Any "Go To Cookbooks" you recommend?

tikigriller

i was just wondering if any of you knew of any go to cookbooks for the egg that a rookie cook like I could look into.  I am starting to explore with the egg, but with the limited knowledge I have about things, I am beginning to ruin more food than succeeding,and I feel like a good book to use a s a guide for a while will get me going and starting to understand more what different kinds of foods do and how to cook them.  I see all of your posts, with things on them and the finished products look amazing but I have no idea how to get to those same results without the details.  Lots of recipes on the big green egg website....are those worth doing?  I only ask,,because I tried some from the pellet website when I got the pellet grill, and they failed more than they succeeded when following them.

Battleborn

Google...there are, no doubt, some great books. However, I am cheap and can get anything I need off the interwebs. 

Legume

www.eggheadforum.com

blasting

I just got Meathead.  It's a good mix of tips tricks & recipes.  Haven't got far into it though.

smokeyw

Serious Barbecue by Adam Perry Lang.

MeTed

YouTube videos. Check out the smokin guitar player. com. That helped me a lot.

blind99

"Smoke it like a pro on the big green egg"

jtcBoynton

@tikigriller  Sounds like you need something that provides a lot of how and why and not just a recipe collection.  Some suggestions:

Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling  by Meathead Goldwyn 

I'm Just Here for the Food: Food + Heat = Cooking by Alton Brown 

Cooking for Geeks by Jeff Potter 

A subscription to CooksIllustraded.com

Griffin

@NibbleMeThis has a cookbook called The Kamado Smoker and Grill Cookbook. Don't know how good it is, but the recipes I've tried off his blog are damn good. There's plenty of blogs that do recipes on the Egg if you look around. Just don't do anything that's on mine. I make it all up and steal pictures from other people and pretend they're mine.

Wardster

Once you get the hang of temp control and the pros and cons of the various set ups, it should be just following a recipe.  I will follow a recipe exactly as is the first time I try it.  If I don't like it, I know I didn't screw it up.  I will play with it from there, if needed, save it or toss it.

The key thing, I have found, is removing meat at the proper internal temp.  I don't care what vessel your cooking on. 

fishlessman

Griffin said:

@NibbleMeThis has a cookbook called The Kamado Smoker and Grill Cookbook. Don't know how good it is, but the recipes I've tried off his blog are damn good. There's plenty of blogs that do recipes on the Egg if you look around. Just don't do anything that's on mine. I make it all up and steal pictures from other people and pretend they're mine.

http://www.nibblemethis.com  is a great website for ideas

MaC122

One of the best cookbooks that I own, and I cannot recommend it enough, is called All About Braising by Molly Stevens. The braised short ribs is a two day process that comes out amazing. Plus, you can use the egg in most of the recipes.

Leopoldstoch

One of my favorites is The Food Lab 

Raymont

If/when you jump into Asian food, Grace Young's "Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge" is my most "go to" cookbook. I think the rest of my cooks I can pretty much get on this forum or on the web. 

BilZol

Eric Mitchell was recommended to me by a friend. He has two books out that I have. 15.00 each. He takes each recipie from lighting the grill to finish. I've enjoyed them. 

Eggaroo

I actually have The Kamado Smoker and Grill Cookbook that @Griffin mentions above and found it very informative when I first started out. The best thing I like about it is that explains all of the different techniques you can use along with a recipe that uses each technique. I've only used 2 or 3 of the recipes and they were very good. Also, it is focused solely on the ceramic cooker rather than using other types of grills or smokers.

https://www.amazon.com/Kamado-Smoker-Grill-Cookbook-Techniques/dp/1612433634/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473863973&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Kamado+Smoker+and+Grill+Cookbook

smokeyw

Raymont said:

If/when you jump into Asian food, Grace Young's "Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge" is my most "go to" cookbook. I think the rest of my cooks I can pretty much get on this forum or on the web. 

I just got into wok cooking and was thinking about buying this book or her other one, I think it is A Touch of Grace. I decided to hold off until I could actually look at one in a book store or something. I was afraid it would be too complex for me. I'm not looking to do the real complicated dishes right now. I have enjoyed doing some simple stir fry dishes though.

Raymont

smokeyw said:

Raymont said:

If/when you jump into Asian food, Grace Young's "Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge" is my most "go to" cookbook. I think the rest of my cooks I can pretty much get on this forum or on the web. 

I just got into wok cooking and was thinking about buying this book or her other one, I think it is A Touch of Grace. I decided to hold off until I could actually look at one in a book store or something. I was afraid it would be too complex for me. I'm not looking to do the real complicated dishes right now. I have enjoyed doing some simple stir fry dishes though.

Smokey- Yes, the first couple cooks are a little intimidating, but if you pre-measure ingredients/prep, it is actually very easy. I think you'd enjoy.

tikigriller

Wow. Woke up to so many choices!!!  Thanks to all for the recommendations. I will go through them all and figure out what to grab. Might even go to a store I heard about that sells books off of actual shelves so I can see them all before buying. LOL 

Acn

MaC122 said:

One of the best cookbooks that I own, and I cannot recommend it enough, is called All About Braising by Molly Stevens. The braised short ribs is a two day process that comes out amazing. Plus, you can use the egg in most of the recipes.

I agree with this one.  We also enjoy The Food Lab.  I also would recommend the following:

The Japanese Grill
Smoke and Pickles - not grill/egg specific, but I've done pulled lamb from this and loved it, and the collards & kimchi recipe goes with just about anything off the egg.
For Asian cooking I really like both Every Grain of Rice and the Pok Pok cookbook.  
If you're looking for Mexican I've never really been disappointed by a Rick Bayless book.
My wife has gone through the Southern Foodways Cookbook so much that we'll probably need to replace it soon, as the pages are starting to come off the spiral binding.
Not a grilling book, but Essential Pepin is outstanding, and you might be able to find it cheaper than the Amazon price, we got our copy and a gift copy for friends at Costco for $19.95.
The Complete America's Test Kitchen is very solid as well.  Chris Kimball likes food a little blander than I do, but I can adjust seasonings, their techniques are spot on, and it has every ingredient/kitchen gadget review they've done.

GrateEggspectations

I like Adam Perry Lang, but some of his recipes are only good for those who are unemployed (I.e., have a lot of time on their hands). Though not Egg-specific, Steve Raichlen's books offer a lot of great recipes within striking distance of the newbie. A few of his books also explain grilling and smoking techniques, which are the foundation for any cook.

Little Steven

tikigriller said:

i was just wondering if any of you knew of any go to cookbooks for the egg that a rookie cook like I could look into.  I am starting to explore with the egg, but with the limited knowledge I have about things, I am beginning to ruin more food than succeeding,and I feel like a good book to use a s a guide for a while will get me going and starting to understand more what different kinds of foods do and how to cook them.  I see all of your posts, with things on them and the finished products look amazing but I have no idea how to get to those same results without the details.  Lots of recipes on the big green egg website....are those worth doing?  I only ask,,because I tried some from the pellet website when I got the pellet grill, and they failed more than they succeeded when following them.

I don't think you are going to get any help from a book if you aren't succeeding with the cooks you've tried. What kind of problems have you had? You'll get a lot more help here than you would from a library of books. Sending you a PM

victor1

Am just going through "The elements of pizza" by Ken Forkish.  Looks pretty good and a lot of good pizza making tips. 

blasting

victor1 said:

Am just going through "The elements of pizza" by Ken Forkish.  Looks pretty good and a lot of good pizza making tips. 

+1 on this book - good info in it, and a great looking book to boot.

To round out the pizza book recommendations;

My Pizza by Jim Lahey is another good book.  Good recipes, although some of his topping combinations are a little too artsy for me though.  Not that that matters if you can get the basics down.  Another great looking book too.

American Pie by Peter Reinhart has a ton of good information.  I didn't enjoy this book nearly as much though, as there are almost no pictures and the ones that were there are b&w.


FYI - these three pizza books were written by the three go-to bread guys

JMCXL

ULTIMATE  book of BBQ
Love some of these cooks

abpgwolf

Here are my 2 favorite cookbooks:

Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling  by Meathead Goldwyn 
    I used many of Meathead's recipes and have always had good results. Also       see: http://amazingribs.com/ 

Serious Barbecue by Adam Perry Lang
   Adam Perry Lang's recipes are more complex and take more effort and time,    but the results are well worth the effort

tonyled

tikigriller said:

i was just wondering if any of you knew of any go to cookbooks for the egg that a rookie cook like I could look into.  I am starting to explore with the egg, but with the limited knowledge I have about things, I am beginning to ruin more food than succeeding,and I feel like a good book to use a s a guide for a while will get me going and starting to understand more what different kinds of foods do and how to cook them.  I see all of your posts, with things on them and the finished products look amazing but I have no idea how to get to those same results without the details.  Lots of recipes on the big green egg website....are those worth doing?  I only ask,,because I tried some from the pellet website when I got the pellet grill, and they failed more than they succeeded when following them.

this book is great.  it has a lot of technique in it.  it does get redundant sometimes but it is an invaluable resource

https://www.amazon.com/How-Grill-Complete-Illustrated-Techniques/dp/0761120149/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1474053231&sr=1-1&keywords=how+to+grill+raichlen

EggNorth

The Pizza Bible by Tony Gemignani.  Like the way he explains the science behind it.

DMW

Charcuterie, just go buy it.
https://www.amazon.com/Charcuterie-Craft-Salting-Smoking-Curing/dp/0393058298

Mattman3969

I personally think you will gain enough knowledge here that you will be able take any recipe and turn it into something you can cook on the egg.  They're all just recipes and your egg can cook like an oven, grill or smoke. The choice is up to you.  

I have the BGE cookbook and it's decent at best. The one book I refer to is Grace Youngs Stir Fru to the Sky's Edge. The sauces she builds are just crazy good.   

lousubcap

@Mattman3969 -  you must be too deep into Friday and books-somewhere you need to mention your Private Licensed  "Diamond Plate BGE Food Manifesto".  Ever since I co-opted your secrets I have marveled at the out-comes.  Truly a cooking miracle-