Ed Mitchell's Barbeque

James Beard Finalist

A celebration of the history and tradition of whole-hog barbeque from the “most famous” pitmaster in North Carolina

Named one of the Best Cookbooks of the Year by NPR, Publishers Weekly and The Local Palate: Food Culture of the South

Ed Mitchell’s journey in the barbeque business began in 1991 with a lunch for his mama, who was grieving the loss of Ed’s father. Ed drove to the nearby Piggly Wiggly to buy a thirty-five-pound pig—that’s a small one—and fired up the coals. As smoke filled the air and the pork skin started to crackle, the few customers at the family bodega started to inquire about lunch and what smelled so good. More than thirty years later, Ed is known simply as “The Pitmaster” in barbeque circles and is widely considered one of the best at what he does.

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 hearkens 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. 

Ed Mitchell has been cooking whole-hog barbeque the traditional way since he was a teenager. Thanks to a chance launch and Ed’s habit-forming food, Mitchell’s Grocery—a family business—morphed into Mitchell’s Ribs, Chicken & Bar-B-Q. Ed’s family’s restaurant has transitioned to an upscale barbeque concept, The Preserve, opening in the summer of 2023 in Raleigh. Enthusiasts can get Ed’s famous sauces and rubs from Ed Mitchell’s True Made Foods, available nationwide. Ed was inducted into the 2022 Black BBQ Hall of Fame and the American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame.

Ryan Mitchell serves as the business-savvy brain behind his father’s brand. Ryan has worked in the Mitchell family restaurant from a young age. He spent eight years working in commercial and investment banking for some of the nation’s largest firms before returning to his roots in barbeque.

Zella Palmer, author, professor, filmmaker, curator, and scholar, is the chair and director of the Dillard University Ray Charles Program in African American Material Culture in New Orleans, Louisiana. Palmer is also the author of Recipes and Remembrances of Fair Dillard: 1869–2019.