I was surprised to see this book on the JB Cookbook award nom’s for this year. There are a lot of Weber-based grill books out there. This one is by Jamie Purviance and is published by Sunset Books, both good names. At first glance, it looks like a good basic grilling 101 book. It has great photos and layout, as one would expect from Sunset editors. It does not have much on the Weber Bullet but what is has is good. It has so many rubs, marinades and sauce recipes that it might be worth the price just for those.
I read through this book and found it more substantive than at first appearance. Yes, it covers basic grilling for meats, fish and veggies. But along the way, Purviance presents the reader with culinary how-to tutorials that border on the comprehensive. This ain’t Jacques Pepin’s La Technique, but thorough enough that the editors made a index of techniques–there must be 400 of them, most with very useful photos! Not just how to truss a boneless roast, but how to puree garlic and how to spatchcock a chicken. Recipes too go beyond the basics–his bacon wrapped turkey breasts almost makes me want to buy the tasteless things and give them another go. Sauces = 48; rubs = 20 and marinades = 27. Wow.
If your grill book is a third your age, toss it and start anew with this one, where you will learn a thing or two and have recipes that are politically correct with lower salt and fat content. This book is a must gift to your son in law who char burns most everything and for the grandchild who aspires to conquer the great American cook-out.