Weekend Cooking: How to Grill
In the introduction in How to Grill, Steven Raichlen describes the cookbook like this:
How to Grill addresses the questions you always had about grilling, but didn’t know who to ask. It walks you through every step of live-fire cooking: from choosing and buying a grill to lighting it safely to using it for direct and indirect grilling and smoking. The book covers the basic dishes everyone should know how to grill: a prefect chicken breast; a fish fillet that doesn’t stick; a tender, juicy T-bone. It also covers the theatrical dishes that make you the star of a cookout: beer-can chicken, grilled pizza, even a whole spit-roasted lamb.
That is the perfect description for this book because it is about so much more than the recipes included. To say that Carl was excited when this book came into our home is an understatement – I’ve found both he and Vance flipping through the recipes several times. As far as Carl is concerned this is THE cookbook for grilling. How to Grill is a great cookbook for the beginner as well as the experienced cook, and would make a fantastic gift.
The first section of the book includes sections on different types of grills, heat control, basic ingredients, etc. After that, the recipes are divided by the type of dish: Beef and Veal; Pork and Sausages; Lamb; Chicken and More; Fish; Shellfish; Vegetables Plus; Desserts; Rubs, Sauces and Condiments; and a final section on Grills and Gear. The recipes are very detailed and include a lot of pictures, so they’re easy to follow and duplicate. After contemplating most of the recipes, Carl settled on Tuscan-Style Porterhouse as his first test and it was delicious!
Carl’s next experiment was with the Grilled Brined Chicken Breasts and Garlic Grilled Tomatoes and they were both fabulous as well! The chicken was juicy, tender and flavorful and the tomatoes were oh, so tasty. Carl is anxious to try the Classic Matambre, so I have a feeling we’ll be eating our way through How to Grill this summer, and you won’t hear me complaining about that!
Here’s the recipe for Grilled Brined Chicken Breasts
2 large, whole, boneless, skinless chicken breasts (12 to 16 ounces each) or 4 half breasts (6 to 8 ounces each)
¼ cup coarse salt
¼ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
20 whole black peppercorns
1 red chile pepper, thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
1 cup hot water, plus 3 cups cold water
1 lemon, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- If using whole breasts, cut each in half. Trim any sinews or excess fat off the breasts and discard. Rinse the breasts under cold running water, then drain and blot dry with paper towels and arrange in a nonreactive baking dish.
- Make the brine: Place the salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, chile pepper, and bay leaves in a large nonreactive bowl and add the hot water. Whisk until the salt and brown sugar are dissolved. Stir in the cold water and let cool to room temperature. Pour the brine over the breasts and stir in the lemon slices, onion, and garlic. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and let stand in the refrigerator for 2 hours, turning the breasts once or twice.
- Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to high. When ready to cook, brush and oil the grill grate. Arrange the chicken breasts on the hot grate, all facing the same direction, at a 45 degree angle to the bars of the grate. Grill the breasts until cooked, 4 to 6 minutes per side, rotating the breasts 90 degrees after 2 minutes on each side to create an attractive crosshatch of grill marks. To test for doneness, poke a breast in the thickest part with your finger. It should feel firm to the touch.
- Transfer the breasts to plates or a platter, then serve.
Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. To see who else is participating this weekend, click on the logo.
I think I’m going to try this recipe. It sounds wonderful and Booking Son can eat it!
That looks delicious! I hope we can get a grill next year so I can get myself a copy of this book.
This looks and sounds tasty. Thanks for sharing with us.
We don’t grill very much, but if we did this sounds like the perfect book to have. Enjoyed the review.
Mason
Thoughts in Progress
Those recipes look so good. I love your plates, too! Actually what we need most for the grill is advice on how to clean it! Or maybe not even advice so much as incentive!
I think the chicken and grilled tomatoes will be a hit at my house!
Yummy….all of it!
I grill every weekend to get my chicken ready for salad during the week.
Sold!!!!! I am going to buy this for Mr. BFR this week.
I’m with Jill. Cleaning the grill is the pits! Yesterday we were at a model plane fly-in which was pretty boring except that I noticed the guy in charge of burgers covered his grilling surface with aluminum foil. Don’t know why Dave doesn’t do that, especially with chicken.
Taking a cue from you and will open up the BBQ for today. Hmm my clan might not like the redness of the meat but they will definitely love the grilled chicken morsels. How to Grill would be the perfect gift for my husband since he is the Grill Man of the house.
Oh, yum
This guy is like the king of grilling. He has a bunch of books, and doesn’t he have a TV show? Anyway, my husband is all about the grilling at our house. The propane thing creeps me out, so I only do it if I have to.
With the problems we’ve been having with the oven, there’s been a lot of grilling at our house. This looks like a good one!
I need to get this for Jason. He just bought his first nice grill and is having fun experimenting.
My husband LOVES Raichlen’s books! His recipes are always so good, and it’s hard to believe sometimes that they were made on the barbecue. The brined chicken sounds delicious.
I bet my husband would love this book too, and am going to have to think seriously about getting him a copy. He is the griller in our house, and is always wanting to try something new. I bet he would have a field-day with this guide!! Also glad to know that you are enjoying so much great food from it as well!
Oh that chicken and tomato sounds wonderful….taking notes…
This would be a great book for hubby. He loves to grill but anything other than hamburgers come off the grill too early or too late.
CMash
Mmmm.. yummy!!! I know nothing about grilling, so this is a great start!
That porterhouse steak and garlic chicken look to die for! While I love bbq & terayakki chicken on the grill I would love to learn some new recipes. This looks like the perfect resource.
Happy eating!
That book sounds so useful! Everything we’ve learned about grilling has been trial and error so far. I also managed to start a grease fire in my dad’s grill last weekend when he put me in charge for two minutes. Just picture huge flames flickering over the top of the grill, the wind blowing them dangerously close to the gazebo behind us. Thankfully the only thing harmed were the burgers, and thankfully I like my burgers charred like hockey pucks.
Looks great!!
Sounds like one that would go over well at my house, too. I love the nights David grills, so much less work for me to do.
I love grilling. So much better than making the food in the oven or on the stove, especially when it’s 100 degrees outside and HUMID!
You make this book look attractive. I love to grill and I don’t even mind the cleanup. The marinated chicken really appeals to me. I like that mix of ingredients. I’m pulling the chicken breasts out of the freezer this evening for tomorrow’s dinner.
All yours and Carl’s experiments leave me starving! lol. I absolutely love grilled tomatoes – mushrooms are awesome too. Glad you’re both enjoying all this yummy food!
I’m getting this one for my sweetie. He loves to grill!