Weber's Big Book of Grilling,
By Jamie Purviance, Sandra S. McRae, Tim Turner
Reviewed by Brad Thomas
Parsons and Publishers Weekly
From Brad Thomas Parsons
Armed with industrial tongs, a basting brush, and over
350 new recipes, chef Jamie Purviance and coauthor Sandra
S. McRae (Weber's "corporate poet") step back
behind the grill with Weber's Big Book of Grilling,
the searing follow-up to the bestselling Weber's
Art of the Grill. We open to a brief history of
Weber and a few colorful anecdotes about the early days
of the company along with a crash course on choosing
a grill, featuring a breakdown of grilling with charcoal
versus gas and a quiz to help you determine which grill
is best for your cooking needs. Each recipe features
the requisite cooking method (direct or indirect heat)
and temperature level with techniques that leave plenty
of room for individual improvisation. James Beard Award-winning
photographer Tim Turner returns with artfully styled
color photos of hot-off-the-grill dishes that will make
you want to stop reading and start grilling.
Search for a favorite recipe or
browse through individual chapters and benefit from
Weber's grilling history with helpful guides and sidebars
about cuts of meats, cooking methods, tips, glossaries,
and illustrated instructions. Every barbecue lover has
their favorite bottled sauce or over-the-counter rub,
but "Sauces, Marinades, & Rubs" will inspire
you to make your own (Crazy Cola Barbecue Sauce to an
overachieving Type-A Rub) from scratch using common
pantry staples. "Starters" includes a helpful
chart to match up appetizers with entrées along
with a recipe for Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup (yes,
on the grill--the Asian marinade for the chicken becomes
the base for soup). Meat is covered in chapters on beef,
pork, lamb, game, poultry, and fish and seafood. Beer-Bathed
Brisket gets a little help from a pint of Guinness while
a half-filled can of beer props up (and moistens) Beer-Can
Chicken. Baby Back Ribs with Spiced Apple-Cider Mop
and Buffalo Burgers with Chipotle Mayonnaise will spice
up any party, and Lobster Tails with Champagne Vanilla
Sauce is every bit as decadent as it sounds. "Vegetables"
includes a handy vegetable grilling chart along with
sections on grilling for vegetarians and quick and easy
meat substitutes. "Sides & Salads" serves
up Couscous-Stuffed Tomatoes and Grilled Garlic Bread
while "Desserts" wraps everything up with
the basics on grilling fruit (Grilled Figs and Goat
Cheese Drizzled with Honey or Peaches with Raspberry
Sauce and Lemon Cream) and several different takes on
campfire favorite, s'mores. Without a doubt, Weber's
Big Book of Grilling will get you through the outdoor
cooking season, but it will also inspire you to fire
up your grill (rain or shine) all year long.
From Publishers Weekly
This book is clearly designed to sell more grills. While
Purviance (Weber's Art of the Grill), food editor of
Appellation magazine, and McRae, Weber's in-house poet,
offer many a delightful starter, entr‚e and dessert,
the corporate affiliation of this book remains pervasive,
like an unsavory aftertaste. Perhaps it's the way the
authors unconvincingly strive to be homey, assuring
us, for instance, that ketchup as they know it is always
spelled with a "K." Or that many anecdotes
revolve around a Weber success story, like the time
a prime rib dinner helped the company clinch a large
distribution contract with Sears. But tackiness aside,
the book cannot be faulted for a lack of variety from
beef recipes (Stuffed Herbed Tenderloin filled with
a paste of rosemary, thyme, sage and mustard, Peanut-Curry
Flank Steak) to turkey (Jalapeno-Peach Turkey Breast,
Firehouse Turkey seasoned with cayenne) to seafood (Tequila
Shrimp, Gingered Mussels, Parmesan Breaded Scallops).
The book is well stocked with helpful charts, glossaries
and lists the dessert chapter includes 11 variations
of S'mores. Unhappily, though, while Tim Turner's luscious
photographs occupy many a full- and double-page spreads,
the recipes are crammed two to a page in small type,
making this book hard to use on the fly, or in the yard.
(June)Forecast: With a foreword by Today Show weatherman
Al Roker (who contributes his own rub recipe to the
book), lush cover images and strong brand recognition,
this book should sell well, but the promotional bonhomie
will turn off purists.
Copyright 2001 Cahners
Business Information, Inc.
