The Barbecue! Bible

Steven Raichlen may be to gas grilling what Julia Childs was to French cookery, minus the iconic status. He'd done a lot to make grilling techniques approachable and has traveled the word for recipes and inspiration. But how useful you find this book depends upon your source of heat and method of cooking. Barbecue Bible is rich in information about cooking with gas but less so with charcoal and wood. Want to know the difference between charcoal briquettes (uniform size, consistent burn, more ash) and hardwood charcoal (irregular size, higher heat, less ash, great when searing is required)? You won't find it here. Nor will you find any information on types of smokers. Perhaps that isn't surprising: Raichlen is trying to make recipes from around the world accessible and cooking with charcoal and wood or using a smoker requires more of a learning curve -- for the latter I'd suggest a book such as Paul Kirk's Championship Barbecue. In his sweet spot of accessible grilling and barbecuing, Raichlen hits a home run. Among the qualities of his book that I enjoy: (1) A good primer on grilling and barbecuing, explaining the difference and key concepts such as direct versus indirect cooking. (2) Excellent photography that goes beyond sexy food shots (though there are some of those too). Photos are used to show HOW to execute key concepts, showing for example how to spatchcock (remove the backbone and butterfly) a chicken or how to fillet a whole fish. (3) The layout is very well done , with recipes shown clearly, key tips and notes set out on lime green rectangles and a pleasing mix of text, graphics and photos. (4) The paper and binding seem of high quality and I expect the book to weather well, which isn't always true for softcover cookbooks numbering more than 500 pages. (5) The useful introduction included frequently asked questions that should be especially helpful for anyone closer to the start of the learning curve. (6) There's a handy reference section in the back with metric conversions, a glossary of special ingredients and a well organized index. (7) The book is written well and with a sense of exploration and discovery that hopefully will stimulate your own curiosity. Raichlen has a heavy web presence too and you can get a taste of his approach at his website (just google barbecue bible) or his Facebook page, which more than 10,000 people like.

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!

Great grilling / BBQ Bible. Many recipes and techniques

I purchased this for a family member who likes to barbecue but isn't very good at it. It gives great advice on how to barbecue but not a lot of good recipes for my taste.

Now before I start...yes, some "purists" are going to chime in that its mostly grilling and not "barbeque." Don't care...most of us understand what most people mean when they say "barbeque" anyway. Moving on... This is a great book. I had a previous edition and gave it away. (I do stuff like that.) It's especially good if you're looking to broaden your horizons and move beyond an occasional burger, grilled steak or ubiquitous boneless skinless chicken breast. Not that those can't be great...but one can master those in a couple weekends. OTOH...if you're the type that wants to explore the culinary world: it's worth checking out. Want something from China? Or Southeast Asia? Or the Middle East? Or the Mediterranean? It's covered. Add in some Caribbean & South American flavours and there's a whole lot to explore. And he didn't skip the regional flavours of the U.S. either. I've given a few of these away (mostly the older addition) and they've all been well received. That said, if the culinary taste buds strictly stop at "meat & potatoes," this is not the book for that. This is for the person that wants a steak on one night, some jerk chicken another night, and something from Africa or Asia the next.

I've always been a natural with the grill and always been able to cook in general but this book has really helped me learn new tips and tricks along with helped me to expand to new areas of grilling. Everything is broken down into stages and classes in this book. The beginning of the book is basically a warm up to grilling for beginners then it progresses into harder and harder stuff. Each type of food is broken up into section. chicken seafood beef has a couple sections because of the types The best part is the tips sections and explanations of how to perform certain cuts and/or procedures. I've been reading that for some time now. I even go through the other chapters just to see what other tips are specific to those chapters. and so on. There are things from simple yet great to intricate that will make your taste buds sing for hours. I've tried many of these and wow, I've learned that a simple book can really change how you grill foods and change it for the better! This a guys book for sure. I can never sit down and read a book but this one I can't put down. There is just so much to this book it's crazy. Some of the best are the simple ways to make BBQ sauce that you bought from the store really fit into the style of chicken, beef, and so on that you are grilling to make it one of a kind.

Just a great book and no need in my wasting my time here with over 100 reviews in front of me. Just buy the book, it is top shelf in every regard. After getting this book, I ordered two others from the same author. Got BBQ Bible, BBQ Bible sauces/rubs/marinades, and Grilling... something or another. All three are great. The BBQ and Grilling are both big 400+ page books but not the same type of books. Grilling is about know how, what grill, technique, etc.. and some recipes along the way. More of a general how to cook every kind of meat/fish/etc.. book. The BBQ Bible is loaded with recipe after recipe. So buy both books is what I am saying here. If you take BBQ serious, be sure to get the BBW Bible sauces/rubs/marinade book as well. Tons of info in this book.

I got it for my husband's birthday. He loves it