...though the grillin' ladies will also find GRILL IT! an indispensable guide to setting up your very own backyard 'cue, once you get past just about the most butch design I've seen in a cookbook in years, maybe ever.
Allow me to present the covers from the first UK and first US editions of GRILL IT! You'll notice the US version is significantly more macho - there's nothing frou-frou about the single steak flaming away on a live coal grill. But the UK? The photograph speaks for itself.
From the UK (take note of placement of title, the thickness of the steak, the vegetables in the UK edition, the circumference of the grill):
And the US cover:
Go US! Macho beef culture! Man eat big steak! Big fire sizzle!
Ahem. So now that I have that out of my system, I would like to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this cookbook. GRILL IT! is a great introduction to the art of grilling on live fire. Gas grills barely merit a mention, save for a quick dismissal of the popular, convenient, albeit unremarkable outdoor appliance. The first 32 pages (or so) focus on the basics of grilling - direct heat vs indirect heat (both have their uses), wood charcoal vs charcoal briquettes (don't use 'em), and, how to build fires for quick or slow cooking (depends on what you want to cook). And because it is published by DK, a publishing company know for its richly photographed How To books, there are extremely helpful photos that show exact placement and quantity of charcoal (and optional wood) for each type of fire. It is a remarkably clear, helpful, and instructive chapter. It helped me realize that I've been doing it all wrong for years and inspired me to run out and buy a hickory log, just to have it ready for my next, wholly imaginary, barbeque.
The rest of the book is devoted to two things: precise instructions on cooking meat (which kind of fire to build, how long to grill it, the marinade) and recipes for quick, easy sides. The recipes are organized by country and region (think US, Argentina, Southeast Asia, etc), making it a helpful introduction to the global flavors of the grill. The recipes are simple and do not require special ingredients.
I'm ready to get my grill on, even if I'm not the target market for this great entry-level cookbook.
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