Not that we’re anywhere close to being qualified enough to evaluate books but more so as a public service announcement we will periodically discuss barbecue and barbecue-related books.
Monk: Matt Horn first rose to barbecue prominence in 2016 after a series of pop-ups in the Bay Area of California, taking cues from Texas barbecue, the American South, and the Bay Area while attempting to create his own style of barbecue called “West Coast barbecue.” He parlayed the success of those pop-ups and his social media presence into a brick and mortar store in West Oakland, which he opened in 2020. And it wasn’t long before the awards followed: Food & Wine Best New Chef in 2021, Esquire’s Best New Restaurants in 2021, a Bib Gourmand from Michelin, and last but not least, a James Beard Award Nomination in 2022.
Also in 2022, Horn released his first book simply titled “Horn Barbecue” solely credited to him. With a foreword by Adrian Miller and blurbs from Miller, Aaron Franklin, Rodney Scott, and David Chang it surely placed him in esteemed company within the barbecue world.
After the short foreword by Miller where he details how his initial visit to taste Horn Barbecue was delayed due to to the pandemic (which explains why Horn wasn’t included in Miller’s 2021 book “Black Smoke”), Horn spends the next 10 or so pages telling his barbecue journey from his grandmother’s backyard to his acclaimed pop ups to finally opening up his restaurant in West Oakland.
Unfortunately, from there it follows what has become the standard template for a barbecue book these days: a section on the basics of barbecue detailing smokers and woods with tips on smoking before turning to a fairly standard set of recipes for proteins, sides, sauces, rubs, and desserts. Horn does write up a short intro for each recipe but there is no real compelling information after the barbecue journey ends on page 31.
The original Horn Barbecue restaurant location suffered a fire last fall before closing permanently this spring, but he has since reopened Horn Barbecue inside his throwback burger restaurant Matty’s Old-Fashioned. Horn has also teased a future concept called Horn Barbecue Shop which will be next door to his chicken restaurant Kowbird. As of this writing I don’t see any further information on this concept.
“Horn Barbecue” joins other books in recent years that have given voice to a historically underappreciated player in the barbecue field: “Black Smoke” by Adrian Miller in 2021, “Rodney Scott’s World of BBQ” by Rodney Scott and Lolis Eric Elie also in 2021, “Bludso’s BBQ Cookbook,” by Kevin Bludso in 2022, and more recently2023’s “Ed Mitchell’s Barbeque” by Ed and Ryan Mitchell with Zella Palmer. For me, the additional black voice in barbecue is always a welcome one even if this book itself is not quite from essential to add to your shelf.
