There's a world of grilled food out there, and Steven Raichlen seems to have wandered through all of it the State Department deemed "safe." No Afghanistan, for instance. No Iraq. But not to worry. Any decent conflict produces refugees, and nothing travels quite so easily as your own way with food. So Raichlen availed himself of restaurant cooks in this country where and when he had to--all to get right down to the meat of it.

"Barbecue," as Raichlen points out, is a confusing word in the U.S. because it means so many things, up to and including slow-cooked barbecue with its smoky aroma and succulent charm. The word stands in for the tool itself. It's an event. It's food. It's the style of cooking.

To set the record straight, 90 percent of Raichlen's recipes (there are more than 500, from drinks to appetizers to main courses, salads, and desserts, not to mention sauces and dry rubs) are for grilled foods--and that can mean cooked on a hot grill, a moderately hot grill, a relatively cool grill, or an indirectly heated grill (which is more like an oven than a grill, but that's another story). Raichlen gets into some barbecue recipes: pork ribs, for example, or beef brisket, or chicken. But the reader would be better advised to look elsewhere for instruction specific to barbecue (cooking for long periods of time with smoke at low heat). The results will be more appealing.

But grilling. Well, Steven Raichlen has a lock on grilling. This book is absolutely overwhelming it is so deep, so comprehensive, so far-reaching, so all-encompassing. This isn't one of those chefs with taste memories from a grill in Barbados, now let's try to jazz it up and be clever kind of books. No. This is a book by an author who squatted in the market in Vietnam eating whole grilled eggs dipped in a special sauce, and he gives you the recipe and the technique. You could go set up your own egg-grilling stand in a Vietnamese market with this book. You could open shop in Central or South America. Or North Africa. Or the Middle East. Or Korea. Anywhere food is grilled--be that meat, poultry, seafood, or vegetables--Raichlen's been there and brought home the goods. The real goods.

But there's another angle, too. Raichlen freely shares his travel experiences with you, making this a valuable travel book. And he freely shares his techniques, too, telling you exactly how he learned and all about who taught him. His book is worth it just for the section on salads and sauces. Start there and work your way from cover to cover. Hey, take all summer trying. You won't regret it. Your life will never be the same. You'll probably find yourself thinking that if one grill in the backyard is good, two is no doubt better. See? You're already on your way. Let Steven Raichlen be your guide. --Schuyler Ingle


From Publishers Weekly
The title of the latest assemblage from the author of James Beard Award-winning Raichlen (Miami Spice; High-Flavor Low-Fat Cooking) doesn't begin to convey the international scope of the nearly 500 grilling recipes he gathered while on a three-year, 25-country pilgrimage. Starting with appropriate drinks to accompany grilled food (try a Smoky Martini, flavored with a single drop of Liquid Smoke), Raichlen next turns to appetizers as varied as Shrimp Mousse on Sugarcane, which he discovered in Vietnam, and Grilled Snails, which Patricia Wells told him about during a trip to France. Entrees bold enough to stand up to such beginnings include Korean Sesame-Grilled Beef and cumin-scented Peruvian Beef Kebabs (adapted for American tastes with sirloin rather than beef heart). Raichlen's blendings of tastes and traditions are exemplified in Argentinian Veal and Chicken Kebabs, savory with pancetta, red bell pepper and prunes. Revered American traditions are captured with such recipes as Elizabeth Karmel's North Carolina-Style Pulled Pork and The Great American Hamburger. Raichlen also includes a host of non-grilled salads and vegetables to serve as worthy foils to the intense flavors of food hot from the fire. Sesame Spinach is a favorite dish from Japan, and A Different Greek Salad takes its zip from romaine and dill. This will be a must-have collection for any home cook hoping to expand his or her grilling horizons. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Book Description
Argentinean Veal and Chicken Kebabs. Balinese Prawn SatSs and Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Sesame Dipping Sauce. Mexico's Yucatan-Style Grilled Fish, Italy's famous Bistecca alla Fiorentina, Senegalese Grilled Chicken with Lemon Mustard Sauce, and the best Memphis Ribs, Texas-Style Barbecued Brisket, and North Carolina Pulled Pork ever. Plus grilled sides, grilled starters, grilled desserts, The Ten Secrets of Perfect Grilling, and master recipes for steak, chicken, fish, and vegetables.

Written by Steven Raichlen, the multi-award-winning cookbook author whose boundless enthusiasm took him 150,000 miles across 5 continents to discover the world's best grilled food, The Barbeque Bible! (over 310,000 copies in print) is a 512-page celebration of sizzle, smoke, secret sauces, and everything we love about cooking over fire. Main Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club's Good Cook Club. Winner of a 1998 IACP/Julia Child Cookbook Award.


About the Author
Steven Raichlen is the author of 16 books, including Miami Spice, which won an IACP/Julia Child Award and the High Flavor, Low Fat Cooking Series, which won two James Beard Awards. A La Verenne trained cooking teacher, Raichlen runs the popular Cooking in Paradise Cooking School in St. Barts. He is a restaurant correspondent for National Geographic Traveler and a frequent contributor to Food & Wine. He is a columnist for The Los Angeles Times Syndicate and a former restaurant critic for Boston Magazine. He is also the founding editor of Sante, a healthy cooking magazine for physicians. He has appeared numerous times on national television, including The Today Show and Good Morning America as well as CNN and The Discovery Channel. Raichlen lives in Coconut Grove, Florida, with his wife Barbara.


Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
SPICY CHILE WINGS Singapore These spicy wings reflect Singapore's incredible ethnic diversity. Five-spice powder is a Chinese flavoring, while the ketjap manis (sweet soy sauce) comes from Indonesia. The frying of the spice paste is characteristic of Malaysian and Nonya ("grandmother") cooking, but the place where I actually sampled the wings was the Arab Market. Frying the spice paste creates a complex flavor that will make these some of the best wings you've ever tasted. The vendor who shared this recipe with me used parboiled wings, which he slathered with spice paste and finished on the grill. Given the hundreds of wings sold each morning, parboiling was a way for him to shorten the cooking time to a manageable duration. Since you and I are in less of a rush than the average market cook, I suggest you take the time to marinate the raw wings in the spice paste and cook them from start to finish on the grill. Note that although this recipe may look a little complicated, the actual preparation time is about 20 minutes. 16 whole chicken wings (about 3 1/2 pounds) 3 large shallots, peeled 6 cloves garlic, peeled 1 piece (1 inch) fresh ginger 2 to 10 Thai, serrano, or small jalapeno chiles, seeded (for hotter wings, leave the seeds in) 1/2 cup vegetable oil 2 tablespoons soy sauce 2 tablespoons sweet soy sauce (ketjap manis) or 1 tablespoon each regular soy sauce and molasses 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder 1. Rinse the wings under cold running water, then drain and blot dry with paper towels. Make 2 or 3 deep slashes, to the bone, in the meaty part of each wing. Place in a large bowl and refrigerate while you prepare the spice paste. 2. Combine the shallots, garlic, ginger, and chiles in a food processor and process to a smooth paste. Add 1/4 cup of the oil, the soy sauces, and five-spice powder and process until smooth. 3. Heat the remaining 1/4 cup oil in a wok or small, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the spice paste and cook, stirring constantly, until thick, brown, and very flavorful, 8 to 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. 4.Add the cooled spice paste to the chicken and turn the wings to coat thoroughly. Cover and let marinate, in the refrigerator, for at least six hours or as long as 24 (the longer the better). 5. Preheat the grill to medium-high. 6. When ready to cook, oil the grill grate. Arrange the wings on the hot grate and grill, turning with tongs, until the thicker wing sections are o longer pink near the bone, 12 to 16 minutes in all. 7. Transfer the wings to a serving plate and serve. Makes 16 whole wings; serves 4 to 8 as an appetizer. HONEY SESAME SHRIMP "ON THE BARBIE" Australia Shrimp "on the barbie" (grill) is Australia's most famous culinary export. Even if you know nothing else about Down Under cooking, you're surely aware of how much Australians love grilling--especially seafood. If the truth be told, shrimp is something of a misnomer, as most Australians would say "prawns." The Chinese roots of this dish are obvious--a legacy of the huge influx of Asian immigrants to Australia in the 1970s and 80s. I love the way the sweetness of the honey and five-spice powder play off the nuttiness of the sesame seeds and oil and the brininess of the shrimp and soy sauce. 1 1/2 pounds jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined 5 tablespoons Asian (dark) sesame oil 3 tablespoons rice wine, sake, or dry sherry 3 tablespoons soy sauce 1 1/2 tablespoons honey 1 1/2 tablespoons sesame seeds 1 tablespoon Thai sweet chile sauce (optional) 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder 2 cloves garlic, crushed with the side of a cleaver 2 slices (1/4 inch thick) fresh ginger 2 scallions, trimmed, white part flattened with the side of a cleaver, green part finely chopped and set aside for garnish 1. Rinse the shrimp under cold running water, then drain and blot dry with paper towels. Set aside while you prepare the marinade. 2.Combine three tablespoons of the sesame oil, the rice wine, soy sauce, honey, sesame seeds, chile sauce (if using), and five-spice powder in a large bowl and whisk to blend. Stir in the garlic, ginger, scallions, and shrimp to coat, then cover and let marinate in the refrigerator, for 30 to 60 minutes. 3. Preheat the grill to high. 4. Using a slotted spoon, remove the shrimp from the marinade to a bowl and toss with the remaining 2 tablespoons sesame oil. Pour the marinade into a saucepan; remove and discard the garlic, ginger, and scallion whites, using the slotted spoon. Bring the marinade to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, uncovered, to a thick, syrupy glaze, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. 5. When ready to cook, oil the grate. Arrange the shrimp on the hot grate and grill, turning with tongs, until nicely browned on the outside and firm and pink inside, about 2 minutes per side. Brush the shrimp with the glaze as they cook. 6. Transfer the shrimp to serving plates and or a platter and sprinkle with the scallion greens. Serve immediately. Serves 4 ARGENTINIAN GRILLED EGGPLANT Argentina Argentinians don't generally dilute their staunchly carnivornian meals with superfluous side dishes or vegetables. However, grilled eggplant has become part of the steak house repertoire. The eggplant of choice is a small (4 inches long) Italian variety--the sort you'd find in an Italian market or gourmet shop. Larger eggplants can be cooked this way, too. (If using large eggplant, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices and grill 3 to 5 minutes per side.) 3 small (4 to 6 ounces each) Italian eggplants 2 cloves garlic, minced 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon dried basil 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1 teaspoon sweet or hot paprika 1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes (optional) Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1. Preheat the grill to high. 2. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise; do not trim off the stem ends. Mix the garlic and oil in a small bowl. Brush the mixture over the cut sides of the eggplants. Combine the herbs and spices in a small bowl and set aside. 3. When ready to cook, arrange the eggplants, cut sides down, on the hot grate and grill until nicely browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Lightly brush the skin sides of the eggplants with the oil mixture. Turn the eggplants with tongs and brush the tops with the remaining oil. Sprinkle with the dried herb mixture and salt and black pepper to taste. Continue cooking the eggplants, cut sides up, until the flesh is soft, 6 to 8 minutes more. Serve immediately. Serves 6 Excerpted from The Barbecue! Bible. Copyright c 1998 by Steven Raichlen Reprinted with permission by Workman Publishing.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

With a lifelong curiosity for the affinity of food and flame, Steven Raichlen set out on a three-year adventure to experience live-fire cooking in 25 countries. He visited steak houses in Buenos Aires and sate stalls in Bali. He journeyed to Boston Beach to find Jamaica's best jerk, savored shrimp grilled on ember-filled hubcaps in Vietnam and vegetables seared on infrared gas grills in Tokyo. And back home he tasted the best ribs in Kansas City and Memphis and the finest of the slow smoked briskets of Texas.

The tales of Raichlen's travels, the recipies he gathered and the dishes this journey inspired him to create are all in his authoritative new book, The Barbecue! Bible. It is the definitive cookbook on global grilling, offering tips and techniques for all kinds of live fire cooking -- from rotisserie to fire roasting. With Raichlen's insider list of the world's top 25 grill restaurants, a glossary of special ingredients, a directory of mail-order sources and the most extensive collection of grilling and barbecuing recipies ever published, The Barbecue! Bible is a must for the serious cooks' shelf.

Steven Raichlen is the author of 16 books, including Miami Spice, which won an IACP/Julia Child Award and the High-Flavor, Low-Fat Cooking series, which won two James Beard Awards. A La Varenne trained cooking teacher, Raichlen runs the popular Cooking in Paridise Cooking School in St. Barts. He is a restaurant correspondent for National Geographic Traveler and a frequent contributor to Food & Wine. He is a columnist for The Los Angeles Times Syndicate and a former restaurant critic for Boston Magazine. He is also the founding editor of Sante, a healthy cooking magazine for physicians. He has appeared numerous times on national television, including The Today Show and Good Morning America as well as CNN and The Discovery Channel. Raichlen lives in Coconut Grove, Florida, with his wife Barbara.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publisher's Weekly

The title of the latest assemblage from the author of James Beard Award-winning Raichlen (Miami Spice, High-Flavor Low-Fat Cooking) doesn't begin to convey the international scope of the nearly 500 grilling recipes he gathered while on a three-year, 25-country pilgrimage. Starting with appropriate drinks to accompany grilled food (try a Smoky Martini, flavored with a single drop of Liquid Smoke), Raichlen next turns to appetizers as varied as Shrimp Mousse on Sugarcane, which he discovered in Vietnam, and Grilled Snails, which Patricia Wells told him about during a trip to France. Entrees bold enough to stand up to such beginnings include Korean Sesame-Grilled Beef and cumin-scented Peruvian Beef Kebabs (adapted for American tastes with sirloin rather than beef heart). Raichlen's blendings of tastes and traditions are exemplified in Argentinian Veal and Chicken Kebabs, savory with pancetta, red bell pepper and prunes. Revered American traditions are captured with such receipes as Elizabeth Karmel's North Carolina-Style Pulled Pork and The Great American Hamburger. Raichlen also includes a host of non-grilled salads and vegetables to serve as worthy foils to the intense flavors of food hot from the fire. Sesame Spinach is a favorite dish from Japan, and A Different Greek Salad takes its zip from romaine and dill. (starred review)

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

The Barbecue! Bible shows you easily how to bring the most intense, interesting,and best flavors from all over the world into your backyard or kitchen.  — Mark Miller

This spirited book contains recipe after mouthwatering recipe that demonstrate what food is truly about -- sensuality! I can't wait to get into the kitchen to try a few of these gems!  — Charlie Trotter