What is your top 10 best smoking and grilling cookbooks?


 
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PerryBarger

New member
I currently only own one Barbecue cook book and that's Chris Lilley's book. I have made a lot of the recipes in it and it truly upped my game on pulled pork. Only recipe in the book I wasnt crazy about was the Memphis dry ribs. I just did not care for the rub and they seemed a bit powdery after the second application of rub. So Im ready to purchase more books and wondered what you more experienced people considered your top ten must have cookbooks for grilling and smoking. I had thought about buying Myron's book but I am not a huge fan of all the techniques he does like putting everything in a pan.
 
I have Peace, Love and BBQ by Mike Mills, Myron Mixon's book, Chris Lilley's, and the KCBS cook book. They are all good, but I think that Chris' and Mike's are the best.
 
Funny you don't like the Lilly Memphis dry ribs. A friend of mine asked me for that recipe and said it was some of the best dry ribs she'd had. How are they "powdery" if you dredge in the bath? Anyhow, try his mixed grilled veggies and pork chop recipes if you haven't yet.

As to other books, Ray Lampe's, aka Dr. BBQ, first one is good, as I'm sure are the others. Southern Living's Big Book of BBQ is another pretty good one, and by the way, has a newer version of Chris Lilly's pineapple sweet ribs that's in his book. (That's my best to date and go to recipe for back ribs!) Wicked Good BBQ if you want very involved cooks, and yes, Myron's if you want to cook in pans. I think his would be great for guys cooking in offset smokers, but I think that generally speaking, pans aren't the way to go in a wsm. Smoke and Spice by the Jamison's and Paul Kirk's Championship BBQ are good ones if you're looking for a kazillion recipes to try. Oh yeah, and the Weber books by Jamie Purvience are pretty good as well.
 
I have "planet barbecue" by Stephen Raichlen, really like that one, and I second the Southern Living bbob, that ones good too.
 
I dipped them in the vinegar and applied the second coating of rub and it just didnt work for me. Maybe I miscalculated in the rub ingredients some where or something. I just did not care for them. Most everything else in that book I have made at least once outside of the whole hog recipes. The two popular ones around my house are the championship pulled pork and the country ribs with the apple bourbon sauce. I love that book and I have used it for countless incredible meals. Those pineapple baby backs are also killer I love those but the dry ones just not my thing. It is the only dry ribs I ever made. They were moist and tender with a great bark but didnt care for the rub.
 
Perry, I've posted many of my favorite BBQ books on the TVWB shopping page...scroll down to the Classic Barbecue Books section. Purchases using the links on that page also help to support this discussion forum, too! :)

Regards,
Chris
 
I have Weber Smoke, Smoke and Spice, Grill This Not That, The Science of Cooking, and Low and Slow. All have their merits. Low and Slow teaches about how to operate the WSM in five lessons. Smoke and Spice is a classic with the old time recipes. Weber Smoke has some great ideas. Grill This Not That describes some restaurant specialties but prepared more healthfully. And The Science of Cooking teaches about cooking concepts and why they work.
 
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I have several. I haven't cooked many of the recipes,yet,but I plan to.
I have The Best Recipes,Grilling and Barbecue, from Cooks Country;Weber's Art of the Grill;Cooking Lights Grilling;Al Rokers Big Bad Book of Barbecue;Great Barbecue with Kingsford and Extreme Barbecue.
Best Recipes has a ton of basic recipes and techniques for charcoal and gas. Al Rokers book is more for the stories and Extreme Barbecue is more about the cookers,although it has some recipes.
 
Just ordered "low and slow" and "holy smoke."

Thanks for the advice on the best ones.
 
I checked out Adam Perry Langs book from the library (I think Serious BBQ) It was a great read. Liked it enough to buy it, but not at the out of print $200 prices on Amazon.
 
DennisM said:
I checked out Adam Perry Langs book from the library (I think Serious BBQ) It was a great read. Liked it enough to buy it, but not at the out of print $200 prices on Amazon.
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I too have checked this out from our local library a number of times. I found a copy on eBay in hardcover for $12.95 + $3.95 shipping last year. Other grilling BBQ books I have are just about everything Steven Raichlen has published and Mario Batali Italian grill. I also have another whole shelf of other types of cookbooks.
 
there are just so many good ones out there. you probably need to look through them first to see if they appeal to you. but for sure i think the raichlin series are a must have.
 
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