Grilling. Everyone seems to be an expert on it, especially your uncle with his ‘kiss the cook’ sleeve shirt and a ragged cooking hat back from the ’80s. What’s funny to note is that this sort of arrogance seems to transcend not just the common human, as every culture seems to have found its own way of grilling their food.
Don’t let us get started on the methods, from grid-ironing to the whole grilling, you would have to study the craft for a lifetime in order to get it all under your belt. The good thing for us is that pundits of the craft have come together and decided to make things easier on us common folk by dissecting and diversifying the knowledge applicable today and consequently removing the trifling parts. It will be very interesting to see what the best grilling cookbooks really are and we hope that you share our excitement as we start naming them!
Grilling Cookbook Review Center
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Now that you’ve seen our top 5 recommendations, we’ll give you more detail on each of them, including why we liked them. When you’re ready, click the yellow button to get the best price on Amazon!
1) Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling by Meathead Goldwyn
Here’s something really interesting: At first glance, chef Meathead seems to be fitting the exact stereotype we’ve mentioned in the introduction, with the difference being that he’s an actual expert.
Using a sophisticated methodology and the wonders of science in his cooking, he shows us that a grilled meal isn’t just a bunch of food lit on fire, but an art form to study for a lifetime.
It gets even more exciting than that, as the cookbook is co-authored by an actual physicist. Together, these unlikely bedfellows compare, explore and research the vast itinerary of grilling
What We Liked About It
If you’ve ever wondered why salt goes where it goes and why it does so at any particular moment, this is the book for you.
From beginner to expert, this cookbook is perfect for anyone that wants to know the meaning behind their actions.
This is what cooking is really about in the end: To create and enjoy art with knowledge!
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2) Guy on Fire: 130 Recipes for Adventures in Outdoor Cooking by Guy Fieri
Every cookbook likes to boast about the creativity in its cooking, but Guy takes it to a completely different level.
The first thing you’ll notice about the book is its tone: Guy talks in such a friendly and rambunctious tone, that it gets your spirits right up!
Perfect for the adventurer or those that wish to become one, the 130 recipes are an absolute masterpiece of creativity and human ingeniousness.
One more thing to note is all the ingredients used, you’ll never see beans and salads mixed in such a peculiar, yet titillating way!
Have you tried the upside-down pineapple or the shrimp KaBobs? If not, now is better than never!
What We Liked About It
Guy Fieri is an absolute legend of cooking, there is no doubt about it. A very charismatic character whose personality reflects in the book; Once you open it up, there’s no shutting it down.
It stays with you for a lifetime and beyond!
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2) Weber’s New Real Grilling: The Ultimate Cookbook for Every Backyard Griller by Jamie Purviance
Taking your uncle and making an expert out of him, seemed impossible but not until we’ve stumbled upon this cookbook.
Weber’s New Real Grilling takes us right into the scene; A backyard filled with family members and amiable people from our surroundings.
It might not be the best cookbook for any sort of complicated cuisines, but it is exactly that which makes it so special.
Keeping it simple and stupid, the cookbook features over 200 mouth-salivating, toe-curling recipes using a vast number of ingredients:
Vegetables, seafood, pork, and even marinades aren’t skipped as this cookbook takes a zero and creates a hero!
What We Liked About It
If you don’t want to become the next Richard Feynman of cooking, this book is perfect for you!
It teaches you how to do the thing right, without any sort of boring or convoluted words or practices.
We would especially like to recommend this cookbook for beginners and intermediaries as it provides you with a detailed breakdown of all the methods and operations used.
All that in a simple and conversational tone!
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4) How to Grill: The Complete Illustrated Book of Barbecue Techniques, A Barbecue Bible! By Steven Raichlen
This cookbook takes the word ‘illustrated’ to the extremes. With over a thousand pictures depicting the various phases of the art of grilling, you’ll never feel left out, no matter how new you’re to the craft.
The one thing exclusive to this book is the fact that it spends a lot of time dealing with all the outside influences that can impact your grilling, such as the way of building the fire, the technique used…
A lot of care has been gifted to the seemingly trivial matters which, by the end of the book, start making more sense and one concludes that the word ‘trivial’ can be bent into ‘crucial’, all with the right knowledge.
Please note that the kindle version doesn’t have all the allotted pictures in it, so it is our professional recommendation to get the hardcover!
Make sure to have your meat injector handy!
What We Liked About It
You can gift this cookbook to pretty much anyone and they’ll love you for it! You can even give it to small children as they’ll be mesmerized and captivated by all the great sights and accompanying pictures.
Just an all-around great cookbook that can suit anyone, at any time!
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5) Southern Living Ultimate Book of BBQ: The Complete Year-Round Guide to Grilling and Smoking by Chris Prieto
You can live there for a lifetime, but you’ll never be a Southerner!
Where brains meet tradition is where the Southern Living cookbook features 200 of the most amazing grilling recipes.
Grilling has been a protected cause among Southerners for a very long time and the skill is trickling down, generation to generation, from father to son, for the last untold centuries.
What can you expect from this cookbook?
A lot of meat, a lot of tasty recipes and step-by-step directions on how to get the Southern spirit going!
The one thing to pay close attention to is the sidebar where you get everything handed to you in short, clear and concise sentences.
The Southern way truly is the best way!
What We Liked About It
This cookbook teaches you not just how to cook, but acquaints you with an entire culture and the way they deal with things. You’ll be flabbergasted by some of the expressions used but it’s nothing to worry about. You won’t need a dictionary to read it but a strong spirit, a sense of humor and a love for cooking!
The best thing about this cookbook? Even if you’re from the region, there’s bound to be at least a recipe or two you haven’t heard of!
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How We Chose The Best Grilling Cookbooks?
Ranking cookbooks based on indoor grilling was quite the ordeal for our team. We even factored in cooking on an induction burner, gas stovetop, and convection oven.
Is Asian grilling better than American grilling? What about European grilling?
And at the end, who are we to judge the different taste buds that have been nurtured over the centuries?
After a frank discussion, we’ve decided that the ranking factors deemed as the most objective were:
1) Engagement
This has always been our number one ranking factor. If you can’t resonate with the message of the cookbook, you’ll not cook its recipes- Plain and simple.
We looked at the number of pictures present, the amount of time dedicated to each section and the tone of the cookbook.
It was also very important to us that the book itself wasn’t some sort of highfalutin chef trying to go all uppity on you, but someone that understands the struggles of a fledgling.
2) Accessibility
Our introduction talked about different cultures and how hard it was to put an objective ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to them.
It saves to say that most ingredients are readily available in our supermarkets but some of them are simply lacking, case in point- The Asian market is criminally underrepresented.
Be it as it may, we had to choose cookbooks that were suited for the US market and whose ingredients were present in the US.
3) Simplicity
It’s not a cook-off but a simple Sunday evening.
We didn’t think that any sort of professional recipes that would take hours, maybe even days, of work and preparation would be applicable for such a list.
We were striving for a nice balance of easy and tasty, as this is what most people, including the poor chef for the day, want the most.
The more fun the cookbook seemed, the more brownie points it got with us!
Which are the best grilling cookbooks?
- Best Celebrity Grilling Cookbook: Guy on Fire: 130 Recipes for Adventures in Outdoor Cooking
- Best New-Style Grilling Cookbook: Weber’s New Real Grilling: The Ultimate Cookbook for Every Backyard Griller
- Best Techincal Grilling Cookbook: Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling
- Best Southern Grilling Cookbook: Southern Living Ultimate Book of BBQ: The Complete Year-Round Guide to Grilling and Smoking
Why Grill Cooking Is Great?
You don’t need a college degree to cook on the grill.
You don’t need a lot of ingredients to cook on the grill.
You don’t need much equipment, save for the grill and cutlery.
You don’t need more than a few hours of your time to get everything started.
We think that you get where we’re heading for this, the biggest reason why grill cooking is so great is its accessibility.
The first time we saw a twelve-year-old handle a grill, we knew that this was something anyone could do!
You just need a bit of passion, a bit of patience, a bit of guidance and a lot of tasty ingredients to make the perfect Sunday dinner!
You can even do it inside on the best indoor grills!