Cookbook Author event: Ed Mitchell’s Barbeque

Let's learn a thing or two from the most famous "pitmaster" in North Carolina!

Register for Ed Mitchell’s Barbeque

Darien Library, along with Connecticut's Essex Library and Book Passage in San Francisco, California, invite you into the world of barbeque and more with celebrated pitmaster Ed Mitchell and his new book, Ed Mitchell's Barbeque.

In his first cookbook, a collaboration with his son, Ryan, and written with Zella Palmer, Ed explores the tradition of whole-hog barbeque that has made him famous. It’s a method passed down through generations over the course of 125 years and harkens back even further than that, to his ancestors who were plantation sharecroppers and, before that, enslaved. Ed is one of the few remaining pitmasters to keep this barbeque tradition alive, and in Ed Mitchell’s Barbeque, he will share his methods for the first time and fill in the unwritten chapters of the rich and complex history of North Carolina whole-hog barbeque.

From cracklin to hush puppies, fried green tomatoes to deviled eggs, okra poppers, skillet cornbread, potato salad, and pickled pigs’ feet, Ed Mitchell’s Barbeque is filled with delicious and essential recipes honed over decades. And, of course, there is the barbeque—mouth-watering baby back ribs, smoked pork chops, backyard brisket, and barbequed chicken—all paired with lively and warmly told stories from the Mitchell family. Ed Mitchell’s Barbeque is rich with the history of Wilson, North Carolina, and yet promises to bring barbeque to the next level.  

About the Author

Ed Mitchell is an American pitmaster and businessman. His frequent media appearances and advocacy for the use of heritage breed pork has earned him the title of the most "famous pitmaster" in North Carolina. In 2009, Ed was invited to cook at the prestigious James Beard House in New York City. A year later, notable food advocate and author Michael Pollan shadowed Ed in preparation for his The New York Times’ best-selling book, Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation. Ed was not only featured in the book, but also in the Netflix original food documentary film, “Cooked.” In March 2012, Ed hosted a barbecue master class at the 20th Annual International Food and Wine Festival in Melbourne, Australia. He has also appeared in Bon Appetit, on Throwdown! with Bobby Flay and National Geographic.  Ed Mitchell's Barbeque is his first book.