Celebrate meat with news book for Father's Day
Dads and the grill. It's a cliche, But since Father's Day falls smack dab in grilling season, why not embrace it.
And there's a whole pile of new meat and grilling cookbooks to help you feed the Dad's Day gift need:
"Ribs, Chops, Steaks and Wings" by Ray Lampe tackles the four major meat food groups. Old-school Southern barbecued spare ribs promise a crunchy, caramelized finish from a mop of chili and apple juice. Bourbon-soaked pork chops get two things done at once, while a shallot-cognac sauce gives steak a Saturday night finish. Wing lovers may debate the merits of stick versus club, but few would argue with a bacon-wrapped version of both. Tips on grills, wood chips and tools speak directly to the Dad DNA.
Next stop, ground and spiced meat in casings from "Sausage" by Victoria Wise. Overlook the definition-defying "vegetarian sausage" and head straight for the enticing chorizo and clams, merguez and apple tagine, and Creole sausage gumbo. Wise explores the world of pork, beef, lamb and other sausages through an international lens, with recipes for homemade or store bought sausages from around the world. While pork and chestnut sausage wrapped in chicken breast sounds like meat overkill, turkey and pistachio meatballs offer a manageable start to your sausage-making career.
"The Big Book of BBQ" from the editors of Southern Living magazine provides a basic primer on smoked meat for aspiring barbecue gurus. It discusses what barbecue is and isn't, the craft's basic tools and techniques, and offers well-loved recipes from the "Barbecue Belt." Every now and then something like Cuban mojo chicken sneaks in, but most pages are populated with recipes such as giant barbecue bacon burger, marinated beef kebabs, and easy barbecued chicken.
"Planet Barbecue" takes a vaguely academic approach that justifies live-fire cooking as an ancient, primal right. Purists may quibble with author Steven Raichlen's definition of barbecue - which embraces grilling as well as slow cooking - but all food lovers will welcome the range of flavors in the 300 recipes from 60 countries, including peppery piri-piri goat kebabs and South African gazelle kebabs with monkey gland sauce (no monkey glands involved, but still), peanut-crusted lamb from Burkina Faso and lemon grass rotisserie chicken.