Master of the Grill

Starred review from January 4, 2016
The editors of America’s Test Kitchen have crafted a terrifically accessible and useful guide to grilling in all its forms that sets a new bar for its competitors on the bookshelf. Just two recipes shy of 700, the book is packed with practical advice, simple tips, and approachable recipes to ensure that grill enthusiasts are able to get the most out of their grills and ingredients with a minimum of fuss and investment. Whether readers have just bought their first grill or smoker (or are considering which one to buy) or are seasoned grillers, they’re sure to find useful tips and recipes here as well as helpful recommendations on various cuts, thawing frozen meat, the best soy sauce (Lee Kum Lee), and the best beer for brats (they like Budweiser). As for the dishes themselves, they’re all here: wings, burgers, ribs, and fajitas, presented in their classic forms as well as with various riffs: DIY smoked salmon; grilled butterflied leg of lamb; sweet and tangy Hawaiian rotisserie chicken; and hundreds more. The recipes are presented thoughtfully and often accompanied by step-by-step photos guiding readers through processes such as trimming asparagus and arranging coals. This is a fabulous addition to the ATK canon.

May 15, 2016

It's been more than a decade since America's Test Kitchen has released a comprehensive grilling cookbook. Their latest frames nearly 700 recipes, equipment recommendations, cooking techniques, and shopping tips as concepts to master to become an expert outdoor cook. These are arranged in ascending numerical order into three difficulty based sections (basics, the easy upgrades, serious projects), but they're not strictly sequential. For instance, rib recipes appear near the beginning and the end of the book, and relevant rib preparation advice appears throughout. To navigate the recipes (e.g., chicken souvlaki, Chinese-style barbecued spareribs, grilled whole red snapper), which include clear instructions for both gas and charcoal grills, readers can consult helpful indexes at the beginning of each section. VERDICT This hefty book pulls together tons of useful information from America's Test Kitchen, but it's difficult to browse.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 15, 2016
As American cooks look forward to summer, their imaginations fire with thoughts of outdoor grilling. But too many of them, especially overeager males, approach grilling as if it were some sort of contest to get dinner on the table as quickly as possible, and, thus, they burn red meats, dry out chicken, and either oversauce or underseason food. America's Test Kitchen intends to rescue these sorts from backyard disaster. Typical of its thorough approach, the remarkably well-informed staff of chefs and writers have parsed every aspect of grilling to produce one of the most practical grilling guides imaginable. Recipes, while sometimes demanding substantial numbers of ingredients, promise full and hearty flavors for perfectly cooked and spiced meats, poultry, fish, and vegetables. Sidebars brim with hints and detailed evaluations of equipment and ingredients that will turn the rankest amateur into a barbecue master. Few questions about grilling go unanswered in this vast storehouse of shared knowledge and instruction.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)