Folk sometimes ask me what books to buy either when they are getting started or when they are after inspiration or new recipes. I like cook books, I have loads of them and have to hold myself back from buying more. I realised I might have a cookbook purchase problem when I had to start hiding them from my wife! I am catching up now and reading all of them before I buy more but below is a list of bbq books I have used for my cooks since the blog started.
By the way, if anyone has a recipe from any of the books below they recommend or a BBQ book they think I should buy please let me know!
BBQ Books – In Alphabetical order and listing the cooks from the books – click the link to scroll down for more details:
Food from the Fire – Niklas Ekstedt:
Franklin Barbecue – A meat smoking manifesto by Aaron Franklin and Jordan Mackay:
Grillstock – The BBQ Book by Jon Finch and Ben Merrington:
Hangfire Cookbook – Sam Evans and Shauna Guinn:
Hardcore Carnivore by Jess Pryles
Pitmaster Recipes, Techniques and Barbecue Wisdom by Andy Husbands and Chris Hart:
Reds True Barbecue – Let there be Meat:
Steven Raichlen – Project Smoke:
Steven Raichlen – Planet Barbecue:
What I really like about Ben’s book is that it’s not like most of the other BBQ books you get which mainly focus on American style bbq dishes. This book has a wide range of recipes influenced by Ben’s time in Spain and Italy. If you like cooking and want to try some different dishes on the BBQ I highly recommend this one.
Buy the book here
Cooks from this book to date:
BBQ08/17: Chargrilled Duck Breast with Peas, Broad Beans and Hot Mint Sauce
BBQ15/17: Cold smoked cod with white beans, clams and parsley
BBQ13/17: Paprika rubbed, cold smoked quails with caramelised onions
Breddos Tacos – The Cookbook:
Buy the book here
DJ BBQ is a great guy, very charismatic and very passionate about BBQ which is reflected in his book. There are some great recipes in the book and they are all simple to follow but result in some awesome dishes.
Buy the book here:
Cooks from this book to date:
BBQ03/17: Cherry Wood Smoked Chicken with the mix of Awesomeness!
Food from the Fire – Niklas Ekstedt:
Franklin Barbecue – A meat smoking manifesto by Aaron Franklin and Jordan Mackay:
Franklin Barbecue is widely regarded as one of the best barbecue restaurants in the world with people regularly queuing outside 6 hours before opening time. The restaurant has sold out of brisket every day since opening! I haven’t been (yet) but having spoken to people who have been they say it really is some of the best bbq they have eaten.
There aren’t many recipes in the book but it contains a lot of information about all things bbq related and is a fascinating book.
Buy the book here:
Only the one cook so far but it was one of the cooks I was happiest with and I plan to do more!
Grillstock – The BBQ Book by Jon Finch and Ben Merrington:
Grillstock festival is what sparked my interest in barbecue and what made me buy my Weber gear. This book was one of the first ones I bought and it has some great recipes inside. They are all fairly easy to follow, the sauces and rubs are simple to make but taste great. Still quite a lot for me to cook from this book.
Buy the book here:
Cooks from this book to date:
BBQ44/17: @grillstock Bristol Cheesesteak Sandwich in potato rolls
Hangfire Cookbook – Sam Evans and Shauna Guinn:
This book is one of my favourites, so many awesome recipes in here I highly recommend you buy it. The book covers the full spectrum from snacks to mains, to sides to desserts and each recipe is simple to follow but gives amazing results. I have cooked a lot of my dishes from this book so far and there is still loads in there to do, it’s well worth a purchase and the Hang Fire ladies are really nice too.
Buy the book here:
Cooks from this book to date:
Hardcore Carnivore by Jess Pryles:
Some great recipes in this book, quite different cooks to other books. Just working my way through it.
Buy the book here:
Pitt Cue the Cookbook:
Buy the book here:
Pitmaster Recipes, Techniques and Barbecue Wisdom by Andy Husbands and Chris Hart:
Buy the book here:
Reds True Barbecue – Let there be Meat:
Buy the book here:
Rich Harris – Fire and Smoke:
Buy the book here:
Cooks from this book to date:
Steven Raichlen – Project Smoke:
I only recently got this book but it’s got a lot of original recipes in there. Just the one cook so far but they were the best pork chops I have ever cooked and/or eaten so I am looking forward to cooking more from the book.
Buy the book here:
Steven Raichlen – Planet Barbecue
This is a fantastic book! It includes hundreds of BBQ recipes from all over the world so if you are looking to cook something a bit different, this is the book to read!
