Pacific Grilling: Recipes for the Fire from Baja to the Pacific Northwest [Paperback]

Denis Kelly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 7, 2002

Denis Kelly celebrates the unique grilling traditions of the West from cowboy campfires to California beach fire, and including Mexican, Asian and Italian grilling recipes. Grilling is different in the West according to cookbook author and food authority Denis Kelly. With these 125 recipes for the grill from Alaska to Baja, and all points in between, he charts the multicultural grilling scene that includes Mexican/Latino marinades and salsas; Pacific Northwest alder smoked salmon; and Southern California spiny lobster on the coals of a beach fire. Kelly brings a cupboard full of spice rubs, flavor brines, and other tantalizing preparations to the grilling of seafood, poultry, meats, and vegetables.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Forget the stove and oven. Once you get hold of Pacific Grilling, you'll never want to broil or fry again. Once upon a time grilling meant Dad slapping burgers and steaks down on the Weber on a warm Saturday night. While a good burger can be heavenly, Denis Kelly explores a range of grill cookery, from Grilled Seafood Quesadillas to Penne with Grill-Roasted Vegetables to Carne Asada with Pear Ginger Crisp for dessert. A Los Angeles native, Kelly (The Complete Meat Cookbook) has gathered 140 recipes, many of which reflect the Asian and Latino influences on West Coast dining. Try Grilled Prawns with Thai Cilantro Sauce, Grilled Pork Chuletas in Lime Tequila Marinade, or a Korean Kalbi Barbecue with a side of Miso-Marinaded Eggplant. A great advocate of spice rubs and marinades, Kelly includes a chapter on the best seasoning for seafood, poultry, beef, lamb, and pork. Quick to assemble, these versatile rubs pop up throughout the cookbook. Kelly also includes information on the hows and whys of grilling for those who are just getting started.

Along side mouth-watering recipes are essays about San Francisco's Chinatown, the World's Most Expensive Chicken, and an old friend's grilling tips, among others. He recalls road trips to Baja as a youth where he would "point to what [he] wanted and the asadero would shell it or cut off a steak or fillet, sprinkle it with lemon, chile, and salt." A lover and chronicler of the grilling culture, Kelly will win you over with his warm, nostalgia-tinged prose and succulent, easy-to-follow recipes. --Dana Van Nest

From Library Journal

Kelly, a food and wine consultant and coauthor of The Complete Meat Cookbook, refers to grilling as a way of life on the Pacific Coast, where it is regarded as a year-round way of cooking; his recipes reflect the many diverse culinary influences, from Mexican to Hawaiian to Asian to Native American, that have shaped this regional cuisine. He starts with a good introductory section and a chapter of tasty marinades and dry rubs, then moves on to recipes from appetizers to desserts, including Spice-Rubbed Salmon with Grilled Corn Relish and Grill-Roasted Beef with Thyme Garlic Crust. Kelly writes well, and his recipes sound delicious. For most collections.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Sasquatch Books; First Edition edition (January 7, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570611750
• ISBN-13: 978-1570611759
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,158,647 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Real Deal, December 31, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Pacific Grilling: Recipes for the Fire from Baja to the Pacific Northwest (Paperback)

Friends, this is a fine book. I have five grills and a couple dozen barbecue books at home and this book's at the top of the pile. If you're looking for something slick, written by a "celebrity" lightweight with a ghost writer, then buy Bobby Flay. If you want an authoritative guide to grilling written by an engaging companion, this is it.

Although I have to agree that this is an inexpensively published book, the content is extensive and very strong. Kelly's discussion of technique is first rate and his essays on grilling culture are delightful. Better yet - the recipes are delicious. This book deserves a wide audience and a place on every serious griller's shelf.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good recipes - bad binding style., November 11, 2000

By 

William M. McAda (Las Cruces, NM United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pacific Grilling: Recipes for the Fire from Baja to the Pacific Northwest (Paperback)

Good cookbook, but the binding is bad for a cookbook. Can't lay it down and work from it without cans of vegetables on open page to hold the book open. If you press the book then you break the binding and pages fall out.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great cookbook, September 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Pacific Grilling: Recipes for the Fire from Baja to the Pacific Northwest (Paperback)

I have used this cookbook and found many wonderful recipes. The recipes are very easy to follow. The only negative to the book is that there are no pictures to go with the recipes. If that doesn't matter to you, go out and buy this book. It is great!!!