Because I have a passion for barbeque I’m always looking to further my knowledge, understanding and cooking skills by seeking out great information and easy to follow procedures that would benefit not only me, but also you my readers and followers. That being said I have a book review this week for your consideration.

  “Addicted To BBQ” is joint effort cookbook compiled by Jeff Whitaker, Steve Graves and Mike Gerardy. I came across this cookbook by visiting Steve Graves website,http://winklerhouse.tripod.com/askabutcher/index.html. I found TONS of information on this site and was impressed with Steve’s knowledge and expertise with butchering, which is fast becoming a dying trade which is another story!

                                                 Jeff Whitaker
                                                Steve Graves
                                                  Mike Gerardy

I contacted Steve and inquired about his new cookbook and later had a copy to review. A lot of time, work and thought went into this cookbook and is very evident. The first thing I observed and liked right away was the spiral bounding that was done. I like this for several reasons, first it makes reading so much easier. It also makes following a recipe a lot more manageable when you can open to the specific recipe page, fold the book and place it out so you can read and work at the same time. A lot of cookbooks you have to fold open, deal with the pages moving around, it just makes it a headache to do, but not with Addicted To BBQ.

After reading the introductions I learned that this cookbook was created with the Ceramic Cooker in mind, which is what the Addicted To BBQ Crew primarily cook on (their competition team name is “Oval Rulers” named after the type of cooker they use produced by Primo Ceramic Grills and Smokers) but these recipes and techniques can easily be adapted for any type of barbeque smoker, and to prove it I chose to cook the “Raspberry Chipotle Pork Tenderloin” recipe found on page 125 for this review.

For those cooking on the Ceramic Grills, a section on the basics of cooking on this type of grill is given to help in the cooking process. The book itself covers everything from Rubs and Sauces to Desserts and Beverages. The one thing that I feel separates this cook book from the rest is the added chapters that cover Soups and Salads, Pizza and Bread, Competition BBQ, Competition Secrets, Smoking Woods, and Spices and Their Uses. These chapters alone have a wealth of information and will come in handy as a reference tool for anyone who will own this cookbook.

On the flip side like a lot of cookbooks on the subject of barbeque, pictures are not included within the book itself. Is this a negative? I don’t feel it is with this book, could it add to it? Sure, but it isn’t an absolutely need and the book is priced accordingly in my opinion.

Would the Bossman recommend this cookbook to yourself and friends? Absolutely! I enjoyed this cookbook immensely. Some of the recipes are unique and I’ve only found here in Addicted to BBQ.

I hope if your looking for further barbeque knowledge and understanding from a team of individuals that have been their, done it and continue to do it, that you will consider purchasing Addicted to BBQ, you will not be disappointed! I’ve included a link under the link section of this site for you to not only purchase Addicted to BBQ, But also to review Steve’s AWESOME barbeque site and forum.

In my next article I will detail our experience and results when we cooked the Raspberry Chipotle Pork Tenderloin. I felt to do this recipe justice an article needed to be done on it specifically. So tune in and watch for this article! Until the next Review SMOKE ON!

I purchased the book at over 75% off the cover price (normal price $50.85) and have since found it on Amazon.com in the new/used for about $15.00. I’ve tried several of the recipes in the cookbook, with many more to come, but to give you an example of one of my favorites, I’m chosing to share the “Smoked Hickory Rib Mop Sauce” (page 158).

I’ve been cooking ribs for years and still find little secrets here and there that just continue to make the ribs better and better. What makes this recipe special in my mind is the mop sauce recipe. I did deviate a little by using pork spareribs instead of baby back ribs. The reason for this is simple: spare ribs have more meat on them and the flavor just can’t be beat.

Hickory Rib Mop Sauce

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 yellow onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (15oz) tomato sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 tbs Dijon mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Kosher salt/black pepper to taste

In a sauce pan, warm the oil over medium heat adding the garlic and onion and sauté until tender. Next, stir in the ketchup, vinegar, orange juice, brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper bringing them to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cook until thick, about 15 minutes. Mop the sauce onto the ribs during the last 20-30 minutes of the cooking process, leaving the remaining sauce to be served with the finished ribs.

This sauce is one of my favorite finishing sauces for ribs, and one I plan on using this year during the KCBS competitive BBQ contest season. Another option that works well is using this sauce on chicken and beef.

If you have an opportunity to see this book first hand and thumb though its pages, I predict you will have a new cookbook to add to your collection. It makes a great end table or coffee table book that will be looked at over and over again with many conversations and meals to come.

The pictures alone tell a culinary story and help you visualize what each recipe should look like, leaving you only wishing that cookbooks like this one could come with scratch-and-sniff pages! I highly recommend this book for any enthusiast that loves outdoor cooking and desires further ideas and inspiration.

What first catches your eye with this particular book is the cover. It has the look and feel of a book that I would expect to have found in my grandfather’s collection, tucked away with the pages dog-eared so you could easily find that one recipe or technique that you prize the most.  When you examine this book, you are drawn to the pictures of some of the first Pitt Masters, events and culture of the true pioneers of barbecue. In my opinion, any barbecue enthusiasts would treasure this book simply because of the pictures alone.

What I love most about this book is that it reads like a book. In my opinion, anyone can collect recipes and organize them to form a cookbook. But the individual that can put the recipe together with some background information, techniques and history or a tale that makes it appeal to the reader, to me, that’s what makes the book unique.

One of the recipes I’ve enjoyed is found on page 64, Marvin Lange’s Barbecued Chicken. What I like most about this recipe is the use of Wishbone Italian Dressing as a marinade. It’s hard to argue that this isn’t a barbecue tip to try when it’s reported that Marvin Lang has won ten trophies for his barbecued chicken!

Marvin Lang’s Barbecued Chicken
1 whole fryer, about 3 ½ pounds
¼ cup dry rub of your choice
6 cups Wishbone Italian dressing

Prepare your chicken by removing the giblets and cleaning the cavity of the chicken. Next, butterfly the chicken using a pair of poultry shears, cutting the chicken along the backbone. Rinse the insides of the chicken and season with dry rub. Next, place the chicken in a freezer bag with 3 cups of Italian Dressing and marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and discard the marinade. If desired, re-season with dry rub and prepare for the smoker. Place chicken bone side down on the grill and smoke at a temperature of 225-275 for about 3 hours or when the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

The picture above is an example of this receipe and my last contest entry of 2006. My BBQ team won an 8th place ribbon out of 78 entries using Marvin Lang’s technique!  I hope this review has inspired you to read this wonderful book, giving a glimpse of the history, tastes and people that have contributed to the delicacies of barbeque.

“The Bacon Cookbook” contains more then 150 recipes from around the world focusing on bacon and the many ways in which we all can enjoy it to the fullest.  The cookbook is truly unique, dedicating itself to the different styles, tastes and recipes with bacon being the main ingredient. James Villas starts by telling us what exactly bacon is, how it is made and cured and how using different types of techniques, such as using apple, hickory, oak, beach or maple wood for smoking the bacon, can give it added depth and flavor.

I found the section covering the different international styles of bacon very interesting. Countries covered include America, Great Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Hungary, Denmark, and China. Who would have guessed that a simple food such as bacon could be found in so many different variations than what we are accustomed to here in the United States?

When viewing the table of contents, you will see that Mr. Villas covers everything from appetizers to deserts. This intrigued me very much and made me evaluate my own life experiences and the different situations in which I found myself eating bacon. Growing up as a child, it was not uncommon to come home from school to find that a BLT sandwich was our family dinner, and that was not met with any objection from us!  Then there were times that waffles and bacon with warm maple syrup and whipped cream was our family dinner, but for us kids, it seemed more like dessert for dinner, the answer to any kids prayers!

So with my own reflections and experiences from childhood, I chose a recipe from “The Bacon Cookbook” that I knew I would enjoy, but also that my family would enjoy as well. The recipe we chose was “New England Apple and Bacon Griddlecakes.” For this recipe, I used Granny Smith apples and apple wood smoked bacon. This recipe is found on page 63 of “The Bacon Cookbook” and serves four individuals. It’s very good, and with that said, I would HIGHLY recommend doubling the recipe!

New England Apple and Bacon Griddlecakes

1/2 pound apple wood bacon 
1½ cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
½ cup whole milk
2 Granny Smith apples peeled, cored and coarsely grated
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted plus extra for serving.
Pure maple syrup (preferably Grade B)

In a large skillet, fry the bacon till crisp, drain on paper towels, and crumble.  In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and stir till well blended. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk, add to the flour mixture, and stir till the batter is just well blended. Stir in the grated apples and crumbled bacon.

Heat a griddle or large, heavy skillet over moderately high heat till hot and brush it with butter. Drop the batter by ¼ cup measures onto the griddle and cook till bubbles appear on the surface and the edges begin to brown, about 2 minutes. Turn with a spatula and cook till golden, about 1 minute longer. Transfer the griddlecakes to a platter, and keep warm in a low temperature oven, continue to make more griddlecakes in the same manner. Serve hot with butter and maple syrup.

This was a HUGE hit with my family! The flavor of the apple wood smoked bacon with the warm maple syrup and butter added to the texture of the shredded apple and griddlecake mix. My son made a comment that I hadn’t thought of before; he said “Dad, this makes sense, how many times do we have pancakes and bacon, and we just haven’t put it all together like this.” Smart kid! But it goes to show how something so simple can be made truly better with a little creativity.

Other recipes that our family will be creating with the help of “The Bacon Cookbook” include Bacon-Banana treats (pg 29), Danish Potato, Tomato and Bacon Omelet (pg 56), Mexican Squash, Yam, and Bacon Soup (pg 95), Canadian Meat Pie (pg 152) and Canadian Bacon Maple Custard (pg 262).

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who truly enjoys bacon. I found the recipes easy to follow and truly insightful. Many “uh-huh” moments were experienced when reading the different recipes, which was a refreshing change from cookbooks that are normally purchased that have a couple of recipes worth trying where I quickly find myself losing interest or enthusiasm for the book.

The only thing I would change personally would have been to include more pictures.  A majority of the population, including myself, tend to eat with our eyes first. If it looks good, chances are we’re going to eat it and want to make it in the future.  Adding more food photos would only enhance this book even more.  With that said, the book itself and the pictures that are included are exceptional. I would rate this book a solid 5 stars and intend on purchasing a few as Christmas presents for the bacon aficionados in my life!

And finally you search the internet hoping to find that knowledge on a website, blog or downloadable file. In most cases it’s the later that has brought you to “Get Your Grill On” looking for the valuable insight from the contributing authors here on our site.
This year I wanted more books on my favorite subject barbeque. But my request was a little narrow in scope since I wanted barbecue books that were related to the style of barbecue I enjoy the most, “Texas Style Barbecue”

Because of this, I would like to share a review with you of a book I feel has a unique feel and great recipes for both the beginner and the seasoned pro.
The name of the book is “Legends of Texas Barbecue Cook Book- Recipes and Recollections from The Pit Bosses”. The book is written by Robb Walsh, a two time winner of the James Beard Award, food critic and contributing author to numerous newspapers and magazines covering the subject of Texas food.

What catches your eye first with this book is the cover. It has the look and feel of a book that possibly your dad, uncle or grandfather had tucked away with the pages dog eared so you could easily find that one recipe or technique that you prize the most.
When you begin to examine this book you are drawn to the pictures of some of the first Pitt Masters, events and culture of the true pioneers of barbecue. In my opinion, any barbecue enthusiasts would treasure this book simply because of these pictures alone.
I began reading this book a few days after receiving it and finished it within a day and half! I found the information within its covers to be truly valuable, and even found myself having one of those “Eureka” moments.
The recipes within its pages will give you ideas and suggestions for your next out door adventure. One of the meats we cook the most of around my home seem to be chicken.
What I love most about this book is that it reads like a book. In my opinion anyone can collect recipes and organize them to form a cook book. But the individual that can put the recipe together with some background information, history or tale that makes it appeal to the reader, to me makes the book unique.

One of the recipe’s I have enjoyed preparing is found on page 64, “Marvin Lange’s Barbecued Chicken”. What I like most about this recipe is the use of Wishbone Italian Dressing as a marinade. It’s hard to argue that this isn’t a barbecue tip to try when it’s reported that Marvin Lang has won ten trophies for his barbecued chicken!

Marvin Lang’s Barbecued Chicken

• 1 whole fryer, about 3 ½ pounds
• ¼ cup dry rub of your choice.
• 6 cups Wishbone Italian dressing

Prepare your chicken by removing the giblets and cleaning the cavity of the chicken. Next butterfly the chicken using a pair of poultry shears, cutting the chicken along the backbone. Rinse the insides of the chicken and season with dry rub. Next place the chicken in a freezer bag with 3 cups of Italian Dressing and marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and discard the marinate. If desired, re-season with dry rub and prepare for the smoker. Place chicken bone side down on the grill and smoke at a temperature of 225-275 for about 3 hours or when the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

We used this chicken recipe cooking chicken thighs. Ar our last contest it earned a 8th place ribbon!
I hope you have been inspired to read this wonderful book, giving a glimpse of the history, tastes and people that have contributed to the delicacies of barbeque!
Chuck Marting (Bossman)