25 Essentials: Techniques for Grilling [Spiral-bound]

Ardie A. Davis (Author)

Book Description

Series: 25 Essentials | Publication Date: March 17, 2009

Overwhelmed by the abundance of encyclopedic grilling books full of complicated recipes, many would-be outdoor cooks are missing what they need to become true masters of the grill: a firm handle on the basics. In this book, barbecue expert Ardie Davis shows readers how to master the perfect burger, grill on a plank, cook a whole fish, and much more. With color photos and recipes including Rendezvous-Style Baby Back Ribs, Grill-Seared Scallops, and Lime-and-Chile-Grilled Corn on the Cob, learning to grill has never been so delicious!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this slim, attractive volume, outdoor cooking enthusiast Davis (America's Best BBQ) presents a varied take on the art of cooking over direct heat. Each of 25 techniques is paired with a recipe that best illustrates its merits, an approach that should raise eyebrows even among veteran grillers. While the bulk of Davis' techniques and recipes are simple (chicken grilled under a brick, burgers, roasted peppers), Davis is hardly timid; grillmasters will need a degree of trust and fortitude for Davis's Dirty Steak, in which inch-thick steaks are placed directly on the coals, and few will want to babysit Rendezvous-Style Baby Back Ribs for 45 minutes, turning them every five. As a tour of techniques, the book's variety will likely impress vets, and novices should gain some confidence with a variety of skills. Ultimately, though, Davis's guide to backyard cooking makes a better side than a main course.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Ardie A. Davis, a.k.a. Remus Powers, Ph.B.

Ardie A. Davis is a freelance writer and award-winning barbecue expert. He is the founder of Greasehouse University, the fabled institution behind the coveted degree of Ph.B., or doctor of barbecue philosophy, which is awarded to qualified applicants who have proven their skill through a series of rigorous requirements. The program is now run by the Kansas City Barbeque Society, of which Davis is a charter member. He served three terms on the KCBS board of directors and wrote the original curriculum for the KCBS Judge Certification program, which has developed into a network of more than 10,000 certified barbecue judges in the United States and other countries. He is now a Board Member Emeritus and inductee in the KCBS Hall of Flame. Sporting a bow tie and bowler hat, Davis judges on the barbecue circuit under the moniker Remus Powers, Ph.B.

Davis is also the founder of the American Royal International Barbecue Sauce, Rub & Baste Contest and the Great American Barbecue Sauce, Rub & Baste Contest.  The original Diddy-Wa-Diddy National Barbecue Sauce Contest was held on Davis’s backyard patio on October 13, 1984.

Davis’s expertise in barbecue has earned him several awards, including Smoky Angel from the Kansas City Barbecue Forum, Judges’ Choice Award in the 2002 Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue, and the Spirit of Barbecue Award from the National Barbecue News in 2002. In 2003, he was named a Kansas City Barbecue Legend by the Kansas City Star.

He is the author of two previous books, The Great BBQ Sauce Book and the Kansas City BBQ Pocket Guide, and writes monthly columns for the National Barbecue News and the Kansas City Bullsheet, official newspaper of the KCBS.

Davis lives with his wife, Gretchen, in the Kansas City area.

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 128 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Common Press; Spi edition (March 17, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558323929
• ISBN-13: 978-1558323926
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,637,674 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for inexperienced grillers, May 22, 2009

By 

CookbookCollectorAmateurChef (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 25 Essentials: Techniques for Grilling (Spiral-bound)

I picked up this book because we recently bought a grill and I have been a bit intimidated by the lengthier grilling cookbooks that make grilling look complicated. This one is geared towards inexperienced cooks, who want to know the basics in very simple terms. I especially like the recipe headnotes that suggest other ingredients that can be substituted for the featured ingredient in the recipe (ex. Flash-Grilled Chicken Breasts with Orange-Maple Syrup Sauce...this technique can be used with any thin, boneless piece of veal, pork, beef, or lamb). If you consider the suggested recipe variations in the headnotes, this book becomes much more than a book of 25 recipes. The Table of Contents even lists the grilling technique next to each recipe listed: "grilling burgers", "grilling boneless chicken", "grilling fish fillets". Easy! The marinades, sauces, and chutneys within the recipes can be used for other purposes and the book suggests other serving ideas. Great book for the beginner to feel confident firing up the grill for the first time and then becoming more adventurous. I'm tempted to dive right into grilling directly on coals but will probably start with something more tame.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars High on Style, Short on Content, May 20, 2009

By 

Rita Marbury "Rita" (Louisville, KY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: 25 Essentials: Techniques for Grilling (Spiral-bound)

25 Essentials is a lovely little book, with lovely balance of text and white space on each page. It is nicely bound in a lay-flat spiral design; it has slick paper, stylish illustrations, but it is a little lacking on amount of actual information included in the book. If you want an overview of techniques, without a lot of expertise required, then this is the book for you. If you want a good basic book on grilling with lots of info, then I would look elsewhere.