Barbecue Secrets: Unbeatable Recipes, Tips and Tricks from a Barbecue Champion

My wife bought this book for me a few years ago, but I never really read it until earlier this year when we finally purchased our own gas grill. I've since prepared about 15 recipes from this book, and each of them has met with rave reviews from my friends and family. The cedar-planked salmon with maple bourbon sauce is simply fantastic, and routinely produces comments like "This is the best salmon I've ever eaten," and "I want this for my birthday dinner!" The flank steak fajitas adobo with strawberry mango salsa are another favorite. And Ron's steak marinade -- "Easiest, Tastiest Steak" -- is mouth-wateringly delicious, and useful for a variety of meats. While many of the recipes are applicable to grilling, several others are more amenable to true barbecue, via smoker or pit. Step-by-step instructions on how to prepare pulled pork or brisket mean that even a novice can produce succulent barbecue. Simply put, since reading this book, I've discovered a new passion in life -- barbecue and grilling.

This is my favorite BBQ cookbook out of a dozen or so that I have. I am not the type of cook who wants to tend a slow barbecue pit for twelve hours to get perfect ribs - I am happy to go to a rib joint for that - but I do like to make reasonable and delicious barbecued food at home, so this book totally works for me. This book is more down to earth than the ones by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby - which are a little too precious and Martha Stewart-ish for my idea of BBQ - and less overwhelming than the excellent books by Steve Raichlen, the Jamisons and the Weber Company (all of which have some great, excellent and accessible recipes in them). This is a fun book, written by an author whose love of all things smoked, grilled and 'cued is evident from the first page. Different techniques are well-explained, and I appreciated the inclusions of complete menus as well as playlists of music to barbecue by. There are awesome marinades, rubs, side dishes and a small but perfect selection of desserts. I have the feeling that the recipes included are the author's favorites - the best of the best - rather than a compendium of recipes he's tried out in a test kitchen. My go to recipe is Cheaters' Ribs. While a true aficionado would consider this recipe a sacrilege, it is a great way to prepare ribs when it's too cold, too hot, or too dark to cook outdoors. And a great way to try out all the rubs and sauces in the book, too.

Took me a while to do this review because a friend wanted to see my Barbecue Secrets book, and he wouldn't give it back! I like the book a lot. I've only tried the ribs so far, but I look forward to trying other recipes.

I bought this book along with another BBQing book and I have several other cook books. I found this one very easy to pick up and read through. It has good tip, and re-enforces tips on the sides of the page. Great recipes and just enough background stories and info to make it an entertaining book to read. I am just starting out in real BBQ and I am grabbing this book over others for ideas and recipes. I would say this is great book for beginner and intermediate smoker/BBQ enthusiast

I bought this book at Williams-Sonoma last summer, and it has been a terrific buy. The book includes both "real" slow-cook Barbecue recipies, as well as recipies that work very well on the gas grill. I have made many of the grilling recipies (his "cheater ribs" and the southwest chicken wings have won me great praise), and have just purchase a Weber SMC to try the real barbecue recipies. I even bought a copy for a friend. This is a great book.