This has to be (currently) one of my favourite BBQ books. It has a very nice selection of food to cook and he is very informative (who doesn’t like photo’s?) in the way he writes his recipes. I’ll quickly give an overview of what’s in this book and pick out some of my “most cooked” BBQ recipes
The book is divided in the following sections: Getting Started, Beef and Veal, Pork and Sausages, Lamb, Chicken and More, Fish, Shellfish, Vegetables Plus, Desserts, Rubs Sauces and Condiments, Grills and Gear totalling 491 pages.
Getting Started
Has some interesting instructions about cooking on charcoal BBQ’s a separate section (as it should be) on gas BBQ-ing and a section on “other grills” (this is in my opinion just bordering on sacrilegious as we all know BBQ-ing is low and slow and the “other grills” excel in this!). Anyway he does mention water smokers and barrel smokers so their existence is not completely lost on him. This section ends with some final tips and talks about basic ingredients and preparation.
A comment on the cooking section; each item has a short description about the subject were cooking followed by some photos describing step by step how the cook progresses (a number of the “setting up the grill are exactly the same so a bit of a waste of space IMO). However as I like photo’s the photos on preparing the various foods and the finished product really makes it a good read. The last component of every cooking subject is the actual recipe followed by written instructions as to how to prepare and cook. Each subject also has some serving sizes, variations, tips etc on the page side notes.
Beef and Veal
There are 18 recipes in this section a fair number thereof I like… the ones I cook regularly are:
“How to make Beef Fajitas” (easy midweek cook)
“How to grill the perfect hamburger” (has a nice recipe with herb butter as well)
Pork and Sausages
This section has 12 recipes of which I cook on a regular basis:
“Pork Tenderloin” His recipe has a mojo marinade and it is delicious
“Stuffed Pork chops” This just gives you a basis for various fillings you can use (really use your imagination)
“Kansas City sweet-and-smoky Ribs” (he reckons 2-3 hours but I cook at a lower temp so 4-6)
Lamb
Only 9 recipes (bit of a shame as Australian lamb is sooooo good)
“Whole leg of Lamb” Granted I tweak his recipe but it’s not a bad one
“Rack of Lamb” I use his method but with different recipes (I’m doing one this Sunday; watch the blog tomorrow).
Chicken and More
Again 18 recipes and I really like the following:
“Lemon Garlic Chicken” Chicken + Lemon + GARLIC what more can a man ask for?
“How to Grill a Chicken On a Beer Can” Well I use my Weber chicken gadget but the principle is there
“How to Grill a Spatchcocked Chicken” Shows very nicely how to spatchock your chook and its an easy way to BBQ your chicken
“How to Grill a Brined Chicken Breasts” Brining really helpas to keep the chicken moist (especially midweek when using a gas grill; be careful it’s not in the brine too long and becomes salty (ah well I like the salty taste anyway)
“How to Rotisserie Grill Duck” We like our duck! I am still experimenting with the crispy skin (and I do follow his method…but still not to my liking (I want perfection).
Fish
Only 7 recipes but there is 1 real winner
“Rum-Smoked Salmon” This is really a keeper, the preparation is easy (just takes time) but the result is phenomenal!
Shellfish
This section has 9 recipes and the one I do regularly use is:
“How to Grill Shrimp” Some handy tips how to peel a shrimp and a decent recipe (I prefer the uncomplicated recipe with oil (or butter) and garlic).
Vegetables Plus
19 Recipes Wow this section has the most recipes (but it doesn’t contain meat!)
Anyway I do however cook some of these (yes I cook vegetables) and the following really are my favourites (some of these are seasonal):
“Sesame Grilled Asparagus” This is another keeper a great recipe and a super easy method of BBQ-ing asparagus.
“Grilled Corn” Again his method and recipe (slightly changed) time and time again
“How to Grill Portobello Mushrooms” Nice recipe for cooking these beatiful mushrooms tasty as well.
“Garlic Grilled Tomatoes” Again a keeper as this recipe cooks tomatoes in an easy way and they are just fantastic
Dessert
Only 4 recipes, I don’t mind the vegetable recipes but have yet to cook any of these….no comment
Rubs, Sauces and Condiments
I did use some of the rubs and the Roasted garlic butter is definitely a handy one to know.
Grills and Gear
Just a general section and talks about the various grills (features a Weber Kettle, Big Green Egg, WSM, Barrel Smoker and some fancy Gas BBQ’s) and BBQ gear (various utensils). Last section talsk about starters fuels and smoking materials.
That’s it as I said it’s a great book to have and I have certainly got my money’s worth out of this one!
This book is now on my reading list.