Feeding the Fire: Recipes and Strategies for Better Barbecue and Grilling

by Joe Carroll, Nick Fauchald

Joe Carroll makes stellar barbecue and grilled meats in Brooklyn, New York, at his acclaimed restaurants Fette Sau and St. Anselm. In Feeding the Fire , Carroll gives us his top 20 lessons and more than 75 recipes to make incredible fire-cooked foods at home, proving that you don’t need to have fancy equipment or long-held regional traditions to make succulent barbecue and grilled meats. Feeding the Fire teaches the hows and whys of live-fire how to create low and slow fires, how to properly grill chicken (leave it on the bone), why American whiskey blends so nicely with barbecued meats (both are flavored with charred wood), and how to make the best sides to serve with meat (keep it simple). Recipes nested within each lesson include Pulled Pork Shoulder, Beef Short Ribs, Bourbon-Brined Center-Cut Pork Chops, Grilled Clams with Garlic Butter, and Charred Long Beans. Anyone can follow these simple and straightforward lessons to become an expert.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food

264 pages, Hardcover

First published May 12, 2015

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good book with info on types of wood and heritage breeds of livestock. Alittle foggy on some key points of barbecue.

[Aaron Cochrill · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this has a lot more recipes than Aaron Franklin's book, I put it in the same category. If you love fire, food and beer; you need to read these books. Not because of recipe's although it may help you find a new idea or food you haven't tried. But so much of the "barbecue" experience is about passion and how that passion came to be. It's reflected in their food, pairings with beer, etc. all the way down to the type of wood they use and the effort put into all the preparations.

[Emily D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful and valuable information if you want to take your grilling to the whole hog level.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This guy walks a fine line between backyard bbq and a little more upscale bbq. Inventive recipes and a good story.

[Jacabaeus · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at regional styles and recipes that are not usually covered in other books. But I am unlikely to make many of them.

[Shari · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been working my way through the recipes in this book. Mr. Carroll is very enthusiastic and has alot of knowledge. He demystified many ideas about smoking for me and had many good tips. I made a big batch of his 'rub' which I personally found disappointing. My biggest gripe at this point of cooking through his book has to do with his brisket recipe. Buying a brisket for smoking is an expensive and sometimes messy project. I ordered one from Heritage Meats (which Mr. Carroll recommends) and spent alot of time carving hunks of fat off of it to prepare it for smoking. I then set about smoking it. If you read about smoking brisket, there seems to be a common knowledge about a point when the brisket hits a certain temperate. Usually around 160-170. This is called the 'stall' and there seems to be scientific explanations about evaporation etc. which gets very detailed by many professional smokers. Anyway, at this point, the meat stops heating and it can go on for hours. There are methods used to work around this and Mr. Carroll does not mention anything about it. I found that following his instructions for a 5 3/4 lb. brisket (that cost me ($80) I waited for hours for the temp to start moving and the finished product was dry. I will not make that mistake again and wish he had discussed some of this in his book.

[Ronnie Joiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I made the smoked brisket using my kettle grill. The book provided just the right amount of information for someone who has never smoked meat before. I also made the broccoli salad, and it was delicious despite its extreme simplicity. I believe this book would provide a good starting point for someone who wants to learn how to grill, cure, or smoke meat. It also has information about buying meat and different types of barbecue, so I think more experienced grillers will also enjoy it.