Dr. BBQ to share techniques, sign booksRay Lampe is schooled in the art of French cuisine, but he’d rather lounge in a lawn chair and throw back a few beers. That’s why barbecuing suits him so well.

The former truck driver from Chicago has sold barbecue from the back of a trailer in parking lots and he’s competed in the barbecue cookoff circuit. Now, he’s written his first book, “Dr. BBQ’s Big-Time Barbecue Cookbook,” due in bookstores Monday. Lampe will be in town May 4 to sign the book and teach a few cooking classes.

His book is filled with anecdotes from his cookoff days and takes a storytelling approach to sharing his favorite barbecue recipes. He also includes lots of ideas for using up barbecue leftovers and throws in recipes for grilling anything from a head of cabbage to tofu.

Cooking started out as a pastime for Lampe, but after years of cookoffs, he realized it was becoming a passion.
“It started out as just a hobby. But pretty soon, it was all my vacation time and all my spendable money,” Lampe said.
So he gave up truck driving and moved to Florida, where he could barbecue year-round. He had his license plate personalized with “Dr. BBQ,” and the name stuck.
Lampe picked up most of his barbecuing talent by watching the chefs at cookoffs in the Midwest. Most of those men had learned to grill from tips passed down through their grandfathers, Lampe said. He’d also visit the barbecue restaurants he’d heard everyone rave about and try to learn their techniques.

During cooking classes, Lampe teaches traditional barbecuing techniques, which he calls the backbone for good cooking.
But he also avoids constricting his students with the opinions of some barbecue traditionalists, who hold that real barbecue is only cooked in a pit made out of concrete blocks.
“If you want to call grilling barbecue, go ahead. I don’t want to get caught up in that whole ‘grilling is not barbecue’ fight,” Lampe said.

He considers traditional barbecue to be lower-quality cuts of meat cooked slowly, over less than 250 degree heat. That technique yields tender meat with a developed crust.
The most common mistake amateur barbecuers make is cooking meat for too long, Lampe said. Most people get nervous cooking meat without a time guideline. In the interest of avoiding meat that’s not thoroughly cooked, people bypass tender ’cue and end up with dry hunks of meat.

“People equate ‘safe’ pork with ‘gray and dried up,’” Lampe said.

He said the only surefire way to ensure moist, cooked-through meat is to use a meat thermometer.

Another common mistake is adding barbecue sauce too early. The sugar in the sauce cooks quickly and will end up burnt before the meat is finished cooking. In fact, Lampe usually doesn’t brush on sauce until after the meat is off the grill, or he serves it on the side.

By Shelley Mann
Staff Writer
shelley.mann@gwinnettdailypost.com