Let the Flames Begin: Tips, Techniques, and Recipes for Real Live Fire Cooking

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Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
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In their books The Thrill of the Grill and How to Cook Meat, Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby told grillers what they need to know to make great outdoor food--and how to have fun doing it. Let the Flames Begin finds the pair similarly busy, and better than ever on the how-to-and-with-what equation. Establishing their commitment to live-fire, as opposed to gas-fueled, grilling (each live fire has its own personality, they say, and is thus more fun to cook over, and it's the sole source of "that true, ineffable grilled flavor"), they then present the six basic live-fire techniques, cold and hot smoking through barbecuing and grilling. (Barbecuing is "cool and slow," grilling is not.) The pair's recipes are always instructive--each one provides detailed information on the appropriate fire set up, for example--as well as inviting. Flames offers 250 of these for a wide range of basic and innovative dishes, among them Cumin-Crusted Grilled Sirloin Strip Steak with Grilled Avocados and Chipotle-Coated Onions, Barbecued Jerk Baby Back Ribs with Banana-Guava Catsup, and the incredibly incendiary Pasta from Hell: The Next Generation with Curried Grilled Chicken. (This comes with a release form absolving the authors from responsibility for the dish's effect on diners and the ozone layer.) Included also are formulas for the authors' signature in-the-coals foil-pouch cooking, which yields sides like Hobo Pack of Sweet Potatoes, Apples, and Sage. With a useful section on gauging food doneness, a helpful glossary, and wise counsel throughout, the book promises more grilling thrills than ever from the guys who have the drill down. --Arthur Boehm

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Customer Reviews

Best grilling book ever...

Review Date: May 17, 2003

Reviewer: , Thousand Oaks, CA United States

This must be the best grilling book that I have encountered (and I have been a home gourmet aficionado for the past 20 years). The book has a solid introductory section where the authors share with us real tips on techniques, equipment and quality control, all of it deadly practical. Every aspect of charcoal grilling is discussed, from placing the briquettes and seasoning to checking doneness. All the recipes I tested are precise, easy to follow and leave little room for mistakes. Most of all, they produce excellent dishes. Not too many glossy pictures, which is fine with me. This is certainly THE grilling book.

Cooking with real fire is the best.

Review Date: August 4, 2007

Reviewer: W. Timm,

There are so many great things about this book that I don't know where to start. I love the introductions from both authors. They made me realize that fire (real fire, not the watery stuff that I get from my gas grill) is the way to cook food. My weber now has a permanent place in front of my garage. My gas weber now festers in the back yard underneath it's rain coat.

These guys really pulled it off. I probably own almost a dozen cookbooks about BBQ (a very generic term until you talk to someone from Texas, North Carolina or Missouri), but what you get here is a great book about methods using LIVE fire. I especially like the chapters on salads. Everybody can talk about rubs and spices, but it takes someone special to teach you how to grill sweet corn and turn it into a beautiful salad.

For anyone wanting to cook over an open fire

Review Date: May 16, 2003

Reviewer: Midwest Book Review, Oregon, WI USA

Every cookbook collection needs a good and comprehensive grilling oriented cookbook. Let The Flames Begin: Tips, Techniques, And Recipes For Real Live Fire Cooking offers a wealth of recipes, directions and advice that make it an indispensable resource for anyone wanting to cook over an open fire be it a portable grill or a camp fire framework. This collaborative project by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughy is enhanced with color photography by William Meppem and line illustrations by John Burgoyne, as well as a sections on "Summer Splurges" and "Party Planner". If you can only add one more title to your personal cookbook collection, Let The Flames Begin is enthusiastically recommended.