GRILLED CHICKEN, STEAK, RIBS
AND MORE BBQ RECIPES BY ROB RAINFORD
Review by Barb & Ron Kroll
Born to Grill - over 100 recipes from my backyard to yours
(Appetite) ISBN 978-0449015636 0449015637
Outdoor grilling and entertaining is easy if you follow the recipes in Rob Rainford's cookbook. Each barbecue menu features delicious recipes for grilled meat or fish with vegetables, salads and even a few drinks and desserts.
Besides dishes for everyday and company meals, Chef Rainford includes advice about grill cooking and barbecue tools.
Family dinners
Born to Grill features 20 menus with 100 recipes, ranging from simple (e.g., fast and easy grilled tuna steak) to elegant (e.g., tea-smoked breast of pheasant).
The barbecue cookbook has recipes for family dinners, such as grilled ginger and Parmesan mini chicken meatballs, as well as company dishes, like grilled lobster tails with truffle tarragon butter.
Jamaican menu
Each menu has a theme, from grilled chicken to international barbecue dishes, such as Egyptian lamb koftas. Rainford pays homage to his Caribbean roots with recipes for Jamaican BBQ, such as plank-grilled Jamaican beef patties, an authentic jerk marinade and a Jamaican chocolate fondue spiked with Appleton Estate Reserve Dark Rum.
For outdoor cooking, Rob Rainford doesn't limit himself to grilled beef and burgers. Born to Grill also includes recipes for barbecued Arctic char, halibut, foie gras, quail, lamb, turkey, pizza and smoked veal chops, as well as unusual grilled foods, e.g., Swiss chard with cashews and golden raisins and grilled asparagus quiche.
The Rainford Method
Rob Rainford provides precise instructions on grilling, as well as BBQ tips, such as how to grill garlic and how to use a charcoal grill as an oven to make cast iron skillet biscuits.
A chart lists grilling temperatures. For example, for medium-rare grilled steak, cook the meat at 130 to 140 degrees F (54 to 60 degrees C). His cookbook also includes advice on barbecue cooking, such as when to use direct and indirect heat, how to use wood chips and instructions for cold-smoking fish.
In the front of the grilling cookbook, Chef Rainford discusses BBQ tools, including the Looftlighter Charcoal Lighter, which heats coals with extremely hot air rather than fire.
Barbecue sauces
Born to Grill features several recipes for BBQ sauce, including sauces for baby back ribs. A BBQ rub enhances the recipe for brandy butter-infused grilled beef tenderloin.
Try the recipe for portobello mushroom Napoleons if you are looking for barbecue ideas for vegetarians. Other grilled vegetables in the 268-page cookbook include crab-filled potato boats and grilled corn on the cob with maple-bourbon butter.
Rotisserie grilling
Mouthwatering photos by Mike McColl depict recipes and barbecue cooking techniques, such as how to secure Cornish hens on a rotisserie fork and rod over a gas grill.
Contents
IntroductionGrilling the Rainford Way
Tricks of the Trade
- Key Rainford Barbecue Tools
- Rainford's Staple Recipes
- Rainford's Grilling Temperature Chart
- 1: Taste of North Africa
- 2: More Flavors from Africa
- 3: For the Love of Beef
- 4: For the Rose in Your Life
- 5: Rib Fest at My Place. Anyone?
- 6: Aiden, Lauren and Alyssa's "Go To" Meals
- 7: Going Home
- 8: To Boldly Go Where Not Many Have Gone Before
- 9: On the Road Again
- 10: Wings and Things
- 11: From Indonesia to North America in One Menu
- 12: Game Time
- 13: From Quiche to Turkey, All on the Grill
- 14: Fresh Fish, Anyone?
- 15: From the West Coast of Canada to Greece
and Everything in Between - 16: Smoke and the Beautiful Fish It Loves
- 17: Fish 101—Class in Session
- 18: Decadence Meets the Grill
- 19: Finding New Flavors for Fish
- 20: Barbecuing—Just Because You Can
Author
Rob Rainford is a Toronto chef who hosted Licence to Grill, a Food Network TV cooking show.