How to Grill: The Complete Illustrated Book of Barbecue Techniques, a Barbecue Bible! Cookbook

Like the explanations for the different grilling techniques. Recipes are easy to understand. The several recipes I tried were excellent!

Okay, honestly I'm culinary challenged, but this book surely helped me overcome that. This book is packed with all kinds of good recipes. Everything from how to grill a whole hog, right down to the perfect burger (which really is perfect! I love his technique!) and even a short chapter on grilling deserts (grilled pineapple with cinnamon/sugar is insanely good, especially with vanilla ice-cream) I have tried numerous recipes and none have failed. The only quam some might have is the challenge of finding some of the ingredients. Well, not only are there usually substitutions that he points out, but often-times you can just ommit the ingredient all-together and still get perfectly fine results. This book is also great because it's geared towards a very broad audience. A novice should have little problem churning out mouthwatering meals, also a grilling guru (or "grill jockey") will likely stumble across new techniques to help their dishes taste even better. Also, this book starts off be teaching the most basic grill techniques, such as setting up a 3-zone fire, indirect grilling...etc. It gets better... Everything in this book is made from scratch. Not only will you learn how to apply the right BBQ sauces, rubs, marinades, mop sauces...etc to your dishes, you also learn how to make each and every one! The basic BBQ sauce is hardly "basic" like the name implies, it is the single tastiest BBQ sauce I have tried! I highly recommend this book!

Steve Raichlen is the Grillin' guru and author of such books as BBQ USA, The Barbeque Bible and more. In this book, Steve tackles the problem that those of us in the frozen north face every year at this time. The snows on the ground, it's 15 degrees, and none of us wants to leave the warm comforts of our home to go out and fire up the grill. No problem. Steve presents a cookbook with us in mind. These are recipes of outside grills that Steve gives us an equivalent to make using electric grills, stove top grills, even fireplace rotisseries to make these great recipes. Steve's book covers all the usual suspects including Beef, Chicken, seafood, veggies, sauces, appetizers and more, all designed to be prepared on whatever indoor grilling aplliance you choose to use. Steve also provides mucho helpful information on all of the indoor grilling machines and how to get the best use AND taste out of them. Unless you have a fireplace, and I don't, you might not be able to really duplicate the taste of Mesquite or applewood, but you can still mare some darn good BBq in the dead of winter. And the Superbowl is only a few weeks away!

At first I almost called this a great basic grilling book. To be honest, I think this book has changed the definition of a "basic grilling book", simply because while it shows the burgers, etc. that most experienced grill cooks know, it also shows other foods that really are a natural for the grill - expanding the envelope of what really is basic. Many different foods are shown, but nothing is redundant and every subtlety in preparation is explained - giving each recipe a reason for belonging. (ie there aren't seperate recipes for hot dog, cheese dog, and chili dog because there aren't 3 different techniques involved).The layout and format are simply outstanding - done, again, in what seems to be a "basic grilling book" format. Tons of color pictures showing various techniques. You want to know how to grill chicken breasts? Bam! It's right there. Bone-in chicken? Whole chicken? Chicken sate? Chicken wings? All there.And for the more seasoned cook, there are new things as well. Recipes like rum-cured smoked salmon and turkey pastrami are a few non-everyday recipes that are quite excellent. And yes, I've tried many of the recipes and they've all come out quite well. In addition, there are plenty of notes and comments that will bring any cook to a higher level.One note, however. I also bought his 'The Barbecue! Bible' book, and it appears that most of the recipes are also in that book as well, albeit not as nicely illustrated and laid out. I still, though, use both quite frequently (the photos on cutting up a whole chicken are just one of the things that are better in this book).

_____The book's greatest feature is its completeness. Raichlen covers all aspects of grilling: 1: Types of grills - Raichlen discusses the basics on gas grills, charcoal grills, hibachis, tuscan grills, smokers, you name it. 2: How to set everything up - I learned how to probperly light coals, clean and oil the grate, and test for proper temperature. 3: Recipes! - From steak to ribs to chicken, and even lobster and vegetables, Raichlen provides detailed instructions on how to cook just about anything on the grill. Plus, he even has quite a few recipes for rubs and sauces. 4: Everything else - Essential accessories, tips, and how to be a flamboyant griller can be found here._____In addition, the book is easy to read and logically outlined; you won't need to flip through trying to find specific information - you can find it easily once you know the layout._____I thought I was already an expert griller, but this book taught me A LOT of stuff, stuff that every griller should know. BUY IT!!