Meathead Goldwyn's nickname comes from his father, who jokingly called him after the Rob Reiner character in All in the Family. His father owned a butcher shop and worked as a USDA meat inspector — which explains a lot. Goldwyn studied journalism and photography at the University of Florida, later earning an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
He spent years as a wine writer — syndicated by the Washington Post and Chicago Tribune — before founding the Beverage Testing Institute and turning his attention to food. In 2005, a rib cook-off challenge from a neighbor prompted him to launch AmazingRibs.com. The site now draws over nine million visitors a year and has been archived by the U.S. Library of Congress as part of its Food and Foodways Web Archive.
His 2016 cookbook Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling became a New York Times bestseller and was named one of Southern Living's '100 Best Cookbooks Of All Time.' In 2021 he was elected the 40th member of the Barbecue Hall of Fame. In 2019 he was a semi-finalist in the same Hall of Fame class as Jim Quessenberry.
Accolades
- Barbecue Hall of Fame Inductee — 40th member (2021)
- 2019 BBQ Hall of Fame Semi-Finalist (same class as Jim Quessenberry)
- New York Times Bestseller — Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling (2016)
- Southern Living '100 Best Cookbooks Of All Time'
- AmazingRibs.com archived by U.S. Library of Congress — Food and Foodways Web Archive
- Over 9 million annual visitors to AmazingRibs.com