant, hunt me down and shoot me.
In high school, my senior year science project was setting up a test plant to measure the oxygen output from algae, and then harvesting it for food to see if it could be used in space travel. I developed my first recipe, algae cookies. They needed a LOT of chocolate chips. It won a prize from NASA at the 1967 Florida State Science Fair. I just showed pictures of the cookies because if the judges had tasted them I would not have won anything.
I first discovered real barbecued ribs, smoked over wood, at a rickety joint named Y.T. Parker's Bar-B-Q in Gainesville, When I was at the University of Florida. I also discovered hot pepper sauce at Y.T.’s. He put four sauces on the wobbly tables, mild, regular, hot, and one more. If hot was not potent enough for you, he would whup one up even more flammable. If you could eat one hotter than anyone else had eaten before, he let you name it, and that was the fourth bottle. Last time I was there, in the 1970s, he was up to "Super Sabre Jet". My parents had warned me that smoking marijuana would lead to harder stuff. Well, they were right. I gave up weed and took up smoking pork.
Since then I have become an omnivore, eating and drinking for a living since 1970. It's a dirty job, but somebody’s gotta do it. And I've got wine and sauce stains on all my shirts and the well-marbled waistline to prove I do it well.
Over the years, outdoor cooking has become my passion (my wife would call it my obsession). A radio interviewer introduced me once as a "Barbecue Whisperer" a moniker I kinda like. My ambition to make what I call "Amazing Ribs" is what has fired me to bring this website and forthcoming book to fruition. Please let me know how I'm doing.
1) If you are looking for info, please use the table of contents or the search box, at the top of every page.
2) Don't ask me any questions that involve temp or time unless you tell me that you are using a digital thermometer! Bi-metal dial thermometers are often off by as much as 50°F! If you are not using a good digital you have no idea what the temp really is so I can't help you. If you are still using a dial thermometer, please read this article about thermometers, then buy a good digital, and then, if the problem persists (chances are it won't), hit me with your questions. Then, please tell me everything I need to know to answer your question. Like the type of cooker you are using. Remember, I am not a mind reader.
3) Please don't ask me "What grill (or smoker) should I buy?" Read my Buyer's Guides and the buying checklists and follow the links. I've shared just about everything I know. Pay attention to the awards I have given my faves. I cannot pick the right cooker for you any more than I could pick the right car or spouse for you.
AmazingRibs.com is all about the Zen of barbecue, grilling, and outdoor cooking, with great BBQ recipes and techniques: Barbecue baby back ribs, spareribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, steak, burgers, chicken, smoked turkey, lamb, barbecue sauces, burgers, steaks, rubs, and side dishes, with the world's best buying guide to barbecue smokers and grills. It is written, photographed, illustrated, and coded solely by Meathead.
AmazingRibs.com is published by AmazingRibs, Inc., a Florida Corporation.
Our philosophy about food is simple. First of all it must taste great. It must be easy to make and emphasize fresh seasonal products with a minimum of processed ingredients. We think that people need to know why as well as how, so we spend a lot of time explaining things, and we believe that there are no rules in the bedroom or dining room.
About Product Reviews and Best in BBQ Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medals are highly recommended products. Awards are based on features, quality, and value. Rest assured that when we recommend a product, it is really because we like it, not because someone has paid us to say so or because the company is an advertiser or sponsor. We purchase most products we review although occasionally suppliers send us samples. We have always been transparent about when we are reviewing a product sample, even before the Federal Trade Commission Required it in 2009.
About links on this site. Other than clearly marked ads, links and recommendations on this site are all products, services, and websites we truly admire, and are never paid endorsements. Your suggestions are always welcome. If you would like us to link to your website, click here to read our links policy first.
Advertising on this site. AmazingRibs.com is one of the 100 most popular food websites in the US according to comScore, Alexa, and Quantcast. It is by far the most popular barbecue website in the world and pageviews double every year. Advertising on AmazingRibs.com is a great way to build your brand or make direct sales. I keep a strict wall between editorial and advertising, so, for current pricing and availability of prime space, contact my agency, Federated Media, by clicking the logo at right. Click here for analytics, stats, demographics, and advertising options.
Our Privacy Promise. AmazingRibs, Inc. promises to never sell or distribute any info about you individually without your express permission, and we promise not to, ahem, pepper you with email or make you eat spam. Click here for more details of my privacy promise.
Disclaimer. The information on this website is for educational purposes only. All material within comes without warranties of any kind. The authors are human and capable of mistakes, omissions, or errors, so we make no guarantees as to the accuracy, completeness, or safety of the information. Under no circumstances are we liable for any damages that result from use of the site (so you can't sue us if you don't like a recipe or if you burn your tongue on hot ribs, OK?).
This link takes you to Amazon and tags anything you buy with a code so I get a referral fee. It works on anything from grills to diapers and it has zero impact on the price you pay. The best reasons to buy from Amazon are low prices, fast often free delivery, fair return policies, and often there is no sales tax. But clicking on that link before you shop helps me devote more time and money to you. Thanks!
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With a $30 donation you'll get a 100% cotton brushed twill adjustable low profile cap with the AmazingRibs patch sewn on. I'll even toss in a small bag of BBQ'rs Delight wood smoke pellets. Click here for more info.
GrillGrates are the best new product I have tested in years and the best thing to happen to beef since salt and pepper. The base superheats, eliminates hot spots, and blocks flareups. This is the concept behind the expensive new infrared grills. A must for gas grills. Click here for more about GrillGrates.
The Smokenator: A Necessity For Weber Kettles
If you have a Weber Kettle, you need the amazing Smokenator and Hovergrill. The Smokenator turns your grill into a first class smoker, and the Hovergrill can add capacity or be used to create steakhouse steaks. Click here to read more.
ThermoWorks Pocket Thermometer - No More Guessing
A good thermometer is why I never serve overcooked or undercooked food. This one has a very thin tip with a tiny thermocouple so it gives an accurate reading in just six seconds. I cannot recommend it more highly. It will improve your cooking overnight and pay for itself in a hurry. And it is inexpensive. Click here for more about thermometers.
AmazingRibs.com is all about the Zen of barbecue, grilling, and outdoor cooking, with great BBQ recipes and techniques: Barbecue baby back ribs, spareribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, steak, burgers, chicken, smoked turkey, lamb, barbecue sauces, burgers, steaks, rubs, and side dishes, with the world's best buying guide to barbecue smokers and grills. It is written, photographed, illustrated, and coded solely by 
About Product Reviews and Best in BBQ Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medals are highly recommended products. Awards are based on features, quality, and value. Rest assured that when we recommend a product, it is really because we like it, not because someone has paid us to say so or because the company is an advertiser or sponsor. We purchase most products we review although occasionally suppliers send us samples. We have always been transparent about when we are reviewing a product sample, even before 
With a $30 donation you'll get a 100% cotton brushed twill adjustable low profile cap with the AmazingRibs patch sewn on. I'll even toss in a small bag of BBQ'rs Delight wood smoke pellets. Click here for 
