In his newest book, "Serial Griller: Grillmaster Secrets for Flame-Cooked Perfection" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $26.99), author and Lilburn native Matt Moore lays out a story that will be familiar to many in the South. He describes a family tradition of grilling that extends back to both sets of grandparents, then polished by parents who laid their own brick patio to house the family grill and who made sure a portable grill was part of summer vacations at the beach.
This is Moore’s third book about the pleasures of grilling. For each, he’s traveled the country talking with professional pitmasters and those who just love to grill. This volume includes brief bios about some of the people he’s met on the road and recipes they’ve shared, but what intrigued me most was the rich variety of recipes in the back of the book. There are plenty of recipes for big hunks of meat, burgers, ribs and pork butts, but there is also a collection of recipes just a little off the beaten track like Octopus Souvlaki, Artichoke Bruschetta, Grilled Cheese Fries and Eggplant Mediterranean. And the tweaks on classics like the Buffalo Shrimp-Cocktail Toast and Grilled Heirloom Caprese Salad we feature here.
Like any good grilling guide, the book gets into the basics of grilling with wood, including wood pellets, and grilling with charcoal, outlining the differences between lump and briquette. Gas and electric grills earn a place in the book as does indoor grilling.
Our favorite tip from the book covers a mistake we see rookie cooks make both at the grill and at the stovetop. “Stop poking and prodding. Most folks have trouble with items sticking to the grill because their grill temperature is not hot enough, or they have not allowed sufficient time for the food to cook prior to flipping. Be patient, folks.”
Eric Werner, author of “The Outdoor Kitchen” (Ten Speed Press, a division of Penguin Random House Inc., $35), was raised in upstate New York. Grilling there meant cooking whatever his hunter dad brought home on the backyard grill or cooking at one of the roadside grills set up throughout the mountains there.
Restaurant work, culinary training and global travels led Werner to open a restaurant in the Yucatan jungle. And he credits those who cook on open fires in Argentina, Uruguay and Mexico with fueling his passion for open fire cooking. “If you think that great grilling involves a lot of store-bought equipment and a capacious backyard, your mind will quickly change when you see a group of people making carne asada on the wheel cap of a car tire over a fire built on the side of the road.”
His book includes designs for building your own open fire grill or smoker along with detailed information on choosing wood and starting and managing a fire. The recipes have a definite South and Central American vibe like Duck Breasts with Spicy Papaya Jam. But we were taken with the idea of making chicken stock on the grill and a quick sauerkraut that combines grilled cabbage wedges with a pickling brine. Char, brine, serve in 20 minutes. That’s the kind of cooking we’re enjoying right now. You’ll find plenty of inspiration there. We chose to feature his Cauliflower Steaks with Beer-Raisin Glaze and Grilled Banana Trifle with Toasted Peanut Streusel here.
A NOTABLE LOCAL
With many restaurants closing or getting by with delivery and/or carryout, Kingsford identified local Atlanta pitmasters Jiyeon Lee and Cody Taylor and their restaurant, Heirloom Market BBQ, for a $10,000 donation from their #TogetherWithBBQ program.
RECIPES
What we enjoy about cookbooks is the way they shake up our cooking routine. Shrimp with cocktail sauce? How about shrimp with Buffalo-style sauce? Summer’s quintessential Caprese salad kicked up a notch by grilling the tomatoes? Cauliflower, the vegetable of the moment, grilled like a steak? And banana pudding deconstructed for the grill? We say, “Yes!”
Buffalo Shrimp-Cocktail Toast
Matt Moore, author of “Serial Griller,” credits the Jekyll Island Club for the inspiration for this dish that uses Buffalo-style sauce in place of cocktail sauce. There are several brands of Buffalo-style hot sauce available at the grocery store. Some of our favorites are Sweet Baby Ray’s, Archie Moore’s, Frank’s RedHot, Texas Pete and Buffalo Wild Wings.
Adapted from “Serial Griller” by Matt Moore (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $26.99).
Cauliflower Steaks with Beer-Raisin Glaze
Cauliflower is having its moment, so why not put it on the grill? In “The Outdoor Kitchen,” Eric Werner says it’s one of the best vegetables to grill because it holds up well to high heat and tastes even better when deeply browned or charred.
Beer-Raisin Glaze
Use any type of raisins you prefer. Werner says this glaze couldn’t be simpler but the combination has incredible complexity. “The raisins’ sweetness is offset by the savory depth of the chiles and the reduced beer. Use a malty, rather than hoppy, beer — a porter, stout, or Scotch or Belgian ale — since a very bitter beer can taste even more bitter when reduced.”
Adapted from “The Outdoor Kitchen” by Eric Werner (Ten Speed Press, a division of Penguin Random House Inc., $35).
Grilled Heirloom Caprese Salad
Caprese salad is a classic for good reason. But when you grill those tomatoes, we agree with Matt Moore of “Serial Griller” that something magic happens. Be sure the tomatoes are thickly sliced and don’t cook them too long. As a matter of fact, don’t cover the grill. You just want the char, but you don’t want to turn the tomatoes to mush.
Adapted from “Serial Griller” by Matt Moore (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $26.99).
Grilled Banana Trifle with Toasted Peanut Streusel
Eric Werner says, “This dish reminds me of those banana puddings, layered with vanilla pudding and Nilla wafers, you would find at an old-school diner or your grandmother’s house. The streusel and mascarpone cream can be made days in advance and stored in the fridge, so this can come together in minutes at the grill.” We think of it as a deconstructed banana pudding. Nothing to get soggy!
Toasted Peanut Streusel
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup chopped salted peanuts
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
To make the streusel: Melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the flour, sugar, peanuts, cinnamon and salt, and stir continuously until everything is toasted but not burnt, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool. Makes 1 1/2 cups.
Per 1/4 cup: 484 calories (percent of calories from fat, 67), 5 grams protein, 35 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 37 grams fat (20 grams saturated), 83 milligrams cholesterol, 767 milligrams sodium.
Adapted from “The Outdoor Kitchen” by Eric Werner (Ten Speed Press, a division of Penguin Random House Inc., $35).
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