5 comments about Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book: Recipes and Secrets from a Legendary Barbecue Joint.

1. The "Getting Started" chapter on creating rubs and grilling strategies by itself is worth the price of the whole book. While every BBQ book has a section on rubs, most of these books simply throw a few recipes out there to copy and emulate. What makes this chapter different is the breakdown of components in a rub with recommendations on customizing -- if that's not enough, the charcoal placement strategies for cooking longer, or cooler opened my eyes -- and I've been grilling for more than 10 years. Hands down, this book will make you a better BBQer.



2. Years ago, while marveling at an incredible --ok, so I'm boasting a little -- supper, my step daughter asked where I went to cooking school. I said I did not go to culinary school, I just learned to read, thus began my love affair with cookbooks that made meals simple. The latest in that love affair is Chris Lilly's master piece Big Bob Gibson's BBQ cookbook. Not only are the recipes easy to follow but there are step by step pictures, making it an instant man-read. He also takes the novice into the secret world of slow and low BBQ with a guiding hand, exploring rubs and building on them. If you like bbq, this is a book for a lifetime of good cooking and eating. A great gift for the person who has nothing or everything.RediCheck Remote Cooking Thermometer w/Taste Settings



3. This book has it all - stories that describe the legend of Big Bob Gibson's, matched with awesome recipes that share Chris Lilly's proven tips and techniques. One for your shelf you'll pull down to use all the time.



4. Great cookbook. I bought 2 of these cookbooks for my grown children who grew up eating at Big Bob Gibson's. Now I have to order one for myself!



5. I'm new to "low and slow" BBQ and recently purchased a Weber Smoker Mountain smoker. I have a handful of BBQ books and this is by far my favorite. Chris Lilly weaves interesting history, gorgeous pictures and classic recipes into a very concise and user friendly manual. You even get the feeling he's (almost) giving away family secrets. I have smoked up a few of his recipes to date (Gibson's baby back ribs, whole chickens with white bbq sauce) and they came out great. We even made his bbq sauce from scratch and his fantastic red-skin potato salad.
   
   What's remarkable is the simplicity of many recipes. Plus, this book doesn't overwhelm you with 20+ ways to cook ribs, etc. Instead, the focus is on a handful of the most popular, or successful recipes, from each major meat category - plus quite a few classic side dishes and his famous sauces and rubs. Along with the Weber smoker online community, I feel this book allowed me to quickly jump into bbq with pretty good results.

5 comments about Weber's Way to Grill: The Step-by-Step Guide to Expert Grilling (Sunset Books).

1. On Thanksgiving Day, our neighborhood lost power. While neighbors cooked their turkeys at the houses of friends and relatives, I reviewed Way to Grill, fired up my Weber, and told my wife, "Let's grill it!" A few hours later, we were enjoying Thanksgiving Dinner by candlelight.
   
   This is a great book that has "saved the day" several times over. The recipes are refreshing, exciting, and fun to make. My wife has commented that some of the recipes are "restaurant presentations."
   
   Weber makes a great grill; and this cookbook makes the most of it.



2. Excellent book. I have learned much about grilling and the recipes are great. Had salmon and grilled asparagus last night and dinner was amazing!! Kudos!!



3. The book was a gift for a person who had just purchased an outdoor grill. It had everything he needed to know and more.



4. Bought this for myself last summer. Purchased another for my cousin as a gift. Great
   and can't wait for summer.



5. Weber's Way To Grill Cookbook by Jamie Purveyance is a decent BBQ cookbook. The book focuses on more on grilling than BBQ. There are far more hot and fast recipes than there is slow and low recipes. My favorite sections of the book are the few that are focused on the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker.
   
   I have cooked a few of the recipes so far, all of them Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker focused. My favorites are the rib recipes. I have cooked both baby back and pork spare ribs they both turned out very good. I have attempted the recipe for pulled pork sandwiches twice and have not ben impressed either time. Part of my failure on the pulled pork, pork shoulder, recipes my be my rookie BBQ skills or my meat selection. The rubs outlined in Way To Grill taste very good.
   
   Many of the recipes in Way To Grill are Grill focused and they all look very appetizing, but I have only tried one, a hamburger recipe that turned out to be amazing.
   
   Weber's Way To Grill includes many BBQ techniques that are very helpful. Purveyance discusses lighting charcoal, controlling heat, types of cookers, and more. I have found the barbecue techniques very helpful.
   
   Overall Weber's Way To Grill is a good reference BBQ Book that will be more useful to the novice than the experienced BBQ Pitmaster.
   
   I give Weber's Way To Grill 7 out of 10 ribs.
   
   CQ
   
   [...]

5 comments about Backyard BBQ: The Art of Smokology.

1. I bought this book for my dad who had just bought a smoker. He loves the book, and said that it has been extremely helpful. He had already had a few unsuccessful tries at the art of smoking and this book helped him to correct his mistakes. My mom liked it too, she found a lot of great recipes to have my dad try!



2. I got this book for Christmas after I had several trial and error attempts to use my smoker with just OK results. What a difference this book has made for me. I have always BBQ'd burgers, steaks, chicken and love to cook with my grill, but this book narrows in on smokers and smoking techniques. It has many tips, how-to suggestions and has recipes for rubs, marinades, sops, sauces, and sides, and how and when to use them, different smooking woods, using brine, on and on. Not too wordy, easy to follow, and he explains "why?" a lot, such as "why you should not use too much salt in a rub" (like all the store-bought rubs have). This book breaks down all the variables of smoking and puts them together when you get to the recipes and instructions.
   
   Great book for all experience level smokers. And it absolutely does not matter how fancy/expensive your equipment is. You will learn a lot from the book. I would still be floundering around without it. Although there are more ways to smoke than the author's, and like any cookbook you will adopt your own likings for spice and techniques, especially if cooking outside is fun for you. One example is that I usually allow for a little more time and a lower temperature than he does, "low and slow!"
   
   This book is must for your cooking/BBQ library, even if you don't own a smoker, brousing through this will get you searching on amazon or home depot/lowes for a starter.
   
   The book has info about poultry and fish too, but mostly focuses on beef and pork. Everything that has come from my smoker since I got the book has been fantastic! So far that's brisket, baby back ribs, beef short ribs, beef jerky, and smoked salmon. Just FYI, my set up is simple: smoker box 16"16"x3ft with side and top vents and a gauge, propane burner with valve, wood chip box, water pan, and three stainless racks. Once I get the temp lined out it's usually is rock steady (unless I run out of propane, argghhh, thus the 2nd tank). Amaze yourself and your friends.
   
   Good luck to all smokers!!



3. 
   This book is great, epecially if you had no idea about how to smoke meat. I am a novice, just got my electric smoker and even though this book does not deal specificaly with electric smokers it is a perfect tool.



4. Lots of bbq recipes. Some comments by the author contradict his recipes.
   Don't use garlic salt or onion salt and then have a recipe with both in it!
   But mostly lots of good stuff. It's up to you to sort out and modify what you want to use in your QUE.



5. I have read 5 books on the subject matter of smoking food and this is by far the most practical book on the subject matter. I am new to smoking food and was pleased to find true guidelines to use as a reference. Most other books never gave time/temps for various foods which is frustrating for someone new to this. This author is truly experienced and you can trust his advice and he gives specific times for when to add rubs/brines, specific times for smoke cooking. (His advice is not limited to these subjects by any measure, these were major shortcomings of other books that I have read). I learned more reading this book then all the other 4 books on the subject matter combined. I sought books out because I found so much conflicting advice on the internet, this book will remove the confusion while saving your precious $ by not wrecking expensive meats.

5 comments about Weber's Big Book of Grilling.

1. This awesome book is HUGE--9"x 11"x 7/8" thick! Printed on quality paper, it has 416 pages of information, nice recipes, and beautiful full color photos. Not every recipe has a photo, but there are quite a few. This is not just a general cookbook. It appears to be all (or almost all) grilling recipes, PLUS tons of grilling-related information.
   
   The beginning pages include the history of grilling, how to choose a grill, grilling tool info, safety in grilling, mastering fire for both direct cooking and indirect cooking, how much charcoal to use, gas grilling, the flavors when using various types of wood, which beers go with which foods, making margaritas, ice tea, and lemonade.
   
   Then we begin the recipes! There is a section for sauces, marinades and rubs (recipes and how to use them). Sections follow for different types of meat, seafood, poultry, etc. There is a segment on how to prepare and cook lamb, game (goose, duck), how to truss (tie up) a chicken, and how to neatly cut up a chicken (I did not say "hack"). The fish and seafood section includes how to fillet and grill halibut, shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams, oysters, salmon, a whole trout and others. Recipes like "Lobster Tails with Champagne Vanilla Sauce" make me want to cook right now.
   
   There is a segment on vegetable grilling and what to put in salads, with an explanation of the types of greens, reds and whites and a segment on the types of vinegars and oils. The section on grilled desserts includes a recipe for Grilled Pears with Pound Cake and Caramel Sauce, followed by (grilled) Peaches with Raspberry Sauce and Lemon Cream. OMG! If this stuff is even half as good as it sounds. . .
   
   If all that doesn't blow you away, at the end of the book, there is an appendix, weights and measures, meat cuts (beef/pork/lamb), grilling guide/chart by type-cut-weight and time for meats, seafood, fruits, vegetables, a 3-page segment on spices and herbs with a description of each and what to use each in, a segment on grill maintenance tips for gas and charcoal grills, and an 8-page alphabetical index.
   
   This is one heck of a book! It looks like the author tried to think of everything associated with grilling and put it all in one book. How truly thoughtful for the reader and cook. This book would also make a fantastic gift for someone who likes to grill or maybe for one of those young whipper-snappers who are leaving the nest for the first time.
   
   I actually bought this book as a donation to our Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) initiative at work. We are making a grilling basket and raffling it off to raise money for the CFC. Wanna buy a ticket for a buck? :-)



2. I like this book because it contains a lot of practical information that you can apply in a general and it has enough specific recipes that are really good that is worth the shelf space. With the large form factor and thick glossy full color pages it is pleasing on the eyes. It does not have every recipe that I wanted, but I think everyone could find a few great recipes that would become family favorites.



3. This cookbook rocks! I have had my own copy for years, but just ordered it for a Christmas gift. As a cook, the recipes are well thought out and easy. Instructions -- not difficult! One of my favorite recipes is the garlic shrimp, on skewers -- it is a crowd pleaser! Weber and grilling, well, they just go together.



4. I needed this book big time....I spilled honey accidentally all over my original one. For the grill, or for the oven, their recipes are DELICIOUS



5. initially received as a gift - loved it so much we have been purchasing for gifts. awesome!!!

5 comments about Low & Slow: Master the Art of Barbecue in 5 Easy Lessons.

1. Lrt's face it I got too mamy books on BBQ. A lot of books on BBQ are re-hashes of what others have written mostly better. Like old wine in new bottles as the saying goes.
   Along comes Gary who in five lessons describes extremely well what true BBQ is all about. There are many writers who believe hat one would not know the difference between gas and charcoal; but not our Gary. Myself having used both types I agree with Gary absolutely.
   Although only five meals are cooked (all meat-no fish) a lot of information is given on all sorts of items which are part and parcel of the five lessons and beyond.
   Everything is hands on and our teacher certainly does not get carried away using high-tech stuff. The emphasis is on feel which comes by way of experience. A very important grasp.
   None of this Champion cook-off stuff and boasting about it, or hoping for us learners to find the magic bullet from some Hawayan shirted fool or half wit uncle Pete, as he calls them.
   It is a fine book which will definetely lead to very good BBQ if one makes the effort as he explains it.
   Of the many books I have few are so good that they drive you to go and do the cooking. This is one of them if you are prepared to do the work to be good at BBQ. I would not miss it.



2. It is unfortunate that Gary Wiviott chose to use such a condecending approach to writing "Low and Slow". The information contained within us relatively useful and the recipes are sound. It is difficult to enjoy being talked down to unless you really are the ignorant chef Gary constantly reminds you of being.
   
   My advice would be to pass on this book and pick up some of the Weber or Steve Raichlen books on the topic. Alternately, there are lots of good web sites on slow smoking that are more enjoyable to read and just as informative.



3. A good basic BBQ book geared towards Weber Smokey Mountain cooker users. Other cookers are covered as well, but his prefrence is the WSM. If you own a Weber Smokey Mountain then this book is the one to help gain your confidence in using this cooker. I have cooked all lessons except pork shoulder, and they turned out well. He really keeps the art of BBQ simple so you will have success. My only complaint is that there is no recipe for cooking brisket in this book.



4. I've been looking for books online and at bookstores that give good tips about low and slow barbeque. There's a couple that give the odd helpful hint here and there, if you have the time and patience to find it. I've read reviews for almost 50 books here on Amazon, including Gary Wiviott's book right here. I read a couple reviews that say he's condescending and dogmatic about things. I wasn't sure that it would be the book for me until I noticed someone on the Amazon Marketplace was selling one for a price too good to pass up. I bit down and bought it, and I haven't been disappointed for a second.
   
   I'm relatively new to smoking meat, but I still knew a thing or two. That said, this book is going to be enormously helpful. There's more gold nuggets in the first thirty pages than I've found on the entire internet. Helpful hints fill almost every page. Mr. Wiviott's plan makes perfect sense if you follow it. Whether or not you are a "Master" after the five lessons is debatable, but who cares. If you do what he says in the lessons, you can do what you want when you're done. It's like taking art classes and studying the master artists- you do it like them until you know how to do it your own way. Why read a book by a teacher and complain about doing what he says?
   
   Some of those low reviews are ridiculous, especially the one by the guy who only does one star reviews. These cyber cowboys complain about the way he writes because they're not used to somebody ponying up and saying, "this is the way to do it if you want to follow my program." Wiviott tells you what you need and what you don't need. He also describes, in detail, how to do these cooks on 3 different types of smokers: the Weber Smokey Mountain, the offset smoker (which is what I use), and the kettle grills that so many people already own. Notice there is no instruction for gas grills- something that Wiviott makes a good joke of in the book. I suppose if you don't want to use a wood fire, maybe the gas pipe is exactly what you need.



5. This book does provide some good tips and advice for folks just getting started in the barbecue arena and it helped me to put aside some of the bad habits I picked up from surfing too many bbq webpages. My big gripe and the reason my lower rating is that he gives no direct advice on cooking brisket, which to me is the heart and soul of BBQ. There is 130 recipes, but the index doesn't even have a listing for brisket!

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

1. Barbecue! Bible : Sauces, Rubs, and Marinades, Bastes, Butters, and Glazes
   great book for men



2. I have used many recipies out of this book, and they have all turned out awsome. the large variety of recipies allow you to make so many different variation of grill and smoked foods you will not believe it. Anyone that is serious about grilling needs to look at this book.



3. Some very unique taste combinations. There has been a lot of rain and I haven't barbecued as much as I would have liked to. Instead, I have taken advantage of the glazes and butters, which has been fun and tasty. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend--its just not the same old thing!



4. I've owned this for a few years, my grill-meister neighbor now owns it and my grill- sophomore brother will get one for Christmas this year. How good is this book? I tried out the coffee rub recipe on a friend who liked it so much I gave him a canning jar full- he thanked me with a big bag of fresh moose meat...which eventually found it's way to the grill with more favorites from this book.



5. Not long ago I watched a show that surprised me by pointing out that the newest trends in cuisine are eclectic and international - French cuisine is out and Latin American and Asian are in, bland foods are even further out than before and spicy is the order of the day. Well, this book really represents this new reality. It contains many recipes with varied origins and influences, all of which are very tasty.
   
   I found the recipes to be easy to follow, and had no problem with the ingredients. The recipes cover a wide range of meats, and have a nicely varied style and flavor. This is a very good barbeque book from a barbeque master (I do love his show!).
   
   (Review of Barbecue! Bible by Steven Raichlen)

5 comments about Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way.

1. Elegant, sophisticated, creative. Developed by a brilliant chef, this is the most refined grilling book ever written.



2. I am not a newcomer to cooking over wood. I camp enough and cook over wood to know that it is a method with its own idiosyncrasies and rewards. I have also cooked whole pig successfully, though not often.
   
   I came across this book while looking for help cooking whole butterflied lamb, a search that turned up lots of Greek lamb cooked on a spit but little else.
   
   The book is outstanding for a number of reasons. First, the constant availability of context and the recognition that cooking has uncertainty central to its nature trusts the reader to have skills to add to the process. Second, it is clearly about having people cook, not about the author giving directions to lesser mortals -- something Francis Mallmann is perfectly qualified to have done but did not. Third the book's beautiful photography is an invitation to get out and do it.
   
   Lastly, my wife and I are a little like Jack Spratt. I am a meat and potatoes guy with decent but narrow skills. She is a meat, vegetable and salad person with well developed skills and a penchant for complex meals. We buy and discard cookbooks at an extraordinary rate. However, my wife has accumulated quite a library and I have a couple of keepers. This is the first time that we have both been thrilled by the same book and inspired to dive into using it. This is about meat, but with an approach to non-meat dishes that is outstanding in its own right.
   
   We now have enough experience with the recipes and approaches to say that this book is one of the best ever. I bought several for friends and family and the reaction has been universally ecstatic.
   
   So, if you are a vegetarian and interested in a fresh approach to vegies, this book is for you. If you are going to eat whole ox for the rest of your life, this is for you. If, like us, you just like to eat well, this is a window into a whole new culinary adventure.
   
   Our thanks to Francis Mallmann for inspiration and direction and to Peter Kaminsky for his beautiful and articulate delivery.



3. We enjoyed the recipes and all the wonderful color photos, histories, and comments Francis Mallmann has included. My husband enjoys grilling...the "Argentine Way".



4. It has a variety of recipes from the simple easy to do, to the recipe for a medium butterflied cow with the skin removed which most of us will probably never get around to doing. The photography is wonderful.



5. This is one of my all time favorite cookbooks! Amazing flavors. If you are looking for some different flavors to add to meat, this is the book for you. I just find it incredibily good. Buy it. You won't be disappointed.

5 comments about The Barbecue! Bible.

1. I bought this book for my husband since his birthday is in the middle of grilling season! He loves it! and I enjoy the benefits for such a good price. I am thinking of buying more books from Steven Raichlen since they are very informative. Thumbs up on this one!



2. I thought I was quite the grill master, until I thumbed through this book. I was doing a lot of things wrong, and not doing a lot of things I should be doing.
   This book has been instrumental in perfecting my grilling/bbqing/smoking knowledge and skill! I highly recommend it to anyone who uses a grill.



3. Learned about "Barbecue University" through PBS Create Channel and had to have this book. Steven made barbecuing look so easy and fun and we found his recipes easy to follow. Looking forward to more barbecuing in the future now that we have his recipe books.



4. The book has loads of good info on barbecue, but it's not limited to American mainstays like ribs and brisket. Instead, the book includes loads of meaty information from around the globe. Packed with great recipes (main dishes and sides), informative photos and illustrations, and engaging stories about the quest for the world's best eats, the international flavor of "The Barbecue Bible" makes it one of the best BBQ cookbooks I've seen.



5. This was a Chrstmas gift for my son. He loves to BBQ and this was on his "Santa" list.

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

1. While Steven Raichlen is a grilling maestro, and this book is great for people learning how to grill, I just didn't like it. I thought that it tries to do too much. Furthermore, I felt that the recipes he presents are a little on the snobby side and less like something that someone who wants to grill out regularly will do. Lastly, I disagree with some of his methods.
   
   When I say that he tries to do too much, I feel that he's trying to cater to too many people. Gas or charcoal? Beef, chicken, pork, or other? I could go on and on. I understand that he's trying to cater to a broad variety of people, but it seems silly to me. The idea of the book is to show people the proper way to grill different things, but I feel that he somewhat losses his way in trying to please too many tastes. He should have made some basic assumptions at the beginning and stuck with those throughout. Additionally, in restating so much broad information so often, he loses some very important specific information in the process. A great example of this is how actually control temperature precisely on your grill, which is a direct function of his not picking a certain type of grill to teach on. Being an experienced griller and barbecuer I've learned, but if the function of a book is to teach do it! Don't force the reader to learn from their own mistakes, that's why the author is expert, he's already made the mistakes so you don't have to.
   
   As for the recipes and information presented, Raichlen often refers to his experiences abroad and in gourmet kitchens. The problem is that the majority of the people that by this book just want to learn how to use their grills more properly. As stated above, rather than teach people how to use their grills, Raichlen specifically (in a very general way oddly enough) teaches the reader some very specific meals. I understand that the idea is to use those experiences and then apply them to other meals, but seriously, who would ever think of grilling some of the dishes in the manner that he purposes? Instead, he should have done it like Gary Wiviott does in "Low and Slow" and shown people exactly how to use the grill for a certain type of food, but given the reader the option of what rubs, spices, marinades, etc to use. My tastes might be pedestrian compared to Raichlen's, but then again I feel that most people want something a little more simple than the snobby meals that Raichlen proposes for the grill. It's a grill, not a French Cuisine!
   
   Lastly, and this is purely method, but it drives me nuts that he always says to use soaked wood chips and chunks! That is seriously disgusting and will only lead to bad tasting food! By soaking the wood one introduces water into the fire (I use charcoal, people who use gas grills need not apply, they don't count anyway) which causes smoldering. Smoldering charcoal and wood produces creosol, which Raichen actually talks about! Unfortunately, for all the snobby tastes that he presents his tastebuds must not pick up this musty and bitter taste.
   
   All in all, while this book is decent at presenting methods and ways to produce some relatively specific meals, I feel that it does a so-so job at best in teaching the reader to actually grill. the methods, while sound, aren't present very well, and don't expound into better ways to create the dishes shown. Lastly, while I do have a somewhat poor opinion of this book, for the seasoned griller and barbecuer this book can be interpreted and used to make some pretty good food if you know how to make up for Raichlen's short comings in his recipes and grill tactics.
   
   My suggestion to Mr. Raichlen is that he spend more time on teach process, less on specific recipes, and completely stop mass producing sub standard books on grilling.



2. This is the first book I bought about real barbecue. I had never smoked a thing before and this book made it easy for me. It is clearly laid out, and the recipes, at least the ones I wanted, were easy to use. I since have found different and better ways to do some of the things this book covers, but I don't know that I'd be there without this book. So, I can recommend this book highly to anyone just starting out with barbecue.



3. The Autor of this book has a really good way of explaining different grilling methods and explains everything well.
   
   I had to reduce the salt in the brine recipe because it made my chicken taste too salty.
   
   I also noticed that my charcoal chimney is smaller then the one he uses because I don't get as many coals as he does in bottom of the grill, which means my grill doesn't get as hot.
   
   I really recommend the book.



4. If you like the TV show "BBQ U", you will love this book. Lots of illustrations and good recipes.



5. I purchased for my son as a Christmas gift. He was very excited about trying out book. He said it had some great recipes.

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

1. The Smoke and Spice book was in excellent shape, and delivered in a very timely manner as promised. A++++++



2. The book was an old version. I expected to get the most recent copy



3. I bought this book after we purchased a new SMOKER from SMOKIN-IT on the AMAZON SITE. The smoker is electric and was $249 on AMAZON. It is awsome
   you can check it out or look up the name on the internet and read more about the smoker.
   
   This book has lots of great recipes for smoking. Things I would have not even thought of. Sausage, Rabbit, Venison, Canadian Bacon, A ham...Lots of stuff. Spice Rubs, Pastes, Marinades.
   
   Its great to try different sauces and rubs. The book was shipped fast and I look forward to my next SMOKE. We bought this book on AMAZON.
   
   Remember your smoke is only as good as the money you spend on it!



4. I got this book as a gift for Christmas. You can't judge a book by it's cover, and that is certainly true here! Open the nice glossy cover with nice picture to find the hardest-to-read print on the cheapest paper they could find.
   
   I've said it before. Anyone can print recipes off the internet for free. When you spend your money on a book, you expect more.
   
   The book promised lots of instruction on techniques, and "whys". I just see lots of recipes. They better be outstanding to overcome the cheapness and ugliness of this book.
   
   If you like cheap and ugly, this book is for you!



5. Wonderful book for someone starting out with a smoker. Lots of tips and great recipes.