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Monday, June 30, 2014

Fire & Smoke: A Pitmasters BBQ Secrets



Its been a long time since I've been excited about a cookbook.  After overdosing on them a few years back, buying one nearly every time I was out and about, I'd stopped even going near them at the store.  Like when you eat too many Candy Corn at Halloween...or celebrate with too much tequila...and it takes some time before you can brave it again.
 So it was with a bit of reluctance and skepticism that I accepted this cookbook to review. 

Serendipitously, we have just inherited a BBQ and I'm intent on mastering it.  The Fire & Smoke book has turned out to be just what I need to learn the basics and build off them.

Fire & Smoke starts with an introduction to the various types of Grills, Smokers, and other barbecue cooking apparatus.  The explanations are straight-forward, listing out the pros and cons of each, and having read it I feel like I'll be able to hold my own next time I'm chatting with a BBQ aficionado.  

There are some intriguing recipes, like grilled lemonade and macaroni and cheese, that I was not expecting from a grill book.  There is also a part I really enjoyed, with ideas for what to do with bbq leftovers.  

The authors hit a great balance between classic grilled dishes and unique items, which are all very straightforward and somehow friendly.  None of the elitist "you wish you could cook this well" tones that a lot of cookbooks tend to take - as I read through this book I almost feel like I have a long-lost midwestern uncle who's decided to take me under his wing and teach me the ropes of the family bbq business.

We made the Prosciutto-wrapped dates with goat cheese, spiced pecans, and sun dried tomatoes.  Just the title includes 4 of my favorite foods, so it was hard to imagine this not turning out well.  Low and behold, they were amazing.  A combination I wouldn't have thought of, and especially not on the grill.  

It looks like I've found myself a new handbook for learning to barbecue.  Its time to graduate from the pack of sausages hurriedly tossed onto the grates, and to start actually cooking on our grill.  What a pleasant surprise this turned out to be!

Disclaimer:  I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.  

Disclosure:  Lavende and Lemonade was not compensated for this post.  I did however receive free product to review on this blog.  All opinions are 100% my own.

27 comments:

  1. This is definitely up my hubby's alley. He is the house grillmaster!

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  2. That looks like a great book. Grilling is one of my favorite ways to eat meat.

    Michelle F.

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  3. Reading the meals that you prepared made me hungry and it's only 4:00PM. I love grilled stuff, gives me this huge appetite.

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  4. This book seems to be an essential book to grill good food. And you made the right move :)

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  5. This would be a perfect gift for my Dad! Perhaps I'll have to grab him one for his upcoming birthday.

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  6. My husband got me a cookbook of the top chain restaurant secret recipes for Christmas a few years ago, I think he would enjoy this. He's trying to master our backyard grill!

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  7. I BBQ all summer long.. i could use some new recipes..

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  8. yum! This sounds like a great book. Those prosciutto wrapped figs sound divine.

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  9. Who doesn't love a good BBQ? This book seems like an essential read; thanks for the informative review!

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  10. yummi,yumm. I love grills, especially in the summer. Do you have any tips for chicken on the grill in the book?

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    1. There is actually very little on chicken in the book...unexpected, right? There are 3 recipes for grilling chicken, and what they all have in common is using dark meat, using a dry rub and/or marinade, and cooking on indirect heat.

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  11. It's nice to know that it's now grilling and BBQ season, the food always tasted good in the summer.

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  12. It doesn't look like a cookbook. The title could even be for a great novel! That said, i'm intrigued.

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  13. My husband would love this book since he is the master of the grill!

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  14. I will have to check this out, my husband is awesome on the grill! The recipe you tried sounds delicious!

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  15. Im going to have to check this out. We need all the help grilling we can get.

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  16. I probably need to branch out and get more creative on the grill too. Great inspiration to do that in your post!

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  17. Maybe I need to get this book. I love food on the grill but I hate cooking on the grill. I always make my boyfriend do it.

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  18. I wish my husband read more. This is definitely the book for him

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  19. We are HUGE into BBQ over here. We've never check out a cookbook for BBQ, but there's no reason not to

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  20. This is a very interesting read instead.. We're not big on barbecue grills here but we do have great restaurant's that offer mean ribs and barbecue.

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  21. This sounds perfect for my husband. I am not a big griller, but he definitely is

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  22. I love buying cookbooks! I can honestly say I am addicted to buying me ones.

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  23. Sounds like an really awesome bbq book! It's been a long time since I've made anything on a grill!

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  24. I'd get it just to read the grilled lemonade recipe. That does sound intriguing! Grilling rocks. :)

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  25. This looks great, there is so much that goes into grilling that the newbies do not realize. Always good to learn from the masters.

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  26. this is for my husband! he's an aussie and he loves grilling or bbq!

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