Memorial Day weekend kicks off tomorrow, and I suspect many readers will put down their novels and fire up the grill. (Or, if you’re me, ask someone else to fire up the grill so you can keep on reading.) Whether you’re new to grilling or an old pro, grilling guides can make you the star of neighborhood cookouts.
First up, Steven Raichlen offers tips on making the best of grilling. At BookPage, we value Racichlen’s opinion so much that we have asked him to give us grilling advice twice—on the publication of both Raichlen on Ribs, Ribs, Outrageous Ribs (2006) and Planet Barbecue! (2010).
His advice includes: “Use tongs, not a barbecue fork, for turning meat. The latter pierces the meat, draining the juices” and “The surest way to burn or undercook food on the grill is to overcrowd the grate.” Read more tips here and here.
Some more of our favorite grilling guides include:
- Bobby Flay’s Grilling for Life: 75 Healthier Ideas for Big Flavor from the Fire. “This is not a diet book; it’s Bobby the Bold’s take on how to choose the right carbs and the right fats and how to use your grill and his signature style to make full-flavored, healthy food,” writes cooking columnist Sybil Pratt. Try Beef Skewers with a Garlic-Mustard Glaze. Yum!
- Beer Can Chicken: And 74 Other Offbeat Recipes for the Grill, another guide (this one on the kooky side) from Raichlen.
- The Quick Grill Artist: Fast and Fabulous Recipes for Cooking With Fire, a book from Norman Kolpas that teaches the essential principles for getting the most flavor with the least prep. Creativity and flavor are not sacrificed. Think Feta Cheese Wrapped in Grape Leaves and Prosciutto-Wrapped Lemon-Basil Scallops.
- Just Grill This! Sam Zien, aka Sam the Cooking Guy, brings his signature simple, straightforward style to food cooked on a grill. The best part? His “equipment” section is only two pages long. As an apartment-dweller, that’s something I can get behind.
- Fire It Up. Andrew Schloss and David Joachim explain the best ways to grill more than 290 foods—from abalone to edamame, goat and goose to zucchini.
What are your favorite grilling guides? Do you have any grilling tips?
Finally: What are you grilling this weekend?
When it comes to grilling, you can’t beat Raichlen’s work. He’s a master and relays his knowledge in a very user friendly manner.