A nation’s cuisine is at the core of its culture, and barbecue is as central to America’s heritage as jazz—the fact that 80 percent of U.S. households own an outdoor grill or smoker is proof. The recipes in this book include all the barbecue and grilling classics, the dishes every grill jockey wants to master, the essential “barbecue canon” woven into our culture.
But I’m a contemporary, creative cook with food science on my mind and a digital thermometer in my hand, so I have often tweaked the classics to fit modern methods, equipment, groceries, and diets. I am also a minimalist: I like the natural flavors of most foods, with minimal seasoning and sauce. Turkey does not need to be injected with garlic and chipotle. Most steaks are at their best with only salt and pepper and a little smoke. I am also a tinkerer, so you will find recipes in here that you probably never thought of as backyard recipes, like Sweet and Sour Pork Tenderloin (page 212). Just about anything you cook indoors can be cooked even better outdoors.
Chef Ryan Udvett, my test kitchen director and a Le Cordon Bleu–trained chef, helps me test all our recipes on several different grills and smokers, but it would be impossible for us to give specific directions for every fuel—charcoal, gas, logs, and wood pellets—and for all the devices that use them. But if you understand the concepts in chapters 1 through 4, you will know what to do on your cooker. It just takes four Ps: practice, patience, and persistence, and a knowledge of key cooking principles in this book.
A good rule of thumb: Buy quality ingredients, come up with a simple plan, and get out of the way. Unless otherwise specified:
Butter is unsalted.
Chili powder is American or Mexican chili powder, medium heat, not ground hot chiles as in some other countries.
Eggs are large.
Garlic salt cannot be substituted for garlic powder.
Milk is whole.
Flour is all-purpose.
Paprika is “sweet” or mild Hungarian or Spanish. It is not hot as it is in many other countries.
Produce is medium size.
Salt is Morton Coarse Kosher.
Sugar is granulated white.
Garlic, onions, carrots, and fresh ginger are peeled.
Preparation times include all the washing, measuring, chopping, and peeling.
I have not specified how much wood you will need for smoking because the strength and flavor of wood depends on many variables, not the least of which are the nature of your cooker and your preferences. Go easy at first. A meal is never ruined by too little smoke. I strongly recommend that you use the same wood and fuel for a year until you have all the other variables under control. Measure wood and keep records with a cooking diary (see page 114).
Try to follow my recipes closely the first time, with no substitutions or improvisation. Then, on your second go-round, you can customize and riff on them. Although it may seem logical to swap honey for molasses, their chemistry is very different, and the outcome can be disappointing.
If you change a recipe, it is a good idea to change only one thing at a time in case something goes wrong.
For most recipes on a grill, I recommend two-zone cooking (see page 8), even if most of the cooking is over direct heat. The cooler indirect-heat zone is your safe zone for when pieces finish early or if they are cooking too fast. Whenever cooking over indirect heat, I always specify an air temperature, usually 225°F or 325°F. That’s because it is easy to measure temperature on the indirect side. But over direct radiant heat, I usually do not specify the temperature beause most cooking thermometers cannot go high enough. Moreover, the direct radiant heat is usually only being used to brown the surface, and the food isn’t there for long. You will know when it is ready by looking at it.
Unless otherwise noted, almost all the recipes in this book require you to cook with the lid down and to sear with the lid up.
French chefs say mise en place (pronounced “MEEZ-ahn-plahss”). Boy Scouts say, “Be prepared.” Nothing will improve your cooking more than putting “everything in its place.”
Read the entire recipe. In the same way athletes visualize the game, do a mental walk-through before you start. Photocopy recipes so you can take them into the kitchen and scribble on them.
Pay close attention to the way a recipe is worded. There is a big difference between “½ cup fresh basil, chopped” and “½ cup chopped fresh basil”: In the first instance, the basil is measured and then chopped, and in the second, the basil is chopped and then measured.
Clear off your work area. Get all the unnecessary stuff out of the way and wash your work surfaces.
Get your hardware together. That means fuel, knives, bowls, pans, paper towels, thermometers, etc.
Get your “software” together. Wash, measure, and chop your ingredients.
Preheat. Heat the cooker, clean the grates, and then close the lid. We want the metal in the grill to absorb heat so when you lift the lid and then close it, the inside temperature bounces right back. Kamados need at least 30 to 60 minutes to preheat properly.