Every year, cookbooks on the age-old art of grilling arrive in the spring. This year, more than half a dozen landed on my desk.
The lineup includes books from seasoned pros such as Steven Raichlen, Michael Symon and Mark Bittman. Though some are more in-depth than others, all include the basics of grilling: starting the fire, checking for doneness, tools to have, timing and temperature. They also might inspire you to try new techniques such as grilling directly on hot coals and learning how to arrange coals to maintain a steady temperature longer. Here’s a look at five new books and a recipe from each:
Project Fire: Cutting-edge Techniques and Sizzling Recipes from the Caveman Porterhouse to Salt Slab Brownie S’Mores by Steven Raichlen (Workman, $22.95).
What: This is the sixth volume Raichlen, author of more than 30 books, has churned out on grilling and barbecuing. Project Fire is typical Raichlen and loaded with fully explained tips and techniques for successful grilling. In its more than 300 pages, Raichlen covers every inch of grilling from choosing your grill to selecting your tools to choosing your method of grilling. He also covers some specialized methods of grilling such as plank, salt slab and even grilling using hay, straw, pine and spruce needles. A bonus throughout are the “Grilling Hack” boxes that offer tips such as how to pour injector sauces through a coffee filter or strainer to remove any pieces that could clog the injector needle. There are 13 chapters that cover subjects such as breakfast on the grill, breads and pizzas as well as standard topics such as pork, beef and lamb.
Best advice: Raichlen offers nine ways to oil your grill grates, including using a skewered onion or lemon, and has some advice regarding caveman grilling, which involves grilling food directly on hot coals.
Recipe to try: Maple-Sriracha Chicken Drumsticks.
Michael Symon’s Playing with Fire: BBQ and More from the Grill, Smoker, and Fireplace (Clarkson Potter, $30.)
What: Michael Symon is a co-host of ABC’s The Chew and Food Network’s Iron Chef America and Burgers, Brew & ’Que. He also owns several restaurants, including a B Spot Burger in Royal Oak, Michigan. This is Symon’s fifth book, and it’s inspired by Mabel’s BBQ restaurant in Cleveland, which opened in 2016. It’s a compilation of Symon’s travels across the U.S. to sample and research barbecuing in preparation for the opening of Mabel’s. The recipes cover beef, chicken, pork, seafood, lamb, vegetables and sides. There’s also a section on sauces, relishes and rubs. Symon offers recipes for smoking foods, as well as direct grilling. If you like to read about pit masters, Symon provides profiles of several.
Best advice: Use the snake method of arranging charcoal to maintain heat longer with a kettle-style grill. Instead of lighting a chimney starter full of briquettes, Symon places a low mound of three or four unlit briquettes in a snake-like fashion around the edge of the kettle. At the start of the snake, Symon places several lit coals that slowly light the remaining coals along the snake.
Recipe to try: Mabel’s Pork Ribs with Cleveland BBQ Sauce.
The Secrets to Great Charcoal Grilling on the Weber by Bill Gillespie (Page Street Publishing, $21.99.)
What: Bill Gillespie is pitmaster of Smokin’ Hoggz BBQ, an award-winning barbecue team. This is his third book on grilling and barbecue. With a focus on using a kettle-style grill, Gillespie provides the tips and techniques to know for everyday grilling and to master your kettle-style grill. His approach is thorough with easy instructions from knowing how to start the coals, determining doneness and getting the perfect bark. Chapters include those on chicken, beef, fish, pork and game meats. There’s a separate chapter on competition barbecue with step-by-step photos.
Best advice: Gillespie thoroughly provides several ways to set up charcoal for direct and indirect grilling. There are more than half a dozen full-colour photos showing the configurations.
Recipe to try: Jalapeno, Bacon and Cheddar Stuffed Burgers.
How to Grill Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Flame-cooked Food by Mark Bittman (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $30.)
What: Known for his How to Cook Everything series of cookbooks, Mark Bittman delivers another compendium filled with 1,000 recipes and variations on them. In the first few pages, there’s lots to read if you’re new to grilling. Bittman provides approachable recipes that are easy to understand. There are plenty of tips and techniques, including 10 ways to flavour store-bought ketchup. Though there are plenty of recipes for weeknight grilling, there are also more adventuresome ones (smoked brisket, whole turkey on the grill, quail with a dipping sauce). The book also includes plenty of suggestions for flavouring foods, mix-and-match ideas for burgers and ways to doctor up baked beans.
Best advice: Use the reverse method, which is typically done for steaks, with chicken. Don’t cook bone-in chicken skin-side first. Start it off on the cooler side until just done, then cook over the fire.
Korean BBQ: Master Your Grill in Seven Sauces by Bill Kim (Ten Speed Press, $28.)
What: Although it’s not Korean, kung fu is how Bill Kim likes to describe his cooking style. He also says he’s a Korean-American who loves Bruce Lee movies. His book is all about grilling in your environment with the ingredients you have on hand, and it’s also about perfecting your skill set. Seven sauces and three spice mixtures are at the heart of the book. The sauces are easy to put together and can be made ahead. They also freeze well.
Best advice: If you don’t have a basting brush use a bundle of herbs to brush sauce on your food.
Below are some sample recipes from these books.
Jalapeno, Bacon and Cheddar Stuffed Burger
Makes: Three burgers
Prep time: 25 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes
1 lb. ground chuck (80/20 blend)
1 jalapeno, thinly diced with seeds (remove seeds if you want less heat)
3⁄4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
3⁄4 cup cooked and chopped bacon
3 pretzel burger buns
3 Tbsp softened butter
3 pieces green leaf lettuce
3 slices tomato
Divide the ground chuck into six equal portions. Take each portion and form into a patty. Divide the jalapeno, cheese and bacon into three equal portions. Place the portioned ingredients onto the centre of three of the burger patties, top with the three remaining patties, pressing the edges completely to seal. Wrap each burger in plastic wrap and put in the fridge to help with setting up the burger.
Prepare or preheat the grill for a two-zone cooking (coals banked to one side or one or two gas burners on and the others off) so you have a hot side and cool side. You are looking for a heat of about 400 F. Remove the burgers from the refrigerator and unwrap. Place burgers on the hot side of the grill first and sear. Close the cover to the grill, adjusting the vents (if using charcoal) toward the cool side and cook for two minutes. Flip the burgers, cover and cook another two minutes.
Take the burgers and put them on the cool side of the grill (cover the grill and don’t peek) to finish cooking an additional 10 minutes.
Remove from the grill and let rest for five minutes. Meanwhile, spread the softened butter onto both the top and bottom buns. Place the buns cut-side down on the hot side of the grill, close the cover and wait about one to 11⁄2 minutes. Your buns are now lightly toasted.
Assemble the burger with lettuce and tomato and serve.
From The Secrets to Great Charcoal Grilling on the Weber by Bill Gillespie (Page Street Publishing, $21.99).
Maple Sriracha Chicken Drumsticks
Serves: Four to six
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: One hour
This recipe can be cooked over a charcoal or gas grill. You will need two hardwood chunks or 11⁄2 cups wood chips. (If using the latter, soak in water for 30 minutes, then drain.) In Project Fire, Raichlen writes: “These crisp, smoky drumsticks call for a technique I call smoke-roasting. You indirect grill them at a high temperature (to crisp the skin), while adding hardwood to generate a smoke flavour.”
Vegetable oil for the grill grate
CHICKEN
12 large chicken drumsticks, about 3 to 4 pounds
1 Tbsp coarse kosher or sea salt (sea or kosher)
1 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp hot red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
GLAZE
6 Tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
5 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1⁄4 cup sriracha, or more to taste
3 Tbsp single malt Scotch whisky
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro, chives, or scallion greens, for serving
Set up your grill for indirect grilling and heat to medium-high. Just before cooking, brush or scrape the grill grate clean and oil it well. Place the drumsticks in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with the salt, pepper, and hot red pepper flakes, stirring to coat well with the seasonings. Drizzle with olive oil. Arrange the drumsticks rounded side up in a single layer in the centre of the grill — away from the heat source. Add the wood to the coals. If working on a gas grill, you can place the wood chips in a foil packet, poke holes in it and place it on the grill grate.
Close the grill lid. Indirect grill the drumsticks until the skin is crisp and well browned and the chicken is cooked through, 40 to 50 minutes.
For maximum tenderness, cook the drumsticks to an internal temperature of 170 F.
Meanwhile, make the glaze:
In small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Stir in the maple syrup, sriracha and whisky and boil until the mixture is syrupy, about three to five minutes. Set aside and keep warm.
About five minutes before the chicken is done, brush each drumstick on all sides with the glaze. Repeat just before removing the drumsticks from the grill. Arrange the drumsticks on a platter and pour the remaining glaze over them. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.
From Project Fire: Cutting-Edge Techniques and Sizzling Recipes from the Caveman Porterhouse to Salt Slab Brownie S’Mores by Steven Raichlen (Workman, $22.95).
Mabel’s Pork Ribs
Serves: Four
Prep time: 20 minutes ⁄ Total time: Three hours
2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 cup strained dill pickle juice or sweet/hot pickle juice
2 (3- to 4-pound) slabs pork spareribs
1 cup Pork Rub (see note)
2 cups Cleveland BBQ Sauce (see recipe)
Prepare and preheat your smoker or kettle style grill to 300 F.
In a large saucepan, whisk together the brown sugar and pickle juice. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring, until the sugar has completely dissolved, about five minutes. Then remove the pan from the heat to cool.
Remove the thin white membrane on the bone side of the spareribs to free it from the meat. Using a paper towel to grip it, peel off the entire membrane and discard it. Pat the ribs dry with paper towels and season on both sides with the pork rub.
When the temperature in the smoker reaches 300 F and the smoke is running clear, add the ribs bone-side down. After 1 1⁄2 hours, test the ribs for doneness by flipping a rack and pressing the meat between the bones. If the meat pulls away from the bones, it’s done.
If not, continue smoking until it does, about 30 minutes more.
When the ribs are done, gently brush them with the glaze, being careful not to remove the beautiful bark that forms on the exterior of the meat. Cut between the bones and serve with a side of sauce.
From Michael Symon’s Playing with Fire: BBQ and More from the Grill, Smoker and Fireplace (Clarkson Potter, $30.)
Basic Rub
1⁄2 cup kosher salt
1⁄2 cup freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp part celery seed
2 Tbsp part ground coriander
1⁄4 cup sweet paprika
Mix together all rub ingredients and store in an airtight container.
From Michael Symon’s Playing with Fire: BBQ and More from the Grill, Smoker, and Fireplace
