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From locals to out-of-towners, folks flock to Tennessee to experience unbelievable barbecue—and Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint has earned its rightful spot on the list of Nashville’s best.
Here, founder Pat Martin’s infamous West Tennessee-style whole hog pit barbecue takes center stage, and now he’s sharing his barbecue brilliance with the masses. With the release of his debut cookbook, Life of Fire: Mastering the Arts of Pit-Cooked Barbecue, the Grill, and the Smokehouse, Martin provides a definitive guide to cooking up mouthwatering meats (and more) for amateurs and aficionados alike.
As a leader in authentic American barbecue, and as one of the few pitmasters still carrying the torch of West Tennessee-style whole hog pit barbecue, Martin has been featured on NBC’s The Today Show, Food Network, CNN, and Travel Channel, to name a few. His lifelong passion for live-fire cooking led him to open the first Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint in Nolensville back in 2006. And what started as a quaint, 12-table spot has since grown into 10 locations across the South with a menu that is entirely scratch-made, every day, from sides to sauces and everything in between. The restaurateur also founded the beloved Hugh-Baby’s BBQ & Burger Shop.
In Life of Fire, Martin illustrates his passion and dedication through detailed instruction,
deep procedural guidance, and plenty of delicious recipes. With over 65 recipes, this photo-forward book takes readers on a journey through the traditional practices of barbecue in its purest form and walks home cooks through all the layers of live-fire cooking, pit-cooked barbecue, and the traditional wintertime Southern smokehouse. In a way that’s as informative as it is approachable, Martin shares his knowledge to help readers bring the most extraordinary flavors to life through the simplest seasonal ingredients.
The book follows all the stages of a fire’s life and provides step-by-step instructions to achieve the time-honored preparations and recipes of American pit barbecue. From the fundamentals of wood selection to building a pit, a spit, and a smokehouse, the book breaks down everything you need to know while also diving into the true essence of cooking authentic pit-cooked barbecue.
Life of Fire is divided into seven sections, each focusing on a specific stage of the fire’s life. In the first section titled Birth, Martin walks readers through the essentials required to build an optimal fire including wood varieties and sourcing, properly establishing coals, starting the fire, maintaining it, and more.
The following section, Youth, is dedicated to grilling and encourages a variety of techniques for managing young coals and flames. It also includes tasty recipes such as Martha’s tomato sandwich, grilled green beans with Memphis dry rub, charred okra, charred butternut squash, and more. Moving into the middle age of a fire’s life, Martin dives into one of the oldest forms of cooking, open-pit and spit barbecue, as the fire begins to settle. He provides tips for maintaining the heat, along with the necessary tools and preparation required. In this section, readers can try their hand at open-pit rabbit, spatchcock chicken with Alabama white sauce, open-pit cabbage, whole spareribs, and the younger, smaller pig. And the heart of the book, The Golden Years, acts as an instruction manual for cooking a classic West-Tennessee whole hog. Here, Martin maps out every step from sourcing to the people you’ll need to assist you, all the way through building the pit and the 24-hour cooking process to ensure readers master heavenly recipes like pulled pork sandwiches, pit-cooked ham, and pit-cooked pork belly.
As the coals of the fire begin to cool down, Martin shares vegetable-centric recipes cooked best using ashes and embers for scrumptious sides such as ash-roasted beets, sweet potatoes, and smashed potatoes with crisped cheddar. He also includes camp-style foil pack recipes that are as nostalgic as they are delicious. And in the following section, Martin introduces readers to meat preservation using the traditional family smokehouse, which involves cold smoke and the winter fire. This section highlights the art of curing, cold smoking, and aging meats in surprisingly simple detail to craft delicacies like pork belly bacon, wild duck breasts, and the beloved Southern country ham.
The book concludes with decadent desserts to be made after the fire has died out. Showcasing treasured family recipes such as Maw-Maw Martin’s pecan pie, Pam’s strawberry cake, and the Martin family’s unique approach to hand cranked ice cream, this section is a treat for every sweet tooth.
From sides, to the main event, down to the desserts that top it all off, Martin offers insight, instruction, and incredible recipes for all to enjoy. Whether you’re a seasoned pitmaster or brand new to the flame, Life of Fire embodies everything that makes traditional Southern barbecue so enticing. (martinsbbqjoint.com/book)
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Charred Carrots with Sorghum and Buttermilk
Courtesy of Life Of Fire: Mastering The Arts of Pit-Cooked Barbecue, The Grill, And The Smokehouse
Make 2 to 4 servings
- 1⁄2 cup whole buttermilk*
- 1 lb carrots, peeled and left whole
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons golden sorghum syrup
- 2 teaspoons fleur de sel or other flaky salt
- Measure out the buttermilk and let it sit at room temperature while you prepare a hot grill. Clean and oil the grill grates well.
- In a large bowl, combine the carrots, olive oil, sorghum, and fleur de sel and toss until the carrots are well coated.
- Place the carrots on the grill and cook, rotating them a quarter-turn every couple of minutes, until tender and well charred all over; this will take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the carrots. Transfer to a platter.
- As soon as the carrots are finished, pour the buttermilk into a bowl, and use a whisk or electric mixer to beat the buttermilk until it’s thickened to the texture of soft whipped cream. Drizzle the carrots with the whipped buttermilk and serve warm.
*If you can’t find whole buttermilk, add a splash of heavy cream to low-fat (1 percent) or light (1 1⁄2 percent) buttermilk, or use whole milk yogurt as a substitute.