Weber's Way To Grill: The Step-by-Step Guide to Expert Grilling (Sunset Books)

My husband and I have owned a Weber charcoal grill for over 15 years. I bought this cookbook for my husband as a Father's Day gift when it was published in mid-2010 after trying a delicious free recipe given out by Weber Grills. I didn't research the book and ordered it online and was more than surprised by how great the book is. The format is an oversized book. Every single page has color photographs, up to a dozen per page. As the subtitle says, this book teaches the recipes step by step. Not only is the food preparation taught, but so are the grilling techniques using charcoal Weber grills, such as how to smoke meat and do slow cooking barbeque. Even better, this cookbook teaches basic information about meat, shellfish and fish preparation -- not just being a recipe collection cookbook. For example, how to trim a steak and how to slice a beef strip loin into individual steaks, which will save you money compared to buying steaks prepared by a butcher. Again all these processes are described in words and color photographs so the pocesses are nearly foolproof. These methods of course can also be used for cooking meats indoors, such as how to split a cornish game hen or how to cut apart an avocado. Recipes and steps for sauces, vegetable side dishes, and so forth are here too such as polenta, chile sauces, and grilling vegetables such as corn on the cob and artichokes. There even directions for grilling pizza and roasting veggies on the grill to make into soup. I liked that there are two indexes: one for technique and one for the recipes. This book is good for the beginner as well as the intermediate or expert griller. If you already know most of the basic information the recipes in and of themselves will make this cookbook useful and valuable to you. The photography is high quality and the pages are laid out well for good visual appeal. The chapters are divided with color coding on the edges so the book is easy to flip through if you are looking for the poultry chapter, for example. The images of the food before, during and after will have your mouth watering and will inspire you to try these recipes. This book will also appeal to visual people who may resist reading a text-heavy cookbook instruction type manual. This is an impressive book that's worth every penny. It makes a great gift book for anyone who likes to grill.

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.

I'm not a beginner, but I'm not good at grilling either. Like many pit master wanna-be's I wasn't getting the best out of my grill. I learned things from page one. For example, about salt. Jamie Purviance recommended Diamond Crystal Kosher salt. Diamond Crystal KOSHER SALT - 1 box, 3 lb I had never heard of it. It melts into the food better, tastes cleaner and is used by most experienced grillers. It has only 280 MG of sodium per 1/4th teaspoon. My salt had 590 mg of sodium! Also, I was thinking I needed the salt with the added iodine. He does not recommend that because of all the added anti-caking ingredients which affect the flavor. (I researched and saw that an adult woman needs 150 MCG of iodine per day, and yogurt, shellfish, eggs and even strawberries are good sources. (sea vegetables too, if you like that.). Most good multivitamins also have 150 mcg of iodine. The author explains how to set up a zone grilling system for direct and indirect grilling, and when to use each one. He explains the differences between various charcoals and woods. He details how to determine grill temperature and tell when food is done. The vegetable and fruit grilling guide was especially useful, as was the grilled pizza technique. The author goes over all the basics you may not have known, or possibly have forgotten. There are extensive recipes using common ingredients, nothing odd or hard to find. The photos are nothing short of inspiring. Grill experts may not get a lot new from the basic information, but there are lots of ideas for rubs, sauces and dishes they can add to their menus. Banana s'mores anyone? I may never be competition worthy, but I sure am learning a lot from this terrific book! I'm sure you will too.

Pleasantly surprised by this book because it manages to do two things really well. First, it gives you excellent practical information on how to set-up and use your grill, starting right with the basics, but going further to explain how to smoke and slow cook too. Second, it has a range of great recipes, again ranging from the simple to some fairly involved/ advanced. Great section about 10 pages long on ribs, with illustrations that are easy to follow. So why only 4 stars? Well the content is worth five, but for a book that will be used primarily (I suspect) by men, and dragged from table to patio and back, it's not put together very durably. After the first week, when admittedly it got plenty of use, the spine started to split. I should really get around to returning it but i like the book so much I've been using it in the meantime....

Aussie's think they can BBQ and honestly we do "okay" but I am here to tell you this book puts it all into perspective and makes our previous efforts seem like amateurs. We cook by weight and time and Mr Purviance teaches us to cook by Temperature...... Temperature is definitely the way to go. There are a few variations in actual cuts of meat - some we call different names and other we just don't have but extensive photos mean you can usually work it out. It is also a shame that planking wood is so hard to come by along with smoking chunks. The techniques however, offered up are invaluable and the recipe while amazing are second to the process. Buy this book and a good thermometer (we ended up ordering one from Thermoworks) and you will want to BBQ all year long. I have purchased 5 copies of this book now for family & friends and they all treat it like the bible to BBQ that it is. We own a gas grill, a charcoal weber & a Weber smoker now thanks to this book before we just threw a bit of red meat on the Barby in summer so as not to heat the kitchen up. Now I can buy even the cheaper cuts of meat and they turn out great - the good cuts turn out fantastic. We LOVE TO GRILL now - thanks Jamie! I have since purchased two more Mr Purviance Weber books and am looking forward to see what is on offer. It is a shame Weber have not made this book available in Australia - instead we have the 1960's Australian Kettle BBQ book which is outdated and poor in comparison

I have been doing some smoking with my Traeger, but I decided I wanted to start cooking more on my Weber kettle. I decided to see what books were available, and I came across this book. By reading the description. I felt like it was going to be a really good book. Although quite a bit more expensive, I would highly recommend the spiral bound version. When the book arrived, I found it to be way more than what was advertised. There are great how to tips, a great selection of recipes and great general knowledge. I believe it will be extremely helpful to anyone wanting to broaden their grilling skills! Again, I can’t say enough good about this book!

LOVE this book! This is the perfect companion to our new Weber grill. The book has WONDERFUL recipes with beautiful color photos! (Be Warned: You WILL get hungry flipping through the book!) So far, my favorite recipe is the tea-rubbed steak with sherried mushrooms...it's the BEST steak I've EVER had! (And we've made this recipe three times now.) But the book is much more than recipes...it's a true grilling resource guide. There are grilling tips for every category (i.e.: beef, chicken, seafood...) as well as food preparation tips to save you time and decrease frustration. This will quickly be one of your "go-to" resources for the grill...guaranteed! My ONE complaint: The book does not lay flat when opened. I wish it was spiral bound. If Weber ever offers it with a spiral binding, I'll be buying it again! Because it's THAT good!

I absolutely love this book. This is the second copy I've bought, this one as a gift for my son to go with the Weber grill I gave him for his 30th birthday. It contains fantastic and foolproof recipes that are summer standards for my wife and me. Buy this together with a Weber grill and follow the recipes to the letter - paying attention to the combination of cooking times and temperature and you simply can't go wrong. I've bought a couple other books in this series, all by Jamie Purviance, but really like this the best by far. I can't say I am thrilled so far with some of the recipes for grilling vegetables; sorry, but I like my ratatouie juicy. Sometimes you just have to choose the technology to fit the material. But the meat and fish recipes - awesome. The only other gripe is the lousy binding which goes quickly so you end up with a collection of folios of a few recipes each. But there is an upside, which is that they are easier to use once they fall out of the book! I'm willing to forgive this failing, in fact I would put up with a lot more than that for the pleasure of using these recipes.

Wonderful book. Very good detail on how to barbeque. From beginner to expert will love this book. Recipes are Western however, and will need some adaptation for Indian condiments and palate.

I absolutely love this book. It's brilliant for people who love to barbecue, but particularly if you're used to just flipping burgers and burning sausages and chicken. The advice it gives you enables you to do a lot more high-quality stuff on the barbecue, without burning it - use of the indirect method, for example, for things like chicken and sausages. I've genuinely had people ask me how on earth I cook things without burning them! But perhaps the best thing is the wealth of rubs and recipes that can be used under a grill oven. You won't get smoky flavours but the recipes are so good you can live without them.

This is an excellent BBQ book with many good recipes that I have made over and over again. I thought that my family would enjoy this book and produce great meals for themselves. Price was reasonable and free shipping was great! A must for BBQ enthusiasts!

Me encantó, mucho más de lo que esperaba en cuanto a recetas... sólo que no crean que están fáciles, pero si su idea es mejorar y dar algo diferente a una carne asada, es ideal... tiene buena calidad... me gustó mucho...

Really glad I purchased this book. It is full of really useful information throughout, focusing on grill techniques, direct and indirect cooking, cooking times of all meats. The recipes are really good too, they are not posh fancy recipes, but well put togther classic BBQ recipes which are right up my street. Sections include Beef, Chicken, Turkey, Pork, Lamb, Seafood, Vegetables, Desserts. This book is all you need!