Weekend Cooking: BBQ 25
When it’s as hot as it has been this summer, we’re all about using the grill to keep from heating the kitchen up. We also like to try new recipes, so when I saw Booking Mama’s review of BBQ 25 by Adam Perry Lang, I knew we had to try it. This is a very unique cookbook – it only contains 25 recipes and it’s presented much like a children’s board book, so spills wipe off easily. Included are recipes for beef, pork, lamb, chicken, fish, hot dogs and sausages and vegetables – these are the recipes that the author says we grill 95 percent of the time. At the beginning of the book is a glossary of techniques to help you “conquer” the grill.
When I first got BBQ 25, Vance grabbed it and flipped through it and decided that we should try the 10th recipe – Pork Chops (Rib & Loin) Cut Less than 1″. He mixed the marinade and he and Carl grilled them. The chops were very tasty, but I thought they were just a little bit tough – I’m not sure if it was the particular chops we got or if they were cooked a little too long. Since the warm weather will be around for a while longer in this part of the country, we’ll be testing out more of the recipes in this book soon.
Flavored brine:
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons sea salt or kosher salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2½ tablespoons grated or finely chopped garlic
2 tablespoons grated shallots or sweet onion
1 bunch fresh coriander
1 bunch fresh thyme
¼ cup olive oil
thinly sliced red chile to taste (optional)
Seasoning:
sea salt or kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
canola or vegetable oil
- Combine all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl or sealable plastic bag. Mix and crush the ingredients with your hands, directly or through the bag, squeezing them to release the maximum flavor.
- Put the chops in the marinade and let them absorb the flavors for at least 1 hour, and up to 24 hours. If marinating for longer than 3 hours, refrigerate the chops.
- Preheat the BBQ to medium-high. Drain the chops and dry with paper towels. Season lightly with salt and pepper and glisten with canola oil.
- Put the chops on the well-oiled grill and cook to medium-well (or cook to desired doneness).
- Press the chops as needed throughout the cooking process with a bacon press or foil-wrapped brick to maintain grill contact, and baste (with ¼ cup olive oil, 4 T butter, 10 crushed garlic cloves, & finely chopped savory herbs) regularly; flip the meat as needed.
- When the chops are nicely caramelized and charred on both sides, approximately 12 minutes total, they are done.
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I thought this recipe looked good too. Let me know if you try it again!
This recipe sounds delicious. A great cookbook for summer get-togethers.
Mason
Thoughts in Progress
That brine sounds wonderful! Did you marinate them for the full 24 hours? That should have been long enough to tenderize them. My husband is in charge of the grill at our house, I am scared of propane.
That looks awesome! I really enjoy barbequing. Well not me doing the BBQ’ing because I don’t have a grill. But I enjoy it none the less.
Well, just to look at them you wouldn’t know they were a bit dry..looks delicious! I love to grill too!
Grilling is a weak point in my cooking (in fact, the whole of cooking is a sore point, but let’s pretend I didn’t say that *wink*). Now that I am staying alone and need to test my cooking only on myself, I am planning to get a few cookbooks and polish my cooking. This one looks a great place to begin!
I’ve been wanting to get this book too. I loved Julie’s review and I love the concept of narrowing down the recipes to the most often used.
I love pork, but I have never tried chops on the grill. But that brine, something that really benefits pork, sounds delicious. I may try that even when not grilling.
12 minutes seems a bit too long maybe…I think we tend to overcook pork.
The wipeable feature sounds like a great idea for a cookbook too.
I don’t eat pork..but if I did..it looks good.
I only eat chicken and fish..but I still barbeque. This sounds like a good cookbook.
Still looks pretty yummy!
I like the idea of the pages that can be wiped off. One of my favorite cookbooks is getting pretty messed up on a few of my most used pages.
I like the format of the book. My books and recipes tend to have various food samples dried on them!
i get so nervous from some of those more exotic ingredients and know that i’d leave half of them out.
when we grill (on charcoal!), it’s just plain old burgers, dogs, and/or chicken breast. nothing too fancy, maybe some BBQ sauce or Saucy Susan, my old standby. Enjoy the book and recipes.
You know, we haven’t grilled much this summer. I think it’s because it’s just too darn hot outdoors in Florida in front of a roaring fire. I might have to get out there soon though, because I really feel the urge for some bbq ribs!
LOVE BBQ season and any time I can cook outdoors makes me happy…. my mouth is watering…
I love grilled chicken but I have never tried it myself. we don’t have a grill… someday I will get it
Sounds like a cookbook for my husband. And I like that you can wipe off any spills. That’s a neat idea.
Yum! Now I’m hungry….
I usually let my sweetie do the grilling at my house, mainly because he’s so much better at it than I am. This would make a nice Christmas gift for him, I think.
This is my favorite part… the recipes and your creation from the pages to the plates… Inspired to EAT!