Foodie News
Nolan Ryan's beef cookbook is genius: Move over George Foreman
Nolan Ryan isn't just a baseball player or a legend, he is a golden god.
Growing up in the 1980s in Texas means that I know an inordinate amount of guys my age named Nolan. Back when there were rumors that Ryan would run for Texas Railroad Commissioner, I assumed it meant that Texas would soon have the fastest railroads in the world, with trains that would take us everywhere except Chicago.
Ryan's beef cookbook is the pretty much the perfect melding of a sports figure and the lifestyle they associate themselves with — until Roger Clemens opens a juice bar.
So when it came out that Nolan Ryan is writing a beef cookbook to be released in 2014 titled, appropriately, The Nolan Ryan Beef Cookbook, my first thought was that finally, eating beef is going to be worth it.
Hyperbole aside, if there's anything that Ryan is associated with other than baseball, it's a distinctly Texan ranching tradition. As the press release states,
[E]ver since he bought his first heifer at the tender age of ten, ranching has been close to Nolan Ryan’s heart. Ryan was one of the first baseball players to sign a contract worth $1 million. He invested his earnings in a ranch. While still pitching for the Texas Rangers he was asked to run for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture, and during this period in his career, he started to compile his favorite beef recipes. Ryan served on the Board of Directors of the Beefmaster Association, and while there started his own eponymous brand, Nolan Ryan’s All Natural Beef, to increase consumer awareness of the brand."
But even with Ryan's meaty credentials aside, it's nice to see Ryan take the next step in the proud tradition of Houston professional athletes venturing into the food business. Dan Pastorini makes a surprisingly tasty steak rub, George Foreman has sold more than 100 million grills with his name on them, and Yao Ming still has one Houston restaurant, although the downtown location recently crashed and burned.
Ryan's beef cookbook is the pretty much the perfect melding of a sports figure and the lifestyle they associate themselves with — until Roger Clemens opens a juice bar, that is.
