You’ve got your barbecue, you’ve got your raw materials, and you’ve got lots of enthusiasm – but you don’t want burnt, tasteless food. As Adam states in this book, you can ‘embrace simple ingredients and make them into something spectacular’. BBQ 25 is a great book for eager outdoor cooks wishing to learn more and develop hands on skills that will help them produce incredible results.
The layout of the book is one of its main triumphs, as it simplifies the whole process into straightforward and easy steps. In the contents, the meats are separated into their own categories, and then they are separated further into quick, medium and long cook methods. This is great as it allows you to pick something not only based on flavour, but how long you will need to spend cooking it. The glossary of techniques over the page is a great addition too, as it helps you to get to know, and conquer, the grill – giving you the basic knowledge that you will need.
The book start with steaks, detailing the process of marinade, seasoning, tools, techniques, prep and cooking method through a series of bright and inspiring photographs, illustrations and simple notes. The images are great, as they not only motivate you to recreate that particular recipe, but they also have scribbled notes, such as ‘butcher over supermarket, local over outsourced, organic over other’. In this case, it appears that Perry Lang doesn’t see barbequing as a process of burning and ruining meats. Instead, he sees barbecuing as a process of cooking that improves and brings the best out of all types of meat. This is not only encouraging for people will all types of budget, but it also gives you the confidence to try the ‘tougher’ meats and still enjoy them as much as the more tender ones.
Adam Perry Lang uses a low and slow cooking method, which is usually spilt into two or three stages. The first can involve a seasoning, or a rub, then the meat is wrapped in foil with more ingredients, and then a final step is sometimes added. This multilayered cooking process of adding brines and bastes not only adds excitement to the cooking process, but it adds layer upon layer of flavour to the meat. These steps are easy to follow, and also allow for interpretation – a chance to add your own personal spin.
Perry Lang’s book streamlines the barbecue process, encouraging hands on experience to bring out the maximum flavours of the food you are cooking. An essential guide for any barbecuer, with its windproof and wipe clean pages, you’ll wonder how you ever barbecued without it.
About the Author
Adam Perry Lang is a classically French-trained chef turned bona fide BBQ expert. He’s the founder and co-owner of the nationally acclaimed restaurant Daisy May’s BBQ and has serious competition credibility. With his awards and reputation it is obvious Adam knows his BBQ.
Interested in reading it yourself? Order the book here from Amazon
