Definitive Grilling Guide

[adamlee34]

Does anyone out there have a real good cook book they can suggest that covers all of grilling? I'm looking to master grilling, and really get a better understanding of how to cook at certain temperatures and why. So I'm kinda looking for a Grilling Guide/Handbook also with recipes..

Any suggestions would be great!

Thank you all!!!

[jdbower]

While I don't have it (yet!), Chris Lilly's book is said to be excellent not only as a cookbook but as an explanation as to techniques. Personally I'm more of an interactive learner, I've learned more hanging around here and experimenting than I ever could have from a book. Here's the basic idea:

Smoking is very low temperatures (the lower the better) and it's great if you don't want to cook the food. You'd smoke cheese, use the same technique on jerky, use it on preserved meats, etc.

BBQ or low-and-slow usually also involves smoke and is done in the 200-300F range (usually 220F gets mentioned). Low and slow is perfect for those tough pieces of meat because it gives the fat and connective tissue time to render away into a tender chunk. Usually the final temperatures for BBQ is higher than the final temps for other cooking styles and the meat is often pulled to pieces before eating. BBQ takes 12-24 hours or so.

I call temperatures from 250-400 in the KK roasting. This is the temperature I usually use for poultry to keep it moist. It's also good for low-fat meats like tenderloins. This usually takes 2-6 hours depending on what you're making and smoke is often used.

Above 400F or so is grilling - usually I shoot for about 500 degrees for my steaks, sausages and pizza. Here you cook quickly and there's usually a very distinct difference between the outside of the meat (charred slightly) and the inside (rare or medium). High temp grilling is usually too fast for good smoke penetration so I usually skip it. The more refined taste buds out there may offer a differing opinion, of course.

You'll note that there's some overlap in the definitions because cooking is pretty flexible. Chemists often make the worst cooks because they try to measure everything precisely and follow a formula - this is useful in baking but not so much in cooking. To me the best way to cook is to experiment, be a little sloppy and imprecise but remember what you did differently. Sometimes you catch onto something you really like.

[Big Poppa]

Two great ones in addition to Chris Lilly's (which is fabulous) Mike Mills Peace Love and BBQ and Paul Kirks........

[Conodo12]

You've got a good question there and a couple of good answers from the replies. I would reiterate the use of this forum for cooking on the KK (or any ceramic). Simply use the "Search" function and tap in the item you are interested in preparing, ie. Steaks, Pork Butt, Ribs, etc. You'll see several threads (often times with pics) that explain and discuss how the cook was achieved and what might be changed (if anything).

[Firemonkey]

Agreed... This forum, as well as the other ceramic forums are a wealth of information, tailored to ceramic grills. There are also many other non-ceramic specific BBQ forums that will give you even more information and techniques.

Just do a little googling or forum searching for whatever meal you have in mind on a given day, and see what grabs your interest. You will quickly find that the "perfect" technique is subjective, and can be quite different between cooks.

That being said, you really should try tossing a chunk of wood in with your steaks after the sear, Jeff! It doesnt penetrate, but it will layer in the flavor/smell of the steak

[LarryR]

Mastering The Grill is an excellent book, lots of recipes and helpful information regarding spices, peppers etc. Won't teach you anything about ceramic cooking but you can adapt on your own or ask here for suggestions. Highly recommend.

[mguerra]

steaks

Jdbower really nailed it with his summary above. Here's one little mod for steaks, if you want some good smoke flavor on them. Grill them at about 350 degrees with a load of smoke wood to your desired done temp. Use a meat thermometer. This is much cooler than typical grilling temps but you will love the result! They cook a little slower and have time to pick up the smoke. But they don't cook so long they dry out. It's a kind of low and slow for steaks, but takes about 20 minutes versus 18- 24 hours for a butt or brisket. Keep the lid shut and only open it once to turn the steaks. I turn the steaks once; when their temp is raised 50% of the difference between starting temp and done temp. For example if they start at 70 degrees and my done temp will be 140, I flip them at 105. Ya'll try this trick and you won't be disappointed.

[U2PLT]

BBQ Books

"SMOKE & SPICE" by Cheryl and Bill Jamison available at Amazon. Over 750,000 copies sold. Lots of great recipes.

[Sparky]

I just bought "Seven Fires" written by Francis Mallmann. It's a book on grilling over a wood fire the Argentine way. Lot's of great recipes and AWESOME photography! It's worth buying just for the pictures! It's the kind of book that makes me homesick for Argentina even though I've never been there! In fact, I'm planning to try one of the recipes tonight.

[primeats]

When it comes to open air BBQ,compared to the Argentines, I think we are all amateurs. I visited my daughter in Buenos Aries and we traveled all over the country. These folks can BBQ, all day every day. Mostly beef, but the lamb,chicken and goat were superbly prepared! Not much pork though.