Meredith Publishing has long been familiar to American households through its flagship brand, Better Homes and Gardens. With an emphasis on family and home, Meredith has brought to print a long line of books that are staples in many kitchens, particularly the well-known, red-and-white plaid covered "Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book" (BHGCB). Published by Meredith since 1930, it very well may be the all-time best-selling cook book with over 32.7 million copies sold.
Is it logical it think that a successful background like that in kitchen cook books will translate into similar results in writing for the outdoors crowd? After all, these books are not so much written as they are assembled by editors collecting the results of a legion of professional cooks in test kitchens, right? Can they really make this formula work with barbecue?The folks at Meredith think so because they've decided to step out into the back yard and light up the grill with some of their most recent books. They've brought out about a dozen releases dedicated to outdoors cooking since 1995 with their best efforts coming most recently. Two years ago, they published "Better Homes and Gardens New Grilling Book," a book that seems to have been made to be very familiar since they used a format almost identical to the BHGCB (same five-ring binder cover, same tabbed sections, etc). Even the recipe content is in a style recalling BHGCB ‹ a comprehensive mix of relatively simple recipes using readily available ingredients and a step-by-step preparation narrative, listed one after another through the pages with few pictures. Last year, Meredith brought us "Better Homes and Gardens Smoke Cooking," a book almost daring in comparison with its predecessor. While "Better Homes and Gardens New Grilling Book" dedicated its whole first chapter to grilling basics (equipment, techniques, styles, etc.), this book jumps right in to challenging new recipes. And rather than repeat the style of BHGCB, "Better Homes and Gardens Smoke Cooking" is more reminiscient of "Weber's Art of the Grill" with its full-page color pictures of artfully displayed food across from a whole page dedicated to a single recipe (although it doesn't stay wedded to this exact format throughout). Next up may be Meredith's most ambitious effort yet. "Better Homes and Gardens B.B.Q. P.D.Q." is an in-depth look at adding flavor through a wide variety of enhancers - rubs, marinades, sauces, relishes, mustards, pestos and butters. The beauty of this book is that rather than give the reader a step-by-step instruction on a fully-assembled dish, it provides direction on how to make the rub/marinade/ sauce/etc. and suggestions on what meat groups it pairs with best. Warning - do not expect this book to lead you by the hand! Be ready to use your own creativity and resourcefulness. "Better Homes and Gardens B.B.Q. P.D.Q" is structured in a tabbed chapters style (ala BHGCB and "Better Homes and Gardens New Grilling Book"). After a brief basics primer, the chapters deal with Rubs & Marinades, Sauces and Brush-Ons (mops?), Salsas & More. The selection of recipes is most interesting; almost as if a conscious effort was made to avoid repeating variations of recipes that seem to pop up in every book on barbecue and choose instead recipes that introduce new ingredients and combinations. The format is spartan - just recipes of ingredients with assembling instructions and a key to which meat groups with which is best used. The last chapter Charts & Glossary ties it all together. Looking for a new rub for a brisket? Here is where you find the cross reference for eight suggestions. How about a new sauce for pork shoulder? There's nearly four dozen here for you to try. After reading "Better Homes and Gardens B.B.Q. P.D.Q.," it's pretty obvious those test kitchen cooks must get outside to fire up the grill every now and then. And we're sure glad they do. |
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From my review in "The National Barbecue News"
