Customer Rating: 
Summary: I wasn't impressed, the book totally misses the point. Bible??? I think not! Where's the meat?
Comment: Where this book fails immediately is that Barbecue is not about the sauce it's about the meat. I
know, I design sauces and own a BBQ Sauce Company. I'm always looking for good BBQ cookbooks. The
author gives no information on preparation of meat or cooking it. He spent 13 pages on how to light
different grills and I wasn't impressed much with that. I think the big headlines were used to
waste space so that he could put out a big book. I could go on but here is one final thought. The
book claims to be the Barbecue Bible, you'd expect it to cover the subject in every detail and with
some degree of experience. This attempt at being the Barbecue Bible fails miserably. I bought the
book online, if I saw the book in a book store and was able to go through it, I would not have
bought it. Steven Raichlen is probably a food critic or cookbook editor, not a barbecue expert.
Customer Rating: Summary: Great for the Adventurous Cook!
Comment: This book was recommended by Epicurious before it was published, so I was excited to see it when it
came out. I popped on amazon to buy it, read some reviews (negative) and decided to pass. Several
people complained that the recipes were complicated and required lots of specialty ingredients.
When I saw the book at my local warehouse club I gave it a look. I was very impressed and snapped
it right up!
I'm the type who reads cookbooks like novels, and I am an experienced cook
who likes to dabble in every sort of cuisine imaginable. I'm also a condiment/seasonings/spices
nut, so I have an extremely well-stocked pantry. That said, in reading through the book, I didn't
come across any recipes for which I didn't have the ingredients. I realize, however, that the
average person does not have tamarind paste or sambal olek in their fridge, nor galangal or scores
of middle eastern seasonings in the pantry. But, if I can find that stuff at my local markets (the
Super Target, for goodness sake!), surely these ingredients are easily obtained. And there are
plenty of recipes in this book that do not require "exotic" ingredients, if your tastes or budget
doesn't run to that.
The book is very broad in its scope - cocktails, salads, meats,
veggies, sides, even desserts - so it is far more useful than simply a book on grilling meats. I
also appreciated the explanations of techniques, histories of cuisines, definitions of terms, etc.
This type of information not only equips one to execute the recipes in the book well, but experiment
and develop dishes on one's own. There is also an extensive section on rubs, marinades and sauces
for just such experimenting.
I think this book would be enjoyed by the following
types of cooks:
-those enjoy trying new cuisines, new flavors and new techniques
/>-those who want to expand their bbq/grilling repertoire
-those who are adventurous cooks
(and diners!) who either have a well-stocked pantry or would find other uses for some of the more
unique ingredients (lots of Thai, Asian and middle-eastern ingredients)
-those who appreciate
a cookbook that provides an entire meal's recipes, not just the entree.
If you like
your food pretty plain or you're cooking for picky eaters who won't try anything they haven't heard
of, this book is soooo not for you. Bob appetit!
Customer Rating: Summary: where are all the pictures?
Comment: The Barbecue Bible website promotes this as the illustrated version of the original. I really liked
the original; I think the author is great and have many of his books. I had purchased the original
many years ago, and was willing to pay for it again upon the premise of seeing a picture of the
recipes prepared.
While there is new text with interesting information, there aren't that many
recipes that are illustrated. This was a huge letdown; I was very interested in seeing pictures of
completed recipes I had tried.
If you haven't purchased this, I don't think you will be
disappointed, as it really is an amazing cookbook; it really teaches you a lot about the world's
flavors. If you have already purchased it, and are like me, anticipating pictures of prepared
dishes, you will be disappointed. How to Grill is lavishly illustrated and will probably be a
better investment if you are visually oriented. To summarize, Stephen is a very impressive author
and very interesting to read for the first time; I wish it was illustrated more extensively.
