Adam Perry Lang is a classically French-trained chef that took his talents to the world of barbecue. He was the founder of the nationally acclaimed restaurant Daisy May’s BBQ. Lang is really serious about his barbecue. In his first year on the national barbecue circuit, he won Grand Champion honors at the World Pork Expo as well as first place for his Pork Shoulder “The World Series of BBQ” in Kansas City.
Lang traveled across the country this summer to collect the coolest handmade products for the ultimate tailgate, including George Dickel Tennessee Whisky. Adam prepared his famous barbecue for a cooking segment on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
He recently released the second edition of his first, New York Times best-selling book “Serious Barbecue.” It’s considered by many to be a “barbecue bible” and is currently available in bookstores or at his website.
Adam was kind enough to take the time to chat with me about grilling, his book, whisky, and fatherhood.
Art Eddy: First off I would like to discuss the reprinting of your book “Serious Barbecue.” What inspired you to reprint the book?
Adam Perry Lang: Well it was my first book, but I had the privilege to self-publish it on Amazon KDP. I got the rights back. There was such a demand for it. It was tough to get. It was very expensive on Amazon. I decided to take control of it and bought the rights back from the original publisher.
It is a re-issue of it. It is doing great. It is exactly as the title states. It is serious barbecue. What I found out about barbecue is that very few people want to know entry level barbecue. They want bragging rights barbecue out of the gate and I teach them that.
AE: Grilling can be somewhat intimidating. What are some tips you can give to people that tend to make hockey pucks out of meat on the grill? 
APL: Well that is just the thing. It might be serious, but it is no difficult to do. You have to get very serious about it. When you are dealing with fire it is a bit more unruly than just turning a knob on a stove or a range. Whether you are doing it or not you have to get serious, because you turn your back on it and the fire almost has its own personality. It knows then you are walking away. It is going to get you.
AE: What do you prefer charcoal or gas?
APL: Definitely charcoal or wood. I am a live fire guy. Although I do like gas for certain things. I love it for its convenience. I recommend it all the time. I tell people to buy the grill that you are going to cook on the most. To me it is not just about cooking. It is about getting out there with your family, hanging out with your friends, and even just being out there by yourself. It is just being outdoors and getting to experience it for yourself.
While I prefer charcoal, wood, and natural forms of cooking because I love fire, I don’t down someone who is cooking with gas or an electric.
AE: For those who might not be the best chef, what type of meal is easy to cook and is somewhat foolproof?
APL: It is not the actual dish that makes it foolproof. It is the techniques. I think one of the best techniques to have is having a safe area on the grill. I typically take a flat cast iron griddle and put it on the pan. If the flames get out of control I can take the food and put it on the flat cast iron griddle. It is still getting cooked, but it gets a break from the direct fire and the flames.
Whether you are going hot dogs, hamburgers, pork, steak it is really less about the recipe and more letting yourself cook anything with some simple little tips. Those tips is what I go over in “Serious Barbecue” and in all of my books. That is how I like to teach people.
AE: You recently had teamed up with George Dickel Tennessee Whisky to create some excellent dishes. What was that experience like?
APL: Even before I met the awesome people at George Dickel I was always a whisky guy. I am not a big wine drinker. I am a beer and whisky drinker. For me whisky is the perfect pairing for grilling and just outdoor life. It is just a sipping drink. For me it is a break in the action for a lot of grilled meats.
Look at the Japanese. Every Yakitori type bar you go to has an awesome selection of whisky. They know what they are doing. For me pairing up with them was a natural fit. I was looking for someone like me, who was really like me, to jump on board with. Their whole motto is exactly what I am about, which is “hand made the hard way.”
I am really into craft. I am into doing things with my hands. Getting into it and not buying the simple way out. Here is a whisky company that as they are making the whisky they are taking the notes down. They are doing all by hand. They are tasting it. It is not heavily automated. It is all just wicked. For me that is how I like to cook. Plus I love their whisky. So it was an easy pairing.
AE: What is your favorite meal to make?
APL: I am a steak guy. I love grilling steaks. For me that is the ultimate. I cut them thick. I cook them hot, slow. I do many different things. I am known as what they call an active griller. I like to move stuff around the grill a lot. I just love steak. Charred, beautiful, sometimes dry aged, sometimes not and just straight off the grill. That’s when my kids are all over me. They want the first bite.
AE: On your website I saw on your Flickr account that you had a special helper in the kitchen. Do they cook with you a lot?
APL: I will tell you something very interesting. My daughter at a very young age, from four has been cooking with me in the kitchen. How do you involve a four year old? She is too young to handle a knife so we prep together. Whenever I held the knife she would hold my elbow. She would literally be at my side the whole time and hold my elbow.
She just recently used a steak knife. She is six years old and it is like she is grown up. I don’t encourage that with everybody, but I use my own knives. It is part of my culture of cooking. I have instilled a really deep respect for it. Getting your kids involved in cooking is one of the best things you can do.
AE: What advice do you give parents with kids who are picky eaters? Is it to have them cook with you?
APL: Definitely. They are looking to really stick their hands into stuff. One of the greatest things you can do is get them to season. Give them the control of seasoning. Teach them how to season like rain, which is really like sprinkle up high. Then get their hands full of olive oil and really rub into the meat. They are doing something that grownups do. They are doing something with you, which they love. They are making a mess, which the love. So you got the trifecta right there.
AE: What are some dishes you like to cook your kids?
APL: I love to make pasta with them with flour and eggs. It is a heavy duty activity. I like doing activities where they can really do things. If it just dumping spices in a bowl that gets old quick. If you throw a big pile of flour, you got the eggs and they can mix the dough it becomes a game. It gets rolled out and they get so excited. At the end when they have seen that they created this pasta, which is their one of their most favorite things in the world, it is like it is magic.
AE: That is great. I love when my kids get so excited from the things that they have made.
APL: Oh yea. Make some chocolate pasta. You put cocoa powder into the flour and a little sugar and you make chocolate pasta. They go crazy. I started cooking when I was really young. We have always been involved with cooking in my family. That is just one thing that I am happy to pass on to my kids.
AE: Nice. The next cookbook you make has to be a children’s cookbook right?
APL: I guess so. That is not a bad idea actually.
AE: Yea, it could be you and your kids on the cover. It would be the Perry Lang Family cookbook. You can have chocolate pasta in there, plus the sprinkle like rain concept.
APL: Yea. It is cool idea. Thanks I will have to credit you for that.
AE: Awesome. I appreciate that. Tell me a few life lessons or things to live by that you want to teach your kids?
APL: That is a great question. I think first and foremost is that understanding in life that there are a lot of ebbs and flows. Knowing that in life you are not going to get what you want in life all the time. You are going to be faced with challenging situations and it is not always going to go your way. You keep trying again and keep on doing it. I think it is the perseverance and the drive to keep on going.
I think that is one of the greatest things. That is one of the greatest gifts I hope that I can instil in my kids. Never give up. Keep focus and moving ahead and looking for the little lessons along the way.