A Man, a Can, a Grill: 50 No-Sweat Meals You Can Fire Up Fast [Board book]

David Joachim (Author), The Editors of Men's Health (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 16, 2003

Take a man. Add a can. Now throw in a grill. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, right? But with the geniuses who brought you A Man, A Can, A Plan are calling the shots, any guy can turn his culinary carnage into a killer meal.

- Photos of most ingredients, so shopping is a breeze
- Instructions for charcoal and propane grills alike
- Options for vegetarians
- Other useful facts about the ingredients and grilling techniques
- Whether the menu calls for beer-basted chicken or shish kebabs, Joachim's approach to barbecuing will lure even the most inexperienced cook to slap on an apron.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This gimmicky cookbook, printed on the stiff, cardboard pages more often seen in picture books for infants, offers a set of exceedingly easy recipes for the fellow whose favorite kitchen tool is the can opener. Promising to make any man "king of the grill," Joachim (A Man, A Can, A Plan) presents recipes in simple equations, with photographs of all the main ingredients stacked in basic, arithmetical order (in other words, one barely needs to know how to read): a can of beer plus a can of chopped jalapenos plus a flank steak plus flour tortillas (along with a few seasonings and garnishes) renders a plate of reasonably tasty Beer-Flamed Fajitas; a can of chicken broth plus a can of light coconut milk plus a lime plus some boneless chicken breasts and spices makes Spicy Bangkok Birdies. Running alongside the images are drill-sergeant directions on how to combine the ingredients: "In a big bowl, nuke everything but the chicken....Dump in the chicken....Fire up your grill," run the Bangkok Birdies instructions. With ingredients ranging from soda pop to SPAM (Pakistani Pork Chops call for the former, while the latter appears in SPAM Cordon Bleu and Mushroom SPAMwiches), and from Pringles to refrigerated pizza dough, this is not a book for the seriously health conscious, though fat and calories are listed and are often reasonable. Rather, it seems geared toward the busy good ol' boy craving a manly meal, to whom a "perfectly roasted whole chicken...with an open beer can stuck up its...um...orifice" (the recipe for Beer-Can Chicken) sounds appealing.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Twenty years ago, the first chicken I ever cooked on a grill burst into flames before I opened the lid to turn it. I wish A Man, a Can, a Grill had been there before that happened. Thanks to David Joachim, I'll never set a chicken on fire again."--Don Mauer, author of A Guy's Guide to Great Eating

"These easy, flavorful recipes for the grill are streamlined and smart. Real food--so good that no one will ever guess your secret is in the can."--Andrew Schloss, author of Cooking with Three Ingredients and Dinner's Ready

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Board book: 46 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books (May 16, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579547672
• ISBN-13: 978-1579547677
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 4.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #244,061 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Joachim has authored, edited, or collaborated on more than 35 cookbooks, including the IACP award-winning The Food Substitutions Bible and the New York Times bestsellers A Man, a Can, a Grill and Mastering the Grill, co-authored with Andrew Schloss. His 'A Man, a Can' series of books has sold more than 1 million copies. His latest book is Fire It Up, co-authored with Andrew Schloss. His website is www.davejoachim.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Guy meals on the grill, May 16, 2004

By 

Eileen Rieback (Coral Springs, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Man, a Can, a Grill: 50 No-Sweat Meals You Can Fire Up Fast (Board book)

This sturdy paperboard cookbook, presented by Men's Health magazine, is geared for guys who are novices at cooking and looking for easy meals to prepare on the grill. These 50 recipes, each of which is enhanced with ingredients out of cans, include beef, chicken, fish, pizza, pork, Spam, turkey, and veggies. Among the recipes are beer-can chicken, red-hot ribs, Dr Pepper-glazed ham, teriyaki turkey, and spuds on a stick.

The main ingredients and the finished product are illustrated with photographs. The book includes nutritional information, tips on the art of grilling, and a generous dollop of humor. Some of these recipes might be a little tricky for the novice cook to prepare, considering the unpredictability of a grill's flames and heat level, but there are still plenty of foolproof meals here beyond basic burgers and chicken that are great for feeding (and impressing) guests.

Eileen Rieback

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The secret is the can!, February 11, 2004

By 

Michael J. Chrush (Kent, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Man, a Can, a Grill: 50 No-Sweat Meals You Can Fire Up Fast (Board book)

Let's face it, we all love being a little creative in the kitchen or around the grill every now and then. Who would have thought ordinary canned cola or beer would add great taste to the best meats on the grill? Mix a budweiser with worcestershire sauce, grilling mix, and a small jar of chopped jalapenos and you have a wild barbecue mix making you believe you may be out in the Caribbeans. Or a can of sloppy joe barbecue sauce mixed with jalapenos. There are recipes a plenty guaranteed to fire up your taste buds.

Author David Joachim, who also penned A MAN, A CAN, A PLAN gives many great tips for perfecting your roastings for the grill. This book is a real must for anybody inviting guests over for a summer barbecue. Whether it's steak fajitas doused in beer, a rotisserie chicken grilled with a can of budweiser up the (orifice), or ordinary St. Louis Style Ribs - there are no limits as to what an ordinary can will do to add flavor to your favorite dishes. Highly recommended for any barbecue chef wannabes out there!

1.0 out of 5 stars Hobo's Handbook--Too Simplistic, December 27, 2011

By 

PAB (Nevada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Man, a Can, a Grill: 50 No-Sweat Meals You Can Fire Up Fast (Board book)

Looking through this "cookbook" I was amazed that it would be promoted by Men's Health Magazine. A majority of the ingredients for the recipes require processed and/or canned goods high in both fat and sodium.

Anyone who is motivated enough to read a recipe and follow the instructions can do better than what is offered here. With the thick, kid-book like pages, the book seems geared more to a teen. The draw back, however, is that each recipe requires a trip to the store as the ingredients are not something typically stocked at home.