Weber's Way to Grill: The Step-by-Step Guide to Expert Grilling Paperback – March 3, 2009

This book includes all of the basics of grilling with charcoal or gas, complete with lots of pictures so you can see exactly how to set up the grill for the type of food you will be grilling and what the coals should look like. How to use the vents, how to use a rotisserie, and needed tools and equipment.

The very best part of this book is the recipes. It does include the classics like pulled pork, burgers, steaks and ribs but also has a lot of great recipes with ethnic flavors. Kofta in Pita Pockets with Cucumber and Tomato Salad, Lamb Meatball Pitas with Chopped Salad and Minted Yogurt, Pork medallions with Asian Black Bean Sauce, Thai Shrimp with Watermelon Salsa, Shrimp Po'Boys with Creole Remoulade, Vietnamese Shrimp Pops with Peanut Sauce, Baja Fish Wraps with Chipoltle-Lime Slaw, Tandoori Chicken Breasts with Mango-Mint Chutney, Chicken Involtini; chicken breast rolled with prosciutto and basil.

Not feeling ethnic, how about Hickory Smoked Turkey with Bourbon Gravy? There is a Bacon-Wrapped Turkey Breast with Herb Stuffing that uses a great "braided" technique for the bacon that completely encases the turkey breast. Soda-Brined Pork Loin with Cherry-Chipoltle Glaze. Hard Cider Simmered Brats with Apples and Onions.

I could go on and on and have not even touched on the fruits, vegetables and grilled bread. There are many great burger recipes for beef,lamb and turkey. Each recipe and technique is very well illustrated with pictures. They have recipes using planks, smoking papers and even a cast iron skillet on the grill.
40 beef recipes
22 pork recipes
27 poultry
35 for seafood
27 vegetable
10 fruit
21 rubs
20 marinades
14 sauces

I'm not much of a cookbook guy, but until a few days ago, Weber's Big Book of Grilling was to me what The Joy of Cooking has been to my mother and grandmother. If you have a Weber grill, you just *have* that book.

I also have Weber's Real Grilling and Weber's Art of the Grill: Recipes for Outdoor Living, but they've never been used like the Big Book of Grilling.

Where am I going with this? Well, it may be sacrilege, but Way To Grill is quite possibly better than the Big Book. And I don't say that lightly.

Way to grill gives you everything you could possibly need to take your grill beyond burgers and hot dogs. The recipes are relatively easy to make, and almost always call for common items. But more importantly, there's some emphasis on technique. In all likelihood, this is as close as you're going to get to learning how to grill, without standing next to someone who will teach you.

The book itself is well made, and like the other Weber books, has excellent pictures and very comprehensive instructions.

If you own a grill -- gas, or charcoal -- you really need this book.

As all true grilling afficiandos know, this is the fifth book that Jamie Purviance and the Weber folks have produced that is chock full of recipies and grilling tips to maximize the quality of what we cook on the grill. The first four, "Weber's Art of the Grill", , "Weber's Big Book of Grilling", "Real Grilling" and "Charcoal Grilling are all in print, are reasonably priced and are avalable here at Amazon.com. IMHO, all belong on the cookbook shelf because of the quality of the recipies, as well as the simplicity of preparing them.

So, why buy this book? There are several reasons:

RECIPIES
Nomatter what else is in a cookbook, if the recipies aren't capable of producing goodies that excite the palate, are overly complex or overly time consuming, the book is of questionable value. "Way to Grill" is full of flavorful, simple recipies which address nearly every conceivable type of food, including veggies and desserts. There are also recipies for rubs and sauces which experienced grillers know lie at the heart of flavorful foods.

DETAILED "HOW TO DO ITS"

Want to know how to butterfly a flank steak or a boneless leg of lamb? Want to know how to do various meat rollups just bursting with flavorful fillings? Under the heading of "Way to ...", there are over 300 examples of techniques such as "Way to Rotisserie a Chicken", "Way to Bone a Prime Rib Roast", "Way to Pickle Onions", "Way to Dry Brine a Turkey", etc. The detailed photos and texts accompanying these "Way to ..." entries are hugely informative, and, IMHO, are worth the purchase of the book for themselves alone. But, as noted, there are all those fantastic recipies.

MANAGING FIRES

Grilling is different from indoor cooking, because the griller is working with live fire. Jamie has covered every detail of managing the fire from start to finish, with necessary focus on the safety aspects of fire, fuels, etc.

ORGANIZATION

It is obvious that a lot of thought and effort went into the organization and layout of this book. Recipies and other information are easy to find and clearly expressed.

It should be noted that all of the previous Purviance/Weber books have played to rave reviews. if you check the reviews here on Amazon.com, you will see that all have gotten consistant five star ratings, and for good reason. Anyone, from a novice to the most experienced grillers, can produce consistantly excellent meals from the recipies contained in this book, and the others in the series as well.

In his preface, Jamie notes how his grilling techniques have evolved over time. I suspect that is true for many of us who "fire up" year round. But some prospective buyers of this book may be considering a first foray into grilling or barbecueing. For those folks, my advice is to take the plunge; start with something simple, like a burger. One bite and self confidence soars.

For more experienced folks, get the book for the "Way to ..." stuff, as well as the recipies.

Because I grill year round, even in our harsh Northern Michigan winters (I did ribs for my visiting sons a couple of weeks ago when the temp was in low single digits and snow was heavy), our home tends to be a popular gathering place. Folks just plain like good food with that just off the grill flavor. I know this from experience, and I am just as confident that folks who buy and use "Way to Grill" will experience the deep personal satisfaction of placing flavorful food in front of friends and family.