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How To Grill Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Flame-Cooked Food: A Grilling BBQ Cookbook
The ultimate grilling guide and the latest in Mark Bittman’s acclaimed How to Cook Everything series. Here’s how to grill absolutely everything—from the perfect steak to cedar-plank salmon to pizza—explained in Bittman’s trademark simple, straightforward style. Featuring 1,000 recipes and variations, plus Bittman’s practical advice on all the grilling basics, this book is an exploration of the grill’s nearly endless possibilities. Recipes cover every part of the meal, including appetizers, seafood, meat and poultry, vegetables (including vegetarian mains), and even desserts. Plenty of quick, high-heat recipes will get dinner on the table in short order (Spanish-Style Garlic Shrimp, Green Chile Cheeseburgers); low and slow “project” recipes (Texas-Style Smoked Brisket, Pulled Pork with Lexington BBQ Sauce) are ideal for leisurely weekend cookouts. You’ll also find unexpected grilled treats like avocado, watermelon, or pound cake, and innovative surprises—like cooking meat loaf or from-scratch Rosemary Olive Oil Bread on the grill—to get the most out of every fire.
576 pages, Hardcover
Published May 14, 2018
483 people are currently reading
344 people want to read
About the author
Mark Bittman
67 books958 followers MARK BITTMAN is one of the country's best-known and most widely respected food writers. His How to Cook Everything books, with one million copies in print, are a mainstay of the modern kitchen. Bittman writes for the Opinion section of New York Times on food policy and cooking, and is a columnist for the New York Times Magazine. His "The Minimalist" cooking show, based on his popular NYT column, can be seen on the Cooking Channel. His most recent book, VB6, debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list in its first week on sale.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
April 14, 2018
Free from work! We don’t have a grill but maybe one day I’ll get to try some of these recipes.
Want to try:
Smoky guacamole p 26
Nacho dusted jimama sticks p 29
Baby artichokes w/ lemon aioli p 38
Mushrooms w/ smoked Swiss p 43
Provoleta p 47
Pizza Bianca p 52
Scallop and mango salad p 68
Spicy squid w/ lemon p 72
Fish fillets w/ avocado salsa p 96
Cedar plank salmon p 112
Sesame crusted tuna steaks p 117
Seafood, crouton, and orange skewers p 120
Chana chaat burgers
Portobello caprese stacks p 345
Cauliflower steaks w/ manchego p 347
Green greens w/ garlic p 388
Thai style coleslaw p 398
Orange glazed carrots p 399
Grilled corn pudding p 407
Grilled polenta p 408
Potatoes w/ sea salt p 426
Chocolate panin p 501
Pound cake w/ oranges and toasted coconut p 510
Plum upside down cake p 516
Sugared peaches p 538
Butter rum pineapple rings p 542
Strawberries Romanoff p 547
Want to try:
Smoky guacamole p 26
Nacho dusted jimama sticks p 29
Baby artichokes w/ lemon aioli p 38
Mushrooms w/ smoked Swiss p 43
Provoleta p 47
Pizza Bianca p 52
Scallop and mango salad p 68
Spicy squid w/ lemon p 72
Fish fillets w/ avocado salsa p 96
Cedar plank salmon p 112
Sesame crusted tuna steaks p 117
Seafood, crouton, and orange skewers p 120
Chana chaat burgers
Portobello caprese stacks p 345
Cauliflower steaks w/ manchego p 347
Green greens w/ garlic p 388
Thai style coleslaw p 398
Orange glazed carrots p 399
Grilled corn pudding p 407
Grilled polenta p 408
Potatoes w/ sea salt p 426
Chocolate panin p 501
Pound cake w/ oranges and toasted coconut p 510
Plum upside down cake p 516
Sugared peaches p 538
Butter rum pineapple rings p 542
Strawberries Romanoff p 547
July 4, 2018
Lots of ideas, but those ideas were rehashed too often, and that’s the only reason I didn’t give it 4 stars.
July 7, 2018
How to Grill Everything... an attempt to showcase fancy food on the grill. There were many recipes that feel new in flavor or ingredients, but most are based off of classic dishes. He does have a few unique avocado/ guacamole themed grill recipes and some helpful hints throughout. Most of the ingredients and recipes use foods that my family doesn't typically cook with, so I feel like more than half of the book is wasted on fancy food that I won't cook.
August 9, 2019
Not to be sexist, but grilling is really my spouse's territory. I can do it; I just don't enjoy it. He does. And it's not because of some caveman fire+meat=macho thing, but because he's a damn good cook and likes being outside. I'm just not into the idea of sweating my butt off over a smoky grill while dodging wasps thing.
And he's perfectly content -- and comfortable -- grilling anything and everything in any season or weather. Still, when I saw this at the library, I thought I'd see if it might provide him with some inspiration, particularly in the "do you think we could have something green with that hunk of delicious dead animal" area. Sure enough, it does. It's especially strong in the appetizer and seafood areas. (Too bad decent seafood is as rare as hen's teeth in most of the US.)
But Bittman, I disagree with how you recommend grilling corn on the cob. It tastes so much better grilled in the husks. Alton Brown has you beat on this.
As an aside, grilled watermelon just sounds weird, but now I've got to try it.
And he's perfectly content -- and comfortable -- grilling anything and everything in any season or weather. Still, when I saw this at the library, I thought I'd see if it might provide him with some inspiration, particularly in the "do you think we could have something green with that hunk of delicious dead animal" area. Sure enough, it does. It's especially strong in the appetizer and seafood areas. (Too bad decent seafood is as rare as hen's teeth in most of the US.)
But Bittman, I disagree with how you recommend grilling corn on the cob. It tastes so much better grilled in the husks. Alton Brown has you beat on this.
As an aside, grilled watermelon just sounds weird, but now I've got to try it.
June 1, 2018
Pictures of recipes? Some, but not all.
Commentary on recipes? Yes.
Nutrition facts? No.
Recipe Style? Everything, grilled.
Any keepers? So many keepers. Just buy the book.
Since I'm not a fan of grilling outdoors, I'm probably going to be using my indoor grill pan for most of these. Some of the recipes are unusual, but I'm willing to follow Mark anywhere. Grilled kale it is.
Commentary on recipes? Yes.
Nutrition facts? No.
Recipe Style? Everything, grilled.
Any keepers? So many keepers. Just buy the book.
Since I'm not a fan of grilling outdoors, I'm probably going to be using my indoor grill pan for most of these. Some of the recipes are unusual, but I'm willing to follow Mark anywhere. Grilled kale it is.
October 2, 2021
How to Grill Everything - 5
Overall I would recommend this cookbook.
Scale of 1-5 (5 being best)
Design: 5
[5] Is the book bound nicely? Can I leave it open on the counter to read while cooking?
[3] Does the cover of the book inspire me?
[5] Are there pictures for most recipes?
[5] Are there diagrams for trickier techniques?
[5] Is the organization/flow of recipes logical?
Content: 5
[5] Do the recipes taste good?
[5] Are the recipes easy?
[5] Are the recipes enjoyably challenging?
[5] Are the ingredients easy to source?
[5] Is the mix of memoir/narrative appropriate?
Miscellaneous
[Y] Did I learn something new?
[Y] Did I add anything to my “Best recipes” album?
[Y] Did I add any recipes to my “Recipes” album?
[Y] Is there anything I didn’t make that I’m very excited about?
[Y] Did any recipes fail?
Design:
How to Grill Everything is really well put-together. It has seen some abuse in the years I’ve owned it, and it still looks to be in great condition. The cover isn’t particularly zazzy, it’s mostly words. There are tons of pictures within this 568 page book. There are plenty of diagrams, such as how to spatchcock a chicken, butterfly shrimp, open clams, or peel skin from roasted peppers, to name a few. The flow is logical, flowing from appetizers into seafood, poultry, meat, vegetarian mains, vegetarian sides, sauces, and desserts. Bonus points to design - almost every recipe has a note at the bottom describing how you can sub out a few ingredients for a few others for a variation on the original. For example, shrimp with yogurt herb sauce can also be tandoori-style shrimp, shrimp with pomegranate sauce, and shrimp with tofu-herb sauce, and it all fits on one page.
Content:
I’ve made so many recipes from this book, and almost all of them are fantastic. They’re easy enough, but definitely a range to provide a challenge when I want one. Almost all ingredients throughout the 500+ pages are easy to find, which is impressive. There is a small blurb at the top of each recipe to describe some background, along with a few introductory pages about grilling in general, but not much memoir (which is okay with me).
Miscellaneous:
Some of my favorite recipes include lemon-rosemary cauliflower steaks with manchego and acorn squash with smoky maple butter. I look forward to making the many remaining recipes in this book at some point down the road. I made the salsa verde to accompany the chiles rellenos, but wasn’t a huge fan - notably, I’m not a big fan of salsa verde to begin with but liked so many recipes I thought I’d give it a whirl. I can’t think of any other less-than-great experiences I’ve had cooking from this book. There was a point during the pandemic where our stove was on back-order and we only had a grill - needless to say, this book came off the shelf and was supremely useful.
Overall I would recommend this cookbook.
Scale of 1-5 (5 being best)
Design: 5
[5] Is the book bound nicely? Can I leave it open on the counter to read while cooking?
[3] Does the cover of the book inspire me?
[5] Are there pictures for most recipes?
[5] Are there diagrams for trickier techniques?
[5] Is the organization/flow of recipes logical?
Content: 5
[5] Do the recipes taste good?
[5] Are the recipes easy?
[5] Are the recipes enjoyably challenging?
[5] Are the ingredients easy to source?
[5] Is the mix of memoir/narrative appropriate?
Miscellaneous
[Y] Did I learn something new?
[Y] Did I add anything to my “Best recipes” album?
[Y] Did I add any recipes to my “Recipes” album?
[Y] Is there anything I didn’t make that I’m very excited about?
[Y] Did any recipes fail?
Design:
How to Grill Everything is really well put-together. It has seen some abuse in the years I’ve owned it, and it still looks to be in great condition. The cover isn’t particularly zazzy, it’s mostly words. There are tons of pictures within this 568 page book. There are plenty of diagrams, such as how to spatchcock a chicken, butterfly shrimp, open clams, or peel skin from roasted peppers, to name a few. The flow is logical, flowing from appetizers into seafood, poultry, meat, vegetarian mains, vegetarian sides, sauces, and desserts. Bonus points to design - almost every recipe has a note at the bottom describing how you can sub out a few ingredients for a few others for a variation on the original. For example, shrimp with yogurt herb sauce can also be tandoori-style shrimp, shrimp with pomegranate sauce, and shrimp with tofu-herb sauce, and it all fits on one page.
Content:
I’ve made so many recipes from this book, and almost all of them are fantastic. They’re easy enough, but definitely a range to provide a challenge when I want one. Almost all ingredients throughout the 500+ pages are easy to find, which is impressive. There is a small blurb at the top of each recipe to describe some background, along with a few introductory pages about grilling in general, but not much memoir (which is okay with me).
Miscellaneous:
Some of my favorite recipes include lemon-rosemary cauliflower steaks with manchego and acorn squash with smoky maple butter. I look forward to making the many remaining recipes in this book at some point down the road. I made the salsa verde to accompany the chiles rellenos, but wasn’t a huge fan - notably, I’m not a big fan of salsa verde to begin with but liked so many recipes I thought I’d give it a whirl. I can’t think of any other less-than-great experiences I’ve had cooking from this book. There was a point during the pandemic where our stove was on back-order and we only had a grill - needless to say, this book came off the shelf and was supremely useful.
September 5, 2021
Lots of recipes and helpful info.
Only problem is there's so much info and so many of the recipes get a bit fancy, you have to sometimes hunt for the basic info you need before you feel ready.
Once you find it, it's really helpful, but it shouldn't take me ten minutes to find out how to grill a scallop, because the index was all recipes involving mango and pesto.
Good cookbook, but maybe not the best choice for people learning and getting comfortable with grilling.
Only problem is there's so much info and so many of the recipes get a bit fancy, you have to sometimes hunt for the basic info you need before you feel ready.
Once you find it, it's really helpful, but it shouldn't take me ten minutes to find out how to grill a scallop, because the index was all recipes involving mango and pesto.
Good cookbook, but maybe not the best choice for people learning and getting comfortable with grilling.
November 5, 2018
Pretty good book with useful recipes. Cannot complain at all, different flavors, substitution suggestions, rubs, sauces, etc. I have purchased the Kindle version - kind of to have recipe book always with me on a device. The only problem that I spotted on few recipes is a missing page. It is most likely related to Kindle itself - but there are a few disconnects.
October 15, 2019
Decent cookbook. The grilled artichokes were good. A lot of the recipes are not really time savers. Now that grilling season is over its time to close it up and move onto soups and slow cooker meals. This cookbook does have some interesting things; like how to smoke cheese in a smoker or grill. I will use that one again.
January 10, 2019
Another beautiful cookbook from Mark Bittman. Too many of these recipes feel rehashed from his numerous cookbooks. There are plenty of recipes to try, just not enough for me to justify adding this cookbook to my collection.
May 16, 2019
So many fantastic things!! I probably shouldn’t have checked this out from the library to taunt myself. Hubs refused to fix our grill for years until it disintegrated, and we don’t have a replacement. Sad sigh.
October 31, 2019
This book makes me want to be a master griller. Many of the recipes seem difficult, and I also am looking forward to trying and failing at many of them. I think the fun will be in the experimentation and this book certainly has many items that sound experimental to a beginner.
December 17, 2024
Several interesting recipes, and nice technical info for someone what hasn't really done much with grilling. Winter is obviously the wrong time to have checked this book out- I'll have to borrow it again from the library this summer.
October 5, 2018
The best grilling book ever!
July 4, 2019
Most of these recipes are easier and more appropriate indoors than grilling. Not bad recipes, just not a lot of grilling ideas outside of the usual.
December 30, 2019
Mark Bittman writes some great cookbooks. I have purchased two for my son and one for me and they are used regularly. Recipes are unique and photos are provided.
July 3, 2020
OK book
It's OK but I don't eat carbs and there were a lot of potatoes and bread recipes. Just my own personal taste.
It's OK but I don't eat carbs and there were a lot of potatoes and bread recipes. Just my own personal taste.
November 11, 2020
I just love to read a cookbook for ideas as much as recipes. Mark Bittman is just one of the best
June 28, 2021
This is one of the best grilling books I've ever read.
August 5, 2021
Great cookbook. Starts with a good primer on grilling. Recipes start with the basics but present options if you want to get creative.
April 16, 2022
Yummy - went out and bought myself a new grill ! Summer is going to be tasty ! I still read cookbooks like novels and this one does not disappoint (but I love Bittman's approach to cooking anyway)
June 15, 2021
Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything: The Basics” is my favorite cookbook and how I learned to cook. This book takes things a step further, assuming you know some basics, but reflects Bittman’s simple, straightforward approach to teaching his readers. It also includes a number of variations to each recipe so that the possibilities are (almost) endless.
February 23, 2019
Awesome guide for my husband! I refer to it often, it's like "the Joy of Cooking" for grilling!!
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews