Steven Raichlen Goes Global with New Planet Barbecue Show
Steven Raichlen has authored more than 30 books and hosted multiple TV shows exploring all aspects of live-fire cooking. His newest project is the TV show Planet Barbecue on PBS.
For years, one of the most notable educators and ambassadors of barbecue has been author and TV host Steven Raichlen. To date, Raichlen has authored more than 30 books and hosted multiple TV shows exploring all aspects of live-fire cooking. His newest project is the TV show Planet Barbecue, which just debuted on PBS.
Two weeks ago, we chatted with Raichlen about the 25th anniversary of his essential book, The Barbecue Bible. The conversation was so good we decided it needed to be in two parts. For the second part of the discussion, we dive into Raichlen’s new TV show and other fun topics.
The conversation below has been lightly edited for clarity.
Steven Raichlen (right) explores cuisine around the world in his new show Planet Barbecue.
The Smoke Sheet (TSS): You have a new Planet Barbecue TV series for PBS that just debuted. What will you be exploring in this new series?
Steven Raichlen (SR): First, I’ve got a funny story about the genesis of the show. When I was finished writing The Barbecue Bible, and it had gone to press, someone said to me, ‘You know, you ought to call this book Planet Barbecue because it's about global grilling.’ I thought, ‘Oh my God, that was the perfect title.’ I couldn't change the title of the book at that point, but I kept that name in the back of my head. Then about 15 years later, I came out with a book called Planet Barbecue. It’s one of the books of which I'm the most proud. I visited 70 countries on six continents. I don't quite know how I did it, but I did it.
This led to me wanting to make a Planet Barbecue TV show, but I had other projects going, such as my shows Project Smoke and Project Fire. After four seasons of Project Fire, this seemed like the perfect opportunity. The show is focused on grilling and barbecue from around the world. It’s shot in San Antonio, which is at the nexus of Mexico and Texas barbecue. We have shows featuring cuisine from Argentina, the West Indies, Brazil, Germany, and more.
TSS: Can you tell us about the first episode so people can get a taste of what’s being featured?
SR: The first show is with a fabulous Argentinian pitmaster. In fact, I had so much fun with him that we wound up doing two episodes. We cooked this monster boneless rib roast, which we smoke-roasted for four hours, and then did the accompanying sauces. Then we did a beef pizza, where we took a flank steak, butterflied it open, that became the crust, and the pizza toppings went on top. And we finished with a vegetarian segment that I did featuring Argentinian side dishes, including grilled eggplant, grilled peppers, and grilled cheese. And I just thought that what an exquisite irony to have this meat-heavy menu from a meat-obsessed country and then finish up with a vegetarian segment.
The new Planet Barbecue show just debuted on PBS.
TSS: Following up on the global grilling theme, what are some of the most interesting things you are seeing now?
SR: I think you’re seeing global grilling clearly with the hybridization that is taking place in barbecue restaurants all over, such as Heirloom Market in Atlanta. And people are more knowledgeable now. Even something simple like satay, which I had to explain in The Barbecue Bible, now everybody knows what it is. I had to explain what jerk pork and jerk chicken is to a lot of people, and now everyone knows. The knowledge sort of snowballs, and what was revolutionary then has become commonplace. What was a narrow amount of knowledge and understanding about barbecue and grilling has grown to a whole world. There may well be young social influencers who are doing a great job who don't even know who Steven Raichlen is.
TSS: Let’s go beyond the new TV show and discuss other topics in the barbecue world. Are there any particular grilling tools you absolutely cannot live without?
SR: There are five of them. Number one and most important is a set of spring-loaded long-handled grill tongs for moving the food around. Second, is either a grill brush or a grill scraper for keeping your grill grate clean because that's really important. The third would be a pair of suede grill gloves that come up past your elbow to protect your hands. Fourth, if you are a charcoal griller, is a chimney starter. Fifth is an instant-read meat thermometer because if you’re cooking something like chicken, you need a thermometer. Something where the food-safe temperature really matters.
TSS: What style of grill would you recommend for someone who is first getting into grilling and BBQ?
SR: If there were one grill I would recommend to people getting started, I would say get yourself a simple charcoal kettle grill. Why charcoal? Because if you can master grilling on charcoal, you can grill on anything. Why else charcoal? Because it's easy to smoke on a charcoal grill. You can do all five methods of live-fire cooking with a charcoal grill — direct grilling, indirect grilling, smoking, spit roasting, and caveman grilling, where you cook right on the embers. You can do all of those on a charcoal grill, and you can't do those on any other kind of grill.
Steven Raichlen has been teaching barbecue classes for more than 20 years.
TSS: You’ve hosted your Barbecue University classes for more than 20 years. How has it evolved over the years? And what do you have planned for 2023?
SR: We're actually now on our fourth location. We just signed with a fantastic new property. It’s the Alisal Ranch in Solvang, California. If that sounds vaguely familiar, it’s where we shot the last season of Project Smoke and the first season of Project Fire. … When The Barbecue Bible first came out, I made a list of all the things I could do with barbecue, and one of them was creating a school called Barbecue University where people could come and learn what I had learned in the process of writing the book. It's still going strong.
With book writing and with TV, you're putting information out, but you're not getting feedback. In fact, that's why television was so difficult for me the first few years because there’s not a live audience. Seeing people's facial expressions and interacting is incredibly energizing for me, but with TV, you're just staring at a camera. The lens doesn't smile or anything. Barbecue University is a chance for me to connect with readers and fans to see what people understand, what they have trouble with, and what they want to learn now. The three-day session there are my most fun days of the year.
TSS: We noticed you’ve been selling smoked meats and other barbecue products with Crowd Cow. How did that come about?
SR: People have been able to read about my recipes from my books, watch them on TV, and learn them from Barbecue University, but there was never a way for people to taste my food the way it would be if you came to my home for dinner. So we started a company a few years ago called Planet Barbecue, with ready-to-heat and-eat barbecue. It's everything from brisket and ribs to a line of sausages that was used to spices that were developed by my stepson, Jake Klein. We've got 30-day-aged burgers with different flavors, a lot of different sausages, smoked barbecued wings, Thai spice barbecue wings, and more. We're also working on chopped brisket and pulled pork, and they'll be out this summer.
Under the Planet Barbecue brand, Steven Raichlen is selling meats via Crowd Cow.
TSS: This does seem like a really big addition to your work.
SR: I think you’ve got to keep learning through life. And for me, food manufacturing is a whole different animal. Plus, my Planet Barbecue spice rubs and sauce are coming out this summer. That’s quite a production too. You have to translate a recipe you would make for four people or six people in your backyard to something you do on an industrial basis, with tens of thousands of pounds of product. It's been a very interesting education.
TSS: One of your biggest trends for 2023 is “budget-que” given inflation and supply chain issues. What are some of your top tips for people who want to barbecue on a budget?
SR: The prices are crazy. I was recently overseas for a month, and I came back, and the prices seem like they went up again! But barbecue historically, at least traditional American barbecue, was built on inexpensive cuts of meat. It was built on pork shoulder and pork belly and brisket, which now is stratospherically expensive, but 10 years ago, you couldn't give it away. Nowadays, there still are some cuts that are inexpensive. For steak, the belly steaks and some shoulder steaks like flatiron are good choices. If you’re doing a tenderloin, a pork tenderloin is much less expensive than a beef tenderloin. In the fish department, take a look at dark oily fish, which is less expensive and doesn’t dry out when you grill out. And vegetables, too, are a great way to save money and a healthy way to grill.
Steven Raichlen has been teaching the masses how to barbecue for years.
TSS: You’re a prolific BBQ author, and The Barbecue Bible is one of the most-read BBQ books ever. Are there any other BBQ authors or books out there that you are fond of?
SR: Aaron Franklin, of course, is seminal. Brilliant. There's a book that was written a million years ago by a guy named Chris Slazenger called Thrill of the Grill. I don't know if anybody remembers that, but it was great. Social media influencer Derek Wolf just came out with a new book last year called Flavor x Fire. He’s a guy that I follow with great intensity. That’s just a few, but there are so many.
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Thank you to Steven Raichlen for the great conversation. We look forward to watching the new show and seeing what’s next.
Sean Ludwig (NYC BBQ) and Ryan Cooper (BBQ Tourist)
Co-Founders, The Smoke Shee
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June 2-3, 2023: BBQ Country Festival — Lebanon, Tennessee
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September 4-7, 2023: Barbecue University 2023 — Solvang, California
BBQ master Steven Raichlen will once again be hosting Barbecue University this year. This time, it will be held at Alisal Ranch in Solvang, California. You'll get a chance to experience Steven’s inimitable teaching style designed to help you take your grilling to the next level and much more. Get ready for Steven’s spontaneous improvisations, the Instagram-worthy presentation table, the final exam, and of course, the coveted Barbecue University diploma. MORE INFO HERE.
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