Review (and giveaway!) of BBQ 25 by Adam Perry Lang
*See the bottom of the review for the giveaway information
BBQ 25
is Adam Perry Lang's (hereafter, APL) take on essential grilling recipes. He set out to perfect the 25 recipes people cook the most when they grill. The book is a fascinating look at the techniques a professional chef uses to build layers of flavor into his barbecue.
I was expecting BBQ 25 to be a simplified version of Serious Barbecue
, APL's previous book, and a magnum opus on grilling. BBQ 25, with its 25 essential recipes theme, sounded like a book you give to a beginner. Oh boy, was I wrong about that. It is Serious Barbecue distilled to its essence, but not simplified. APL has a set of basic techniques he uses: marinate or brine, then season, then grill (while basting with butter and a herb brush), then glaze with sauce, then cut on a cutting board seasoned with board dressing.
*When I grill, I have a two step process; marinate or brine or pre-salt, then grill. When I want to get fancy, I add a third step, usually a glaze or a butter baste. APL says he "has no more than ten steps" in these recipes. Where I tend to use the word "or" (as in, brine OR season OR glaze), APL uses the word "and" (brine AND season AND butter baste AND glaze...)
One other surprise in the book is APL's love of using cookware on the grill. Most of the recipes involve a butter baste, applied with a brush made out of a bundle of herbs. A lot of the recipes also involve a griddle or a pan on half of the grill, with the food moving back and forth between the grill and the pan. *APLs ingenious use of cookware on the grill makes me want to run out and get a cast iron skillet; for now, I used my disposable foil pans to try out his recipes.
What do I think of this book? I have to admit, at first glance I had mixed feelings. My idea of perfect grilling is the art of simplicity: excellent meat, salt, and fire. This book is about squeezing every extra layer of flavor into a recipe. For a good steak, I think this is overkill. But some cuts of meat work very well with this approach. Very lean meat (chicken breasts and pork loin) need all the help they can get. Bombing them with flavor, as APL puts it, is a good thing to do.
Each of his flavor building techniques are good steps to know. I plan on using a lot of them, but not in the massed combinations he does. (For example, his butter baste with an herb brush was the final touch to my award winning grilled steak.)
*If your goal is to awe your guests, or you're in a cooking competition, then APL's "More is more" approach is what you want to use. There is a reason he has been so successful on the competition barbecue circuit.
While I may prefer simple recipes, Adam's overkill approach is the biggest strength of BBQ 25. He didn't dumb this book down for a casual audience; he just removed the distractions. APL shows the reader how a professional chef applies a similar set of techniques across a range of recipes. The reader gets to see how a professional chef uses flavor combinations with that set of techniques, to build layer after layer of flavor. I'm a big fan of basic techniques in cooking, and APL shows you exactly what his techniques are, and how he uses them.
This book is an excellent resource for experienced grillers who want to step up to the next level of cooking. I highly recommend it.
*PS: Stay tuned; later this week, I take on two of the recipes in BBQ 25.
BBQ 25 Giveaway
So...after all that, do you think you've got what it takes to handle this book? It's giveaway time!
I've got an extra copy for one of my readers. Leave a comment with your top 3 to 5 essential grilling recipes. One entry per person, and please make sure there is some way I can get in touch with you through the comment. (In other words...no anonymous comments, unless you identify yourself in the text of the comment.) Entries will be closed at 9PM EST on Thursday, May 20th, Sunday, May 23rd and I will randomly select a lucky winner at that point. The winner will be announced Sunday. Good luck!
[Update 5/23/2010]: We have a winner for the giveaway - random.org picked commenter #4 - Congratulations, Cheryl! I'll be in touch to get you the book.
[FCC Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book to review, and a second copy for my giveaway.]
Adam Perry Lang: BBQ 25
*Enjoyed this post? Want to help out DadCooksDinner? Subscribe using your RSS reader or by Email, recommend DadCooksDinner to your friends, or buy something from Amazon.com through the links on this site. Thank you!
Suz
We have 2 Weber Kettle grills that we use all year round. On Christmas day, grilled duck is our traditional meal. It takes a few days of prep but the results are fabulous. Make a spice mixture of 1 tbs. kosher salt, 2 tsp. peppercorns, 6 cloves, 1 tsp. thyme, 1 tbs. brown sugar. Grind to a fine powder (I use a coffee grinder). Moisten it with a tablespoon of vodka. I don’t know what the vodka does, but that’s what the recipe calls for. Rub the duck inside and out, place a peeled clove of garlic in the cavity and then put it in a plastic bag and into the fridge for 24 hours to marinate. Take the duck out of the bag, pat dry and set on a rack over a sheet pan in the refrigerator for 24 hrs to dry out. 2 hours before grilling, let it come to room temperature. Set up the grill for indirect cooking with coals on both sides and a drip pan in the middle. Start the duck on its side on a V-rack. Cook about 30 min. Rotate to the other side and cook another 30 minutes. Flip it, back side up, cook 30 minutes. Finally, turn it breast side up and cook for about 30 minutes, until the duck is dark mahogany brown, the skin crisp and most of the fat melted away. Prick the duck where the fat accumulates under the skin with a sharp meat fork at each turn to help release the fat. Depending on the weather, I sometimes have to add more charcoal. Let rest 15 – 20 minutes. I cut it into serving pieces with a pair of kitchen shears. Make sure each piece has some skin.
We also like to smoke big hunks of meat. We make pulled pork mostly, but I have cooked turkey as well. It’s an all day affair, but doesn’t take too much babysitting. Rub the meat all over with a dry rub. Cook it over a drip pan using indirect heat with the coals on one side and the meat on the other. Rotate the lid so the vent on the top is over the meat to draw the smoke. Turn and baste occasionally with a mop of vinegar/water/hot pepper flakes. Add wood chunks and charcoal as needed to keep the heat low and smoky. After about 10 hours the meat should practically fall apart when you pick it up with tongs. Let it cool until you can handle it and then shred it with your fingers, discarding the bones and fat. Add your favorite bbq sauce and serve on white buns with cole slaw. You’ll think you died and went to Carolina.
We love grilled vegetables. Whole tomatoes, onions, asparagus, sliced squash and zucchini, peppers. The only thing we haven’t tried are hard root vegetables and winter squash, but I do cook potatoes and such in foil packets. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Perfection.
Cheryl
Great review!
I am not totally sure if you are asking for the recipes or what are our favorite grilling recipes to cook, so I am going to just throw something out, and hope I get it right.
Some of my essential grilling recipes that I must do every summer is:
1) Smoked/Grilled bologna. For this I buy one of those long fat stick bologna. I cut diamond into the red rind to allow venting, juice release and to soak up the smoke. I divide my grill into a hot and a cool side. I smoke it for about an hour and 30 minutes and then move it to the hot side to get that little black bark around the edges, for about 15-20 minutes.
2). Fresh grilled peaches. For these I just brush a little of mint infused light olive oil (that I make earlier that day from fresh mint) on the peaches that place on the grill, give a quarter turn to get those great grill marks.
3). Fresh grilled corn on the cob. I just soak them in water for about an hour and then straight to the grill, husk and all still attatched. Then while they are grilling I will make a sour cream/taco seasoning mix. When the corn comes off the grill, I shuck them (Yes while hot, use gloves) and then I spray butter on them. Next I slather on the sour cream mixture and roll them in freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Oh my goodness, this is heavenly.
David
My cooking tends to be primarily the 'quick and done' approach, but i sometimes do the slow roast.
my simply favorite thing to do is to put garlic, basil, salt, a little oregano, under the skin of a whole chicken. open it up a little, then push it way down in there. the chicken gets a great flavor through the meat.
I did the stuffed jucy lucy the other day following the recipe on serious eats, and they turned out phenomenal - a nice hot load of juice every time. however, they kind of balled up like meatballs with a cheese center, so i need to refigure out my approach.
i actually did the bacon explosion one time. the trick to it was not having it completely burned with all the flare ups from the grease coming off, but it turned out pretty good. if you're into bacon, sausage and bbq sauce, well, that's pretty much what it is. probably won't repeat that one.
i've never seen anyone do a brick to aid in carmelization. i'd be afraid that might screw up my cooking times - two hot sides for the meat to warm up on.
i'd love the book, as my grilling tends to revert to burgers and steaks, with salt and pepper and a little olive oil.
Liz
I do some pretty basic grilling, so I don't have really any fancy recipes. But I like making kabobs with chicken, pork or beef and pineapple, mushrooms, onions and peppers. I'll make a homemade vinaigrette as a marinade.
Homemade vinaigrette's a good marinade for plain chicken breasts, too. I use a good squirt of dijon mustard, some chopped onion (about 1 -2 T), fresh ground pepper and salt. Whisk together, then add some white balsamic vinegar (maybe 1/4 - 1/2 c - I eyeball everything). Whisk some more, then drizzle in olive oil while whisking until it starts to look like dressing. I believe the rule is generally 2-3 parts vinegar to 1 part oil, but I taste it and add more of one or the other until I like the result. Marinate your chicken and grill up as you normally do.
I also occasionally mush a packet of dry onion soup mix and a bit of Worcestershire sauce into ground beef when making burgers. It provides a bit more flavor.
The b/f recently introduced me to packet cooking on the grill - make a foil packet, add in diced uncooked chicken and whatever veggies you like (diced potatoes, peppers, onions, carrots are good). Add in some salt, pepper and your favorite BBQ or hot sauce. Seal the foil packet and throw the whole thing on the grill. Cook for a while (20 minutes, maybe? Like I said, we eyeball a lot). I was amazed at how good it came out.
Considering how I fumble through grilling, a cookbook would probably be a good idea! 🙂
Guitarzan
I'll need to take a look at this book. I appreciate the way that you share what you've read, and I have purchased some of the books you have endorsed.
When it comes to the grill, I agree that for me, at least, simpler is better. I buy a chicken each week from a local grower. The bird is incredibly fresh, and has never been frozen. In order to insure that the real flavor of the bird comes through, I use only salt and pepper to season it, and I put it on the rotisserie. It comes out tender and juicy, with wonderfully crispy skin. (Occasionally, I'll put a sprig of freshly cut rosemary in the cavity.) I played around with several variations on this theme, but doing anything else seemed to me to mask the flavor of what was already a great ingredient: excellent quality locally raised chicken.
Having said that, I am interested in trying my hand at buffalo, which has a great flavor, but which is trickier than beef, due to the low fat content. I can see that taking additional steps to keep the meat juicier might apply in that case.
Thanks again for writing the blog and providing the email service. As another dad who cooks, you've bailed me out of more than one "what will I make for dinner this evening?" quandary.