5 comments about BBQ USA: 425 Fiery Recipes from All Across America.

1. 
   Have made only a handful of the 425 recipes but every single one of them has been the best thing we ever made! :)



2. a brilliant dissertation on the art of the bar-b-q. i cant wait to get stuck in



3. This was a great book for my wife and I who have eaten out at restaurants easily 10% of the time now that we have a grill and this book. An excellent investment, that makes the weekends even more fun than I thought they could be. I recommend this!



4. This is a fantastic book for anyone who loves barbecue. From the novice BBQ cook to the pro, there is something in this book for every one. I have a whole book shelf full of BBQ cook books and this is the one I go back to time and time again. Every recipe I have tried has been outstanding. This book is unparalleled by others on the subject. I've had my copy for about 3 years and it is starting to wear a little from use...the pages are dog-eared and there are barbecue sauce fingerprints from cover-to-cover. (Perhaps I should buy a new copy and wash my hands more often!) Moreover, every time I travel, I go to this book to see if there are any of the restaurants Raichlen reviews within a 100 mile radius of my destination. This book does not disappoint. It's the best.



5. BBQ USA: 425 Fiery Recipes from All Across America
   
   The best barbecue book I have ever had - full of history, interesting anecdotes, and most of all outstanding recipes - from quick and simple to gourmet. The instructions are clear, and the results are great. I highly recommend this book for the beginner and well as the master barbecue chef. You and your guests will not be disappointed.

5 comments about Mastering the Grill: The Owner's Manual for Outdoor Cooking.

1. Buy this book, you will not be disappointed. It is very well written, addresses all different types of grills and their difference, has detailed explanation on different cuts of meats, and terrific recipes. This is without a doubt the best BBQ book out there.



2. If you're tired of charring food when your wife asks you to grill, and if you're tired of the same old barbecue sauce or marinade, this book is for you! The authors expertly lead men, their intended audience, through the science of grilling, so that men better understand the various techniques -- before, during, and after cooking -- that can make grilling real fun. The section on brines and rubs is excellent excellent excellent, though a word of caution: I've found that I get better rubs using these recipes if I cut the salt and sugar down to half or even less. Follow the directions, but don't be afraid to experiment. This book will change the way you grill forever.



3. I found this book to be loaded with helpful information.Everything you ever want to know about barbeque is in Mastering The grill.



4. I read this book like I read most cookbooks: I consider them to be guidelines or inspirations for flavor combinations. This book provides a good introduction to the science of grilling as well as over 500 recipes. Honestly, I'll never make one of the recipes exactly as written but they inspire some good ideas. There's a whole section on rubs, brines and marinades which is very usefull. On the other hand, I dont need 30 hamburger recipes.



5. Do you enjoy using a grill? Or do you aspire to begin grilling? Want to expand your storehouse of grilling recipes? If yes to any of those questions, this book is a treasure. It is massive and a bit unwieldy, but its contents make up for that. I first learned of this book when the authors were guests on the Food Networks "Emeril Live." Emeril introduced the two authors and then proceeded with an hour of grilling. After that, I felt the need to acquire this volume.
   
   The upfront stuff, in some ways, is really important. I sort of bumble along on my gas grill, learning by doing, using recipes that I like, experimenting on different ways of cooking. But I really only know a handful of ideas and techniques (Including some simple maxims as some things need to be cooked on the side without flame; others are to be cooked directly over the flame). The authors assert that there is something unique about this book (Page 10): "In this book, we approach the grill from the perspective of science and mechanics. Our goal is to impart an understanding of what occurs during grilling, so that you can make better-tasting grilled food."
   
   Introductory sections in Chapter 1 discuss the type of grills that can be used (from hibachis to gas grills and so on), how grills work, grill cleaning and maintenance (oops; I learned that I should do a better job cleaning the grill grates), requisite grill tools (I have a bunch, but could probably add some additional items, based on their discussion).
   
   Chapter 2? "Mastering Your Technique." This explores what I always thought of as exotica, mastering the fire, the science of heat transference (conduction, convection, and radiant heat), grilling techniques (e.g., indirect versus direct grilling, and so on), and mastering temperature (judging doneness and making sure that one let's what is grilled "rest" at the end). Resting? Goodness. I take the food right off the grill and on to my family's/guests' plates. Not good! Grilled food (and other typed of cooked foods) should rest a bit, so that you don't get parts that are too dry. I am now trying to be a batter cook and let the meat thus cooked "rest" for 5-10 minutes.
   
   Chapter 3 looks at the different foods that you can grill and a boatload of information about each.
   
   Finally, the piece de resistance! Recipes! There are a lot of these; the text notes about 300 of them. They are divided into sections on burgers and their like; steaks and chops; roasts, ribs, and slow food; major, complex cooking projects; vegetables and side dishes; fruit, dessert, etc.; marinades, glazes, rubs, and the like.
   
   The one downside of a number of recipes is that they take a great deal of upfront work and are complex. I prefer interesting but simpler recipes. However, for those who want to experiment, there are plenty of opportunities to do so with the recipes in this book. A few quick examples of recipes.
   
   Buffalo blue cheese burger: Based on hot Buffalo wings. I'm interested, since I used to enjoy visiting the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, home of the chicken wing! Create a hamburger by mixing together ground chuck, celery seed, onion, garlic, blue cheese in a bowl. Then, separately, melt butter and mix in hot sauce (e.g., Tabasco Sauce). Put the hamburger patties created from the hamburger mix on greased grill grate. Cook. Put burgers in the hot sauce, coat, and eat with knife and fork (although I might be inclined to put the resulting burger in a nice Kaiser roll!).
   
   With steaks, there is a nice looking recipe for Porterhouse au poivre that captured my interest. Or Tandoori chicken with Vidalia chutney (a little more complicated than I'd like, but boy does it sound yummy!), grilled summer vegetables with brown-butter vinaigrette, grilled maple-crusted apple rings. . . .
   
   This is a terrific resource for those who want to go beyond simple grilling without really knowing what you are doing (that's been me!). Some of the recipes are over the top, I think, but these will doubtless appeal to some who are likely to be rewarded for their efforts. Worth a look!

5 comments about Weber's Big Book of Grilling.

1. Here we have one of those rare culinary volumes which is actually helpful, and inside, you'll discover a treasure of grilling knowledge. Clearly, this is the bible for outdoor chefs.
   
   I sort of specialize in gourmet outdoor cooking effecting all techniques including (but not limited to) grilling, smoking, dutch oven, cooking on a spit, and open campfire, utilizing many different woods and devices to achieve my ends. I don't limit my outdoor cooking to meats and barbeque -- I do Chinese, desserts, seafood and all manner of side dishes. You can access many of my recipes here: http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?chef=196369
   
   This book contains very excellent rubs, sauces, and meal recipes that you'll find are difficult to beat -- the methods are quite clear and the book is as useful for the grilling veteran as it is for the newcomer to these skills. I know of no better work on this topic.
   
   Highly recommended!



2. I received this book as a gift,all have benefited! We've tried about half of the recipes, each is easy to follow with simple ingredients, and delicious.



3. Fantastic book with lots of great grill instructions and recipies. Wished that every recipie had a picture but it does'nt.



4. Excellent book on grilling, I wanted a book on Charcoal but found this book full of good information that can be used by both gas and woodl



5. I have to bow down to this book as the best grilling book EVER. We've tried many of the recipes and never been disappointed. Plus, it's entertaining to read with great pictures. Can't ask for much more than that.

5 comments about Weber's Real Grilling (Weber's).

1. This book is an excellent book for grilling, rubs, marinades and sauces. It has wonderful pictures. I highly recommend this book. Thank You Weber and Real Grilling.



2. Excellent reference for both the beginner and experienced cook. The book is well laid out, with excellent photographs and instructions. All the recipes I tried were simple to follow and were very tasty and enjoyable by my guests.



3. This is an awesome recipe book. Every recipe has a color photo, with excellent instructions. Every recipe we have tried is as mouth watering as it looks! I used to let my husband do all the grilling, but now I am hooked. There are great tips on how to grill just about everything.



4. This is the best cookbook i have ever used. Many of the recipes are easy to follow but it is also a grill exclusive cookbook. Now you may be thinking - so you can make chicken or steak - great cookbook right? Wrong, you can cook vegetables, starches and desserts in addition to every meat under the sun. Every recipe has a beautiful picture - the drawback is you are competing to make yours look that good and it makes you hungry to make everything in it. Overall an incredible buy.



5. Very informative, haven't had a bad meal yet. Price of book was very good compared to retail and shipping was reasonable.

5 comments about Barbecue! Bible : Sauces, Rubs, and Marinades, Bastes, Butters, and Glazes.

1. Fun to read with lots of info for all those who love to grill, bbq.



2. What a great book have made a couple of the rubs and they worked out very good but one will have to be diluted as wow it is hot. Can't wait till the Summer when the barbecue will be out and I can try some more recipes.
   Well written and easy to follow.



3. I bought two of these as Christmas gifts for my son-in-laws. Each of them were thrilled with the gift and after looking through the book thought it really had all they were looking for in a "great grilling cookbook" with lots of basic recipes as well as fun andexciting recipes to try too.
   A VERY "MACHO" GIFT THAT WENT OVER WELL!



4. Do NOT hesitate to purchase this gem. There are dry rubs, wet rubs, sauces, marinades. All very original and can go with so many types of meats! Great book, hands down.



5. There many recipes from all over the world not all original but many borrowed from other BBQ places. Find many good ones for brisket, pork, chicken , beef , ribs, fish , seafood , veggies and more. I like that there are frequently extra notes about each recipe concerning the author of the recipes and other stuff.While there is no rating scale (easy, difficult , medium, nany of the recipes are not difficult to make. Some have quite a few ingredients. Basic thai sate marinage is very good (9.6/10); balsamic drizzle (9.6/10) . I am still trying out more

5 comments about Smoke & Spice: Cooking with Smoke, the Real Way to Barbecue.

1. This book will pay for itself with the money you will save in making your own rubs. Wild Willys Wonderful (rib) rub gives results just as good as the best barbeques I've ever tasted.



2. We have been using this for years and we use some of the recipes in our catering business. I give this as a gift to any friend that purchases a smoker. Wild Willy's Wonderful Rub is the BEST!
   
   This is a must have for anyone that enjoys exceptional bar-b-que and sides.



3. Try the "Mister Brown" and serve with the yellow mustard sauce. It will make you famous.



4. This is a nice fattish book that provides plenty of recipes. The book doesn't pretend to be "gourmet" but rather provides exactly what the cover suggests: Good ol' American BBQ.
   
   Recommended as a first book for anyone that wants to try their hand at smoking/slow [charcoal] cooking/grilling. The instructions and text are good and clear throughout. I hesitated to give the book 5 stars but decided that I reserve the 5 star ratings for truly exceptional books. In this case for instance, one thing I would have liked to see are more pictures/photos....



5. This book was recommended by a friend who caters pig roasts professionally and it is everything he said - full of great recipes. Whether you want ribs or pulled pork, brisket or sides, this cookbook has it all.

5 comments about The Barbecue! Bible.

1. The Barbecue Bible website promotes this as the illustrated version of the original. I really liked the original; I think the author is great and have many of his books. I had purchased the original many years ago, and was willing to pay for it again upon the premise of seeing a picture of the recipes prepared.
   While there is new text with interesting information, there aren't that many recipes that are illustrated. This was a huge letdown; I was very interested in seeing pictures of completed recipes I had tried.
   If you haven't purchased this, I don't think you will be disappointed, as it really is an amazing cookbook; it really teaches you a lot about the world's flavors. If you have already purchased it, and are like me, anticipating pictures of prepared dishes, you will be disappointed. How to Grill is lavishly illustrated and will probably be a better investment if you are visually oriented. To summarize, Stephen is a very impressive author and very interesting to read for the first time; I wish it was illustrated more extensively.



2. This book was recommended by Epicurious before it was published, so I was excited to see it when it came out. I popped on amazon to buy it, read some reviews (negative) and decided to pass. Several people complained that the recipes were complicated and required lots of specialty ingredients. When I saw the book at my local warehouse club I gave it a look. I was very impressed and snapped it right up!
   
   I'm the type who reads cookbooks like novels, and I am an experienced cook who likes to dabble in every sort of cuisine imaginable. I'm also a condiment/seasonings/spices nut, so I have an extremely well-stocked pantry. That said, in reading through the book, I didn't come across any recipes for which I didn't have the ingredients. I realize, however, that the average person does not have tamarind paste or sambal olek in their fridge, nor galangal or scores of middle eastern seasonings in the pantry. But, if I can find that stuff at my local markets (the Super Target, for goodness sake!), surely these ingredients are easily obtained. And there are plenty of recipes in this book that do not require "exotic" ingredients, if your tastes or budget doesn't run to that.
   
   The book is very broad in its scope - cocktails, salads, meats, veggies, sides, even desserts - so it is far more useful than simply a book on grilling meats. I also appreciated the explanations of techniques, histories of cuisines, definitions of terms, etc. This type of information not only equips one to execute the recipes in the book well, but experiment and develop dishes on one's own. There is also an extensive section on rubs, marinades and sauces for just such experimenting.
   
   I think this book would be enjoyed by the following types of cooks:
   
   -those enjoy trying new cuisines, new flavors and new techniques
   -those who want to expand their bbq/grilling repertoire
   -those who are adventurous cooks (and diners!) who either have a well-stocked pantry or would find other uses for some of the more unique ingredients (lots of Thai, Asian and middle-eastern ingredients)
   -those who appreciate a cookbook that provides an entire meal's recipes, not just the entree.
   
   If you like your food pretty plain or you're cooking for picky eaters who won't try anything they haven't heard of, this book is soooo not for you. Bob appetit!



3. Where this book fails immediately is that Barbecue is not about the sauce it's about the meat. I know, I design sauces and own a BBQ Sauce Company. I'm always looking for good BBQ cookbooks. The author gives no information on preparation of meat or cooking it. He spent 13 pages on how to light different grills and I wasn't impressed much with that. I think the big headlines were used to waste space so that he could put out a big book. I could go on but here is one final thought. The book claims to be the Barbecue Bible, you'd expect it to cover the subject in every detail and with some degree of experience. This attempt at being the Barbecue Bible fails miserably. I bought the book online, if I saw the book in a book store and was able to go through it, I would not have bought it. Steven Raichlen is probably a food critic or cookbook editor, not a barbecue expert.



4. My husband picked this book up and we've had so much fun for the past 6 weekends or so trying out new things to put on the barbeque!
   Can't wait to try the next one now!
   It's worth every cent; I'm impressed with how closely authentic Steven's kept all the recipes!



5. The text part is great, but I was very disappointed that there are so few photos in the book. I would not have bought if I had known that.

5 comments about Bobby Flay's Grill It!.

1. Great tips for grilling things we hadn't tried before until now like...How to grill scallops and how to grill shrimp (say for kabobs). Some really interesting spice rubs and sauces that you just wouldn't think of. Some great ideas for grilling all sorts of veggies too.(I.E. squash,zucchini, and mushrooms) A great book.



2. Not a bad book. There are some very helpful hints. Lots of oil is used, though, and makes me wonder why the fat/calorie contents aren't listed. This could have been easily done, but people would be disturbed at some of the calorie counts. The answer is obvious then. Good graphics.
   
   "MESA" is by far Flay's best cook book, but there again the calorie thing raises a red flag. "HEAT" is also a good book, as well is "FINE DINING MADNESS." Also suggested is "An Omnivore's Dilema."



3. My husband loves to watch Flay's boy meets grill and we have tried several recipes. This Grill Book is along those same lines. He got it for Father's Day and spent the next hour looking through the recipes of what he can make on the grill. There is a variety of dishes that have broad appeal and definitely more than 3-4 that we would make over and over again. I'm looking forward to some great cookouts this summer.



4. Bobby Flay's Grill It!
   This book is excellent and exciting to read! I like the way 'Grill-It' is organized - by food item. The recipes are easy with limited, but choice ingredients. This cookbook will motivate anyone to get out the grill and fire it up!!!



5. Since this product was purchased as a gift, in July, I have no review.
   Sorry about that. Norm

5 comments about How to Grill: The Complete Illustrated Book of Barbecue Techniques.

1. This book is a must have for any serious griller. It has just about anything that you need to know about grilling.



2. "How to Grill" is more than just a fantastic cookbook. It is packed with information about grills, smokers, cooking tools, and other things of interest to those who want to know how to grill and smoke good food. As for the "recipe section," Raichlen gives great tips on technique, i.e., how to prepare the food for the grill, and to present it upon completion. He covers seasoning the food, sauces, rubs, and marinades. It is just a fantastic book for people of all levels of experience in grilling. It should be on every grillers book shelf.



3. Exciting, excellent, effective. If you like cooking, learning how to do things, or are just visual by nature (most people are) you will most certainly enjoy this one. I have perused all of this authors books and have enjoyed his commentary; this book takes the cake (and has a double layer of frosting on top). If the new version of the Barbecue Bible was illustrated even semi-close to this book Stephen would have another huge hit.



4. This a a great book for creative grill masters. One caveat: if you own an 18 inch weber kettle, be sure to adapt the coal amounts for your smaller grill. Otherwise you will fry your food faster than a hyper-active pyro. The author never bothers to mention how much fuel to use for various sizes of charcoal grills. Not once in the entire book. So, be carefull grill-jockeys and adjust down or up as needed. Otherwise, yum.



5. I bought this as a Father's Day gift, and my dad has grilled out every saturday since! The book kills two birds with one stone with its great cooking techniques and recipes. The pictures are great and very helpful, and the directions are very simple and easy to understand. The food tastes great! Some of the recipes take a good hour or two to prep though, so make sure to read through the whole procedure before starting.

5 comments about Italian Grill.

1. This cookbook is wonderful We have already produced several of the recipies and have thoroughly enjoyed them. Even if you think you have too many cookbooks, you need this one.



2. Have only tried about 4 recipes so far, but everything turned out perfect. The best grill book I've ever seen-food simple to prepare with easy to find ingredients and very Italian!!



3. the ingredients are really hard for me to find. I think all of his recipes would be GREAT if I could only find the stuff to make them.



4. So far, every recipe I have tried has been great. I LOVE the fact that there are plenty of non-meat recipes. Don't get me wrong. I love meat, but I have friends who have grilling parties. This lets me bring alternative dishes that aren't the same old thing.
   
   My typical M.O. is to put bookmarks on the main recipes I want to try. With Italian Grill, there were so many recipes I want to try, that I didn't even bother.
   
   Definitely will be using this for tailgating.



5. I am cooking my way through this book. So far everything I've made has turned out perfectly. Mario knows how to construct a recipie that lets the food shine through. Recommend this highly to everyone who wants a solid go-to reference to making excellent food.