Koncocoo

Best Barbecuing & Grilling

Franklin Barbecue: A Meat-Smoking Manifesto
Today, Franklin Barbecue has grown into the most popular, critically lauded, and obsessed-over barbecue joint in the country (if not the world)—and Franklin is the winner of every major barbecue award there is. “I used to think Aaron Franklin was a genius: There was his rise from backyard dabbler to king of Texas pitmasters; his mind-altering brisket that made normally rational people (myself included) wait hours for the chance to eat it; and his insistence that game-changing barbecue doesn’t come from miracles but rather elbow grease. And instead of just listing ingredients and rattling off generic recipes, these pages tell the story of a place and a barbecue tradition steeped in history. In it, he exposes the sacred insights of a top pitmaster—information that can otherwise only be learned from long nights spent staring at a fire, shovel in hand, constantly prodding and pinching your meat to figure out that ‘just perfect’ point of doneness.
Reviews
"He had a passion, he tinkered, he produced some really bad BBQ but persevered, he paid attention to the details, tweaked some to experiment, found out what worked and what didn't and then, over time, became an expert with a well-developed sense of intuition. The truth is that formula has worked for hundreds of people, great writers, radio hosts, businessmen, programmers and other professionals uses that exact same set of steps to become masters, read their biographies and listen to their interviews, it's the same story. It's hard work, it's not because Aaron uses pickle juice blessed by a New Orleans witch doctor during an eclipse as an injection precisely 14.373581 hours before it goes on the grill. You won't buy this book and then suddenly be able to cook the best BBQ on the planet, but you'll have a deeper understanding of the craft and you'll know where you should experiment and where you should learn from his mistakes."
"It is a great book on how Aaron Franklin does his BBQ, his history and the path of an individual to obtain goals."
"Not a ton of recipes but so much information on technique, philosophy, food prep, seasoning, equipment and smoke it will make your head spin."
"I have followed his instruction for brisket to the letter and even though I've never eaten at Franklin Barbecue (yet), it was the best brisket I had ever eaten."
"I bought this as a gift for my BBQ smoker friend."
"Giving the reasons to why makes it a truly helpful book for learning the art of BBQ."
"If you want to try something totally simple, yet totally awesome, try cooking beef ribs first if anything else -- it's simple and just pain good."
"I live in Austin, have eaten at Franklin BBQ, and grew up in Central Texas with a father who builds his own BBQ pits. This book is fantastic."
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Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling
With the help of physicist and food scientist Prof. Greg Blonder, PhD, of Boston University, he explains why dry brining is better than wet brining; how marinades really work; why rubs shouldn't have salt in them; the importance of digital thermometers; why searing doesn't seal in juices; how salt penetrates but spices don't; when charcoal beats gas and when gas beats charcoal; how to calibrate and tune a grill or smoker; how to keep fish from sticking; cooking with logs; the strengths and weaknesses of the new pellet cookers; tricks for rotisserie cooking; why cooking whole animals is a bad idea; which grill grates are best; and why beer-can chicken is a waste of good beer and nowhere close to the best way to cook a bird. * Myth: You should sear first, then cook. Goldwyn, whose day job is running the website amazingribs.com, explores the complexity of heat, meat, and smoke in the first half of his book, with a sense of humor sharper than his nickname suggests and a stack of scientific research provided by physicist Greg Blonder. Myth and lore abounds in the world of cooking, and nowhere more so than in the primal arena that exists when humans put open fire and meat together in the great outdoors (or suburban backyard, as the case may be). That’s good news for anyone who, like me, longs to understand the science of grilling and barbecue; the thermodynamics of heat transfer under that kettle dome, the chemistry of the smoke ring, and what makes a char-grilled steak so g*&@%# delicious. Flipping over each page to discover what lies on the next will remind you of the very first time you peeked under the cover of your grill and breathed in the alchemy that occurs between smoke and meat. Meathead has clearly and simply explained the science of live-fire cooking from understanding the role of fire and smoke to how marinades and brines work to flavor and enhance meat and lots more. A compilation and study of everything that affects your meat’s taste and texture.”. — Charlie McKenna, Chef Owner of Lillie’s Q, LQ Chicken Shack, and Dixie in Chicago. “ A game-changer reminiscent of the scientific wisdom of Harold McGee and the masterful techniques of Jacques Pépin .”. — Paul Virant, Executive Chef of Perennial Virant in Chicago and author of The Preservation Kitchen “ The ultimate compilation of the science of barbecue. One would be hard pressed to have a single question or curiosity that is not answered within the pages of this book.”. — Linda Orrison, President, National Barbecue Association, 2015–2016. "This is a go-to book in my cookbook library. ".
Reviews
"For years I have bought book after book to learn every secret I can about BBQ."
"I am an old BBQ cook, a certified BBQ Judge, and a reader of Meathead's columns."
"I tried three of his recipes in the past three days and they were all fantastic, and better than my usual outdoor cooking results. All of the usual suspects are in this volume, but then there are surprising entries like a French Rotisserie Chicken which is fantastic, and loaded with tasty produce, and Baha Tacos that are killer! I love to make ridiculous amounts of it, so that I can have lots of 1-2 cup baggies of leftovers in the freezer for killer pizza, nachos, migas…. 5) Migas with the leftover brisket. 6-7) Touchdown Tailgate Brat Tub – p 279. Totally leftover smoked meat worthy!"
"So while I wait (6 degrees F as I write this review) until a little warmer weather I thought I should look for a book that would provide me with rubs, sauces, and recipes plus some how to do it best methods for smoking. After reading the reviews on this book I downloaded and began looking through it....boy, do I have a lot to learn about grilling and smoking. Well, after reading the science behind cooking meat I took two 2 in thick beef filets out of the freezer and used Meathead's indirect cooking method in my oven. If you really want to up your game in the grilling department or you have a husband who thinks he knows all there is about grilling or smoking (but you know it isn't true) get this book."
"I am old school, so it is nice to have the info at your fingertips, rather than searching and clicking through a website to get a great recipe or quick reference for a cooking technique."
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Project Smoke
From America’s “master griller” ( Esquire ), a step-by-step guide to cold-smoking, hot-smoking, and smoke-roasting, and a collection of 100 innovative recipes for smoking every kind of food, from starters to desserts. As someone who has been smoking meat his whole life, even I found new ground covered in this smart, accessible book.”. --Myron Mixon, author and host of BBQ Pitmasters, Smoked, and BBQ Rules. “If your version of heaven has smoked meats waiting beyond the pearly gates, then Project Smoke is your bible.”. --Tom Colicchio, author, chef/owner Crafted hospitality, and host of Top Chef. Project Smoke is both an indispensible guidebook to mastering smoking techniques and a cookbook billowing with innovative recipes, from the usual suspects like appetizers and meats to the more surprising desserts, cocktails, and condiments.”— Taste of the South. There’s hot smoking and cold-smoking, smoke-braising, tea-smoking, “caveman” smoking direct on embers, and stovetop smoking.
Reviews
"PS: Unlike some self-loving "I am the best, buy my books because they tell you how good I am" super BBQ champions, these two authors provide complete recipes and techniques that actually work and produce amazing results."
"I have been wanting to make smoked deviled eggs for a long time but couldn't think of a way to make it worth without overlooking the egg, and this book has the perfect solution."
"From the Martha Stewart of grilling comes Raichlen's new book which features recipes from his latest PBS series."
"I've made a few of the recipes in this book so far and everyone has complemented me on how delicious everything is."
"Really high quality pictures with easy to follow instructions."
"This guy has some great recipes."
"I like to try new things in my smoker."
"great addition to the back yard barbecue... Superbly written with tons of interesting side facts."
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Best Outdoor Cooking

Franklin Barbecue: A Meat-Smoking Manifesto
Today, Franklin Barbecue has grown into the most popular, critically lauded, and obsessed-over barbecue joint in the country (if not the world)—and Franklin is the winner of every major barbecue award there is. “I used to think Aaron Franklin was a genius: There was his rise from backyard dabbler to king of Texas pitmasters; his mind-altering brisket that made normally rational people (myself included) wait hours for the chance to eat it; and his insistence that game-changing barbecue doesn’t come from miracles but rather elbow grease. And instead of just listing ingredients and rattling off generic recipes, these pages tell the story of a place and a barbecue tradition steeped in history. In it, he exposes the sacred insights of a top pitmaster—information that can otherwise only be learned from long nights spent staring at a fire, shovel in hand, constantly prodding and pinching your meat to figure out that ‘just perfect’ point of doneness.
Reviews
"He had a passion, he tinkered, he produced some really bad BBQ but persevered, he paid attention to the details, tweaked some to experiment, found out what worked and what didn't and then, over time, became an expert with a well-developed sense of intuition. The truth is that formula has worked for hundreds of people, great writers, radio hosts, businessmen, programmers and other professionals uses that exact same set of steps to become masters, read their biographies and listen to their interviews, it's the same story. It's hard work, it's not because Aaron uses pickle juice blessed by a New Orleans witch doctor during an eclipse as an injection precisely 14.373581 hours before it goes on the grill. You won't buy this book and then suddenly be able to cook the best BBQ on the planet, but you'll have a deeper understanding of the craft and you'll know where you should experiment and where you should learn from his mistakes."
"Franklin Barbecue: A Meat Smoking Manifesto. This is not a cookbook. ;) He walks you through the smoking of 4 meats, then goes on to recipes for a few sauces and a few sides."
"I found the two books contradicted each other fairly often, but "Meathead" had scientific data and analysis to back up his conclusions and recommendations."
"I smoked a brisket last weekend and it might not be his recipe or even come close to his recipe I tried my best."
"If you have the time to invest in a brisket, you have the time to invest in this book."
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Best Agricultural Science

The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science
How to make homemade mac 'n' cheese that is as satisfyingly gooey and velvety-smooth as the blue box stuff, but far tastier? In hundreds of easy-to-make recipes with over 1,000 full-color images, you will find out how to make foolproof Hollandaise sauce in just two minutes, how to transform one simple tomato sauce into a half dozen dishes, how to make the crispiest, creamiest potato casserole ever conceived, and much more. “[Kenji] approaches recipe development with monomaniacal zeal, then shares the delicious results with the infectious enthusiasm of the coolest teacher you had in high school.”. - The Globe and Mail.
Reviews
""The Food Lab" by Lopez-Alt is a dense collection of science based tips, explanations, techniques, and recipes for the home cook. I really like the way this book has been laid out: - The introduction is a modest overview of the author and his background followed by some really helpful information on equipment (such as an explanation on techniques for holding knives, how heat transfers through metal for consideration in what type of pan to use, essential equipment to have in your kitchen, and how to store and organize your fridge and pantry). * Cooked Vegetables has a great range of side dishes such as Brussels sprouts, Mexican street corn salad, roasted cauliflower, mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, and quite a few more recipes. Recipes in this chapter include mac 'n' cheese, risotto, linguine with clams, lasagna, and spaghetti. - The front and back book covers insides have conversion tables to be opened or flipped to quickly as a reference."
"And this book is great, and beautiful, full of photos, his great sense of humor, and excellent instructions. I was just hoping to see more of that type of food, whereas this book is targeted towards beginners (not to say that experienced cooks can't get value out of this book, because it's full of great info) or more specifically, towards people who haven't been reading his column all this time. Though in the meanwhile, there are already recipes I've got bookmarked to try out, like his puttanesca, pot roast, oven fries, THAT MEATLOAF, not to mention his excellent egg salad, which I've previously made from the site…. I'm so glad to be able to pay Kenji back in some form for the years of free content on Serious Eats and I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in cooking and improving their skills, in particular beginner cooks."
"Like most cookbooks today, it begins with a background of the author, who is an MIT grad turned culinary scientist. There are some things which go contrary to cooking norms (flip your steak often, and searing does not lock in juice), but there are explanations for the methods behinds the madness. Even if you never bother to make a recipe from this book verbatim, it will greatly increase your cooking skills from practical knowledge of physics, chemistry, taste, and technique."
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Best Outdoor Cooking

Franklin Barbecue: A Meat-Smoking Manifesto
Today, Franklin Barbecue has grown into the most popular, critically lauded, and obsessed-over barbecue joint in the country (if not the world)—and Franklin is the winner of every major barbecue award there is. “I used to think Aaron Franklin was a genius: There was his rise from backyard dabbler to king of Texas pitmasters; his mind-altering brisket that made normally rational people (myself included) wait hours for the chance to eat it; and his insistence that game-changing barbecue doesn’t come from miracles but rather elbow grease. He’s not a genius anymore; he’s a god.” — Andrew Knowlton, restaurant and drinks editor, Bon Appétit “The most refreshing barbecue book to come along yet. In it, he exposes the sacred insights of a top pitmaster—information that can otherwise only be learned from long nights spent staring at a fire, shovel in hand, constantly prodding and pinching your meat to figure out that ‘just perfect’ point of doneness. JORDAN MACKAY is the wine and spirits critic for San Francisco magazine, and the coauthor of the James Beard Award-winning Secrets of the Sommeliers .
Reviews
"He had a passion, he tinkered, he produced some really bad BBQ but persevered, he paid attention to the details, tweaked some to experiment, found out what worked and what didn't and then, over time, became an expert with a well-developed sense of intuition. The truth is that formula has worked for hundreds of people, great writers, radio hosts, businessmen, programmers and other professionals uses that exact same set of steps to become masters, read their biographies and listen to their interviews, it's the same story. It's hard work, it's not because Aaron uses pickle juice blessed by a New Orleans witch doctor during an eclipse as an injection precisely 14.373581 hours before it goes on the grill. You won't buy this book and then suddenly be able to cook the best BBQ on the planet, but you'll have a deeper understanding of the craft and you'll know where you should experiment and where you should learn from his mistakes."
"It is a great book on how Aaron Franklin does his BBQ, his history and the path of an individual to obtain goals."
"Not a ton of recipes but so much information on technique, philosophy, food prep, seasoning, equipment and smoke it will make your head spin."
"I have followed his instruction for brisket to the letter and even though I've never eaten at Franklin Barbecue (yet), it was the best brisket I had ever eaten."
"I bought this as a gift for my BBQ smoker friend."
"Giving the reasons to why makes it a truly helpful book for learning the art of BBQ."
"If you want to try something totally simple, yet totally awesome, try cooking beef ribs first if anything else -- it's simple and just pain good."
"I live in Austin, have eaten at Franklin BBQ, and grew up in Central Texas with a father who builds his own BBQ pits. This book is fantastic."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best One-Hour Cookbook, Food & Wine Short Reads

A Man, A Can, A Plan: 50 Great Guy Meals Even You Can Make!
A Man, a Can, a Plan , inspired by an article in the most popular mens magazine, Men's Health, is a cookbook that presents 50 simple, inexpensive recipes featuring ingredients guys have right in their cupboards--canned food. 10-oz can chunk chicken breast, drained and flaked 11-oz can reduced-fat cream of mushroom soup 6-oz can sliced mushrooms, drained 12-oz bag "no yolk" egg noodles, cooked according to the package directions Also: 1/2 cup chopped onion, 2 tsp olive oil, 1 cup fat-free sour cream. Breakfasts: 4 Sandwiches: 8 Munchies: 9 Dinners: 25 Desserts: 4 Special cooking and nutrition tips: 15 Easy-to-clean pages: 43. David Joachim has edited, written, or contributed to 30 books on food, cooking, and related matters.
Reviews
"I just ordered this book (got it next day (Sat) with prime membership though I did not pay for the faster shipping)as part of a useful gag gift for a really good friend. It has large cardboard pages (like toddler books) and pictures of ingredients in a fashion of 'picture of can of soup' + 'picture of noodles' + 'picture of cheese' = 'picture of final product'."
"Not exactly haute cuisine, but for someone who wants something other than drive through burgers and pizza delivery for dinner once in a while and doesn't want to spend forever trying to buy ingredients and spices and cook, this is an excellent book."
"I'm sure after mastering these recipes a person would probably graduate to more complicated and interesting dishes, and i think that this book provides that confidence and stepping stone to get there. Not that it ventures into that territory, but once a person gains that confidence that they can actually cook something other than a hot pocket that actually provides decent nutrition and sustenance such as the things in this book, they will be more willing to branch out to other great meals/recipes. Bottom line, this book is a great start for some one new to cooking, or looking for easy, less complicated meals that are simple to make."
"The recipes are tasty, easy to fix and made from things you're likely to have in the pantry."
"Gave as a Christmas gift to college student how doesn't know how to cook."
"I especially liked the feature that shows you via pictures what canned goods or other ingredients are needed to create your "gourmet delight.""
"Purchased for 21 year old male whose cooking repertoire consists of fish sticks, chicken nuggets and frozen French fries."
"A must for a retired man."
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Best Camping & RV Cooking

Recipes for Adventure: Healthy, Hearty and Homemade Backpacking Recipes
Whether you hit the trail with a backpack, kayak, bicycle, sailboat, RV or motorcycle, Chef Glenn’s backpacking cookbook is guaranteed to make meal time as deeply satisfying as your adventures. The second half of the book presents a wide variety of delicious recipes for breakfasts, lunches, dinners and desserts. Some people lose sleep over mortgage payments and job stress, but Chef Glenn lays awake at night thinking of how to turn potatoes and turnips into a tasty sauce for his next backpacking meal.
Reviews
"I was already drying excess food from the garden to use over the winter and this little book gives me so many new ideas, not just for Motorcycle Camping, but preserving more of our garden harvest."
"My advice for anyone looking at this book is to buy it and buy a couple of extra for gifts to your backpacking friends."
"I dehydrated food using these directions for a week-long backpacking trip."
"It is obvious that the author has prepared all of these recipes and that they are tried and true, he provides tips and has figured out ways to ensure that the rehydrated foods taste good, I appreciate this."
"While home dried meals are heavier than the packaged freeze dried versions, the nutrition and flavor are unsurpassed."
"The book has excellent pictures and all kinds of hints and background information to plan meals for an extended trip."
"Little disappointed that i can get all this and more on line, he's great with his recipes and directions but if you're good with the Internet, may want to save your money, especially since it's a little high price compared to others, but he has to be supported for all his hard work and know how."
"One of our sons is a rabid camper and he loves the book to come up with new things and ways to cook when camping."
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Best Tailgating Cooking

Real BBQ: The Ultimate Step-By-Step Smoker Cookbook
Recipes in this smoker cookbook include: Beer Can Chicken, Hickory-Smoked Pork Belly, "All Day Long" Smoked Beef Brisket, Beach Barbecue Lobster Tails, Coffee-Rubbed Buffalo Steak, and so much more! Previously, he served as a web producer for Bon Appétit and Epicurious, and as an editor at The Daily Meal, where he ran the test kitchen.
Reviews
"My favorite part of the book is Part One which is Smoking Fundamentals. Once you get pass Part One then here comes the good part: Part Two: Let's Smoke Meat."
"Not only does it have tons of great recipes for all kinds of meats, sauces, rubs and fish but it actually teaches the reader how to smoke protein and vegetables the right way."
"This book would make a great gift for any family member you feel would love to try their hand at real BBQ cooking."
"After sharing the different types of smokers, what the process of smoking does to meats, the cuts that are best for smoking, and types of woods, Real BBQ dives into a collection of recipes that are gathered by meat type they pertain to."
"I am also a pretty picky eater... but everything in this book sounds amazing and I cannot wait to try!!! I don't usually purchase cookbooks - because I find everything on the internet and save the space books take up around my house.. but that's the beauty of Kindle Editions!"
"My family loves BBQ, but we could never seem to get quite the same taste at home, that we did at BBQ restaurants and now I know why!"
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