With grilling season in full swing (we can smell the burgers and hot dogs as we write this), we thought it more than appropriate to tell you about some of our favorite books to help master said grill. So, without further ado, here are 8 Books That’ll Make You a Grill Master:
Buxton Hall Barbecue’s Book of Smoke: Wood-Smoked Meat, Sides, and More
Grill culture is all about love and patience, and those characteristics are the foundation on which Buxton Hall Barbecue’s Book of Smoke was built. If that sounds like we’re waxing a little too poetic, let us try it again: This book takes readers through everything; not just how to cook meat, but how to build your own pit using readily available items. After it goes through the basics, it explores the other elements of grilling, from cooking up chicken and pit beef, to how to properly grill a whole hog. It even gets pretty experimental. Think smoky pimento cheese, turnip soup, deep-fried smoked catfish, and so much more. Buy
A Burger to Believe In: Recipes and Fundamentals
To the uneducated, a burger is little more than a slab of beef between two slices of bread. To the experienced grill master, however, a good burger is a delicate art form that takes years of practice to master. A Burger to Believe In isn’t just a recipe book for how to grill up the best burger of your life; it’s a philosophical look into America’s favorite sandwich. What makes a burger so good? Why do burgers bring people together? Can a good burger change the world? (Spoiler: The answer is “Yes.”) This isn’t just a burger cookbook. It’s a burger bible. Buy
Korean BBQ: Master Your Grill in Seven Sauces
What we love most about good grilling is that it’s not just about how to cook up the perfect steak or how to get chicken breast that’s not cardboard-dry. Grilling is a universal cultural staple that exists in most regions of the world, and has for thousands of years. Korean barbecue is a sub-set of grill culture that people love, but tend to find unapproachable in an “at-home” setting. Korean BBQ: Master Your Grill in Seven Sauces includes 80 recipes tailored specifically to the at-home cook, and even includes substitutions for hard-to-find traditional ingredients. If you’ve never had Korean BBQ before, go get yourself some, and then go get this damn book. Buy
Chicken and Charcoal: Yakitori, Yardbird, Hong Kong
If there’s one thing we can appreciate more than a good cookbook, it’s a good cookbook with excellent design. Also, can we get a big “Hell yeah!” for some good old-fashioned Yakitori? Yardbird in Hong Kong is one of the best places in the world to get the delicious skewered meat, and that’s due in large part to chef Matt Abergel. In Chicken and Charcoal, Abergel recreates the restaurant’s signature recipes, as well as demonstrates how to prepare and cook perfect Yakitori at home without the need of special equipment or grill modifications. Whether you’re a backyard griller or a skilled professional chef, this book—the first of its kind to be printed in English—will open up an entirely new world to you. Buy
The Grilling Book: The Definitive Guide from Bon Appétit
Bon Appétit is one of our favorite food and drink publications, so when we got word of their awesome guide to grilling, The Grilling Book: The Definitive Guide from Bon Appétit, we picked it up immediately. The hardcover book includes over 350 recipes, including full-color photographs, detailed “how-to’s,” and general tips to help make grilling at home fun, efficient, and as easy as possible. It’s not just a recipe book; it’s a full-on field manual for at-home grilling. Buy
Kebabs: 75 Recipes for Grilling
While we’re all for a good burger or a steak, there’s so much more to grilling than just the summer cookout essentials. We love kebabs in all their glory, and Kebabs: 75 Recipes for Grilling is a detailed look into one of our favorite backyard grilling staples. Balsamic-brown sugar steak and onion kebabs, chicken Caesar salad kebabs, spicy lamb skewers, and everything in between. We’re getting hungry just looking at the cover. Buy
The Rotisserie Grilling Cookbook: Surefire Recipes and Foolproof Techniques
In The Rotisserie Grilling Cookbook: Surefire Recipes and Foolproof Techniques, readers are shown exactly what the average grill is capable of. The best part is that the book covers every aspect of it, from putting together a good roast to even the most basic aspects of loading a rotisserie rod. It’s a complete guidebook. Plus, have you ever actually had real-deal rotisserie chicken? There’s nothing like it. Buy
Churrasco: Grilling the Brazilian Way
If grilling is a way of life, the Brazilians truly know how to live it to the fullest. Churrasco is a term commonly used to refer to Brazilian-style barbecue, and if you’ve never had it before, let us first say that this stuff will change the way you look at barbecue. In fact, we dare say it’s our favorite way to grill meat. Churrasco: Grilling the Brazilian Way explores over 70 mouthwatering recipes to help even the most inexperienced at-home grillers prepare and serve authentic Brazilian barbecue. Evandro Caragnato, the book’s author, is also the culinary director of Texas de Brazil, an award-winning Churrascaria with locations all across the country. Caragnato goes through the history of Brazilian Churrasco, and explores the cultural significance of grilling meat over an open flame. It’s not just an excellent cookbook; it’s an excellent read. Buy
