Introducing a book that streamlines the barbecue process. A collection of the 25 recipes that we cook 95 percent of the time, using accessible, not too pricey, quality ingredients. Here Adam will guide you through the entire process, from buying to serving, showing you how to deliver mind-blowing results for your friends and family. So relax, start up the BBQ—it's time to get hands-on and learn techniques that will bring out the maximum flavors, under Adam's expert, easy-to-follow guidance.
Nothing in-depth here, but packed with solid cooking ingredients and techniques for what Lang says is 25 of the recipes that are cooked 95 percent of the time on the grill. This guy isn't your ordinary grill master. He understands how to draw out flavor through layering and texture.
I prepared my best steak ever after studying his methods and techniques. A.P. Lang is the real deal. Get this book, follow the easy recipes, and impress your wife (more than normal).
If you have any of Lang's other books, skip this one.
You could think of this book as how i think of those Jean Pare 'Company's Coming' books. This is a very short booklet of basic recipes and it's interesting to study from so you can compare other cookbooks with....
or just take it as it is...
Here, lang has done basically a 50 page recipe book of what 95% of anyone would wish to die for with BBQ as the basic 25 dishes
Jean Pare, has that 1950's-1960s Kitchen Cookery, tested by her unpretentious Catering Experience... and those books have really good dishes with really scary dishes, but they seem to hit a chord somewhere for many. I like how weird and surreal some of her 1954-ish books are with a modern sensibility to it... but no matter how i don't like some of it, there's still a lot to learn from it, as in how a 80s 90s mom probably could cook much more varied and interesting food than what many people got with home cooking in the 50s or 60s...
anyways, my point is that you can use some cookbooks as wonderful tools to compare other cookbooks with, and that's one thing Lang does with giving you a 'basic repetoire' and it will definately make finding your next book on BBQ much more interesting and helpful!
However, I am curious if anyone who's bought this book has destroyed it keeping it near the bbq or marinating/preparing the stuff in this book.
Amusingly, it's printed on the hard, thick pages that baby books use. (What could they be saying about the audience of this book?)
I'm still wondering what possessed me to buy this book since I already own Lang's first, and this seems to be a re-packaged derivative. I think the reason is this: photos! Lots of photos! It's pretty and the format, as I mentioned, is unique. I guess I'm attracted to novelty.
More practically, it condenses Lang's convoluted multi-step BBQ process into something that looks like a 2-page magazine spread, making his style of grilling/BBQ more approachable. Some details in technique get lost, but you can always consult his longer book if you want to get serious.
Having read Lang's first book and given it 4 stars, I was a little surprised at this one. It certainly has useful information, though nothing that wasn't covered (and in more depth) in the previous book ("Serious BBQ"). It is essentially a sturdy, coated, heavy stock (cardboard) book meant to be used alongside the grill and cleaned easily if dirtied while grilling. Some will find this to be a useful reference, and you could possibly add a star if you don't already own "Serious BBQ".
Pretty basic techniques, lots of marinades/brines and moving the food around the grill a lot. Seems like a nice middle ground between just throwing meat on the grill with dry rub and some of the truly crazy recipes.