The Best Recipe: Grilling & Barbecue

Several months ago my Dad passed on to me about 10 of his old Cooks Illustrated magazines to read. They didn't seem very impressive on the outside, no glossy photos or pictures to look at. But I leafed through the magazines and just loved the no nonsense feel of the magazine. So when we bought a grill and I saw that Cooks Illustrated did a Grilling Recipe book, I knew I would get it...and all the positive remarks the book had also encouraged me. It arrived, and gee, it still didn't have pretty color photos either, but I got over it quickly and reminded myself that I didn't need to see how a chicken leg looked for the 100th time anyway. There are plenty of illustrations though, which are helpful when they describe a technique for you to do, such as making hamburger patties so they don't turn into tennis balls on the grill. The book provides a separate recipe for each food, depending on whether you are using a charcoal or gas grill. How many times have you bought a cookbook and made a recipe and afterwards thought, "that really wasn't very good, why did they put that recipe in there, just for filler?"? Well, with Cooks Illustrated you can be confident the recipes were thoroughly tested and tasted, and if it didn't taste good, it wasn't included. To me, understanding why a recipe works (and this book explains why they do), makes it easier for me to cook, and it expands my knowledge of cooking, so I can use what I learned on other meal preparations. I had never heard of brining myself until this book, and I tried the brined pork chops on my grill...YUMMMY, nice and juicy and simple to do. I bought another grilling cookbook at the same time, How to BBQ by Raichlen, and I have compared the instructions/recipes for different foods and often they are similar but do have variations of methods. If I could only keep 1 of the 2 books, I would keep this one due to the information it gives. For example, one page has 4 paragraphs on salt. There is kosher, sea salt and regular table salt. If a recipe told me to use kosher salt in the past, I would just pick up my old salt shaker and use that instead. This book tells you what the difference is and so I finally bought some kosher salt for the spice rubs. It might not make a huge difference in the long run, but the kosher salt is inexpensive and I want to continue and try to improve taste. I'm not knocking the other book I bought, and I prefer to have options available to me, but to me this book provides you with a foundation on which to build on, so when other books tell you to do something a certain way, you can use what you learned from Cooks Illustrated to make somebody elses recipe a little better. Go for it, don't just follow a recipe, learn how and why it works the way it does!

And not just because it validated my purchase of a Weber Genesis gas grill, though that was a plus. It's the usual Cook's Illustrated gig: the scientific method applied to cooking. Do the math, take credit for the art. It has lots of smart little tricks I'd never thought of, and plenty of "what's the best cut of meat" info I'd never bothered to learn. The recipes I've tried have turned out great -- even when I've broken the Cardinal Rule of Entertaining and used an untested recipe on unsuspecting guests. I look forward to trying the rest.This book has definitely upped the value of our grill.

This book is great. I have a hereditary defective gene which makes me burn everything (or undercook stuff like chicken, which I then burn trying to finish it) I put on the grill. This book is terrific. It discusses equipment without being dated. It gives recommended tempuratures, techniques, lore, and basic procedures which has transformed me from a grill-incompetent pyromaniac to a confident griller. It covers procedures for both gas and different types of charcoal fires for each type of meat as well. I eat a lot of grilled chicken breasts and the simple information in here has helped me to "break the cycle, stop the arson." With the easy procedures in this book I can now cook chicken breasts plain, without brining, basting or marinading, and they don't come out dry, but tender and juicy. That's a feat!!! : )....

An excellent book with page after page of useful grilling and barbecue instructions. Their rib cooking instructions yielded the easiest most flavorful ribs (spare or baby back) that I've tasted. This more than pays for the book in recovered value.Try it. You'll enjoy its easy to follow instructions and great recipes. I have. Guests and friends will love it when you use this book.

Grilling and barbecuing have become a distinctly American passion as more and more grills and smokers appear in our backyards. Too often however, that juicy ribeye or succulent tenderloin roast becomes something more fit to use as footgear than to appear on the dinner table. Once again, the authors at Cook's Illustrated have scored a huge success with their latest book on the subject of grilling and barbecuing. You will learn what to look for in equipment, the basic principles of both grilling and barbecuing and a thorough examination of preparing burgers, steaks, poultry, kebabs, fish and shellfish, veggies, pork and of course, ribs. Rubs, sauces and salsa recipes are also provided. But the main reason to purchase this book is for the techniques and recipes. Each and every technique and recipe is the culmination of exhaustive testing by the authors. You will be hailed as a grilling guru or pitmaster every time your family or guests experience the pleasure of tasting your fare. You will use this book often and one word of caution: Don't let anyone borrow it or it will be the last time you see it!