Meatafilter! Suggest some meat and BBQ cookbooks
September 26, 2018 8:15 AM Subscribe
I'd like to increase my meat-preparing skills and tricks, both basic stuff (think crockpot/onepot meals/stew) and fancy (think sous vide). Additionally I'd like more interesting grilling ideas. I have all kinds of relevant equipment.
What are some good cookbooks you've enjoyed? Website suggestions are OK too but I go to cookbooks first when meal planning.
I learned 90% of my current techniques, skills, and knowledge from Kenji at the Food Lab.
Skipping to his recipes is fine, but going through articles like this one about reverse searing or salting burgers really helps with intuition. Also tons of sous-vide and stew. And lots of grilling.
Notably: maybe reconsider the crockpot.
posted by supercres at 8:34 AM on September 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Skipping to his recipes is fine, but going through articles like this one about reverse searing or salting burgers really helps with intuition. Also tons of sous-vide and stew. And lots of grilling.
Notably: maybe reconsider the crockpot.
posted by supercres at 8:34 AM on September 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
Oh! I left off the bottom line: Because of all of the above, I recommend his JBFA-winning cookbook.
posted by supercres at 8:36 AM on September 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by supercres at 8:36 AM on September 26, 2018 [2 favorites]
My go-to resource for grilling and BBQ is amazingribs.com. I've been making his pulled pork for years, but I BBQed my first ever rack of ribs a few weeks ago following his instructions, and they were amaze-balls.
posted by natabat at 8:49 AM on September 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by natabat at 8:49 AM on September 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Oh yeah! Meathead Goldwyn's book is amazing as well.
posted by supercres at 9:01 AM on September 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by supercres at 9:01 AM on September 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
I really liked this South American Grill cookbook
posted by permiechickie at 9:02 AM on September 26, 2018
posted by permiechickie at 9:02 AM on September 26, 2018
I wholeheartedly recommend The Dinosaur Bar-B-Que cookbook. In my house we refer to this as The Bible.
posted by lyssabee at 9:03 AM on September 26, 2018
posted by lyssabee at 9:03 AM on September 26, 2018
I came here to say Meathead. Kenji too.
posted by libraryhead at 11:56 AM on September 26, 2018
posted by libraryhead at 11:56 AM on September 26, 2018
All of Steven Raichlen's recipes that I have tried have been great, but my favorite of his books is The Barbecue! Bible. The book covers barbecue and grilling from around the world.
posted by TrarNoir at 5:13 PM on September 26, 2018
posted by TrarNoir at 5:13 PM on September 26, 2018
Charcuterie by Michael Ruhlmann is a great gateway into that area of meat prep. I also like Jane Grigson’s Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery, but be aware that it is fairly dated and does have some techniques that we might now consider questionable (like hanging the Christmas sausages on the tree for a few days to age them).
posted by backseatpilot at 6:04 PM on September 26, 2018
posted by backseatpilot at 6:04 PM on September 26, 2018
I've enjoyed all the books below, but they're a little old. I don't think they cover newer techniques like sous vide cooking.
Ratio by Ruhlmann
All the basics. What's worth making from scratch, and what's not. How to take your dishes to the next level. The best thing you can do for your meat may be to cook it in homemade stock, make an awesome sauce, or top it with homemade mayo.
Charcuterie by Ruhlman
This is for smoking or salting meats or making sausages.
The Barbecue Bible by Raichlen
Down home and around the world grilling recipes. Beer can chicken. Persian chicken painted with butter and saffron. It's not just meat, but it's great for that. Some of the down to earth tips, like painting steak with butter or avoiding breaking up grilled fish filets by simply not flipping them over are things I do constantly.
Roasting by Barbara Kafka
The conceit is that everything should be cooked at as high a temperature as possible to keep the meat simultaneously moist with a nicely crisp exterior. It works. The recipes are classic.
The Thrill of the Grill by Chris Schlesinger
Grilled everything. Southern basics and more inventive recipes with Caribbean flair.
posted by xammerboy at 11:34 PM on September 26, 2018
Ratio by Ruhlmann
All the basics. What's worth making from scratch, and what's not. How to take your dishes to the next level. The best thing you can do for your meat may be to cook it in homemade stock, make an awesome sauce, or top it with homemade mayo.
Charcuterie by Ruhlman
This is for smoking or salting meats or making sausages.
The Barbecue Bible by Raichlen
Down home and around the world grilling recipes. Beer can chicken. Persian chicken painted with butter and saffron. It's not just meat, but it's great for that. Some of the down to earth tips, like painting steak with butter or avoiding breaking up grilled fish filets by simply not flipping them over are things I do constantly.
Roasting by Barbara Kafka
The conceit is that everything should be cooked at as high a temperature as possible to keep the meat simultaneously moist with a nicely crisp exterior. It works. The recipes are classic.
The Thrill of the Grill by Chris Schlesinger
Grilled everything. Southern basics and more inventive recipes with Caribbean flair.
posted by xammerboy at 11:34 PM on September 26, 2018
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posted by 10ch at 8:19 AM on September 26, 2018 [2 favorites]