cover image Planet Barbecue!

Planet Barbecue!

Steven Raichlen, . . Workman, $20.95 (638pp) ISBN 978-0-7611-4801-2

Barbecue cookbooks are often large; every Raichlen barbecue cookbook is large in its own way. Reaching beyond the scope of his BBQ USA (425 recipes in 784 pages) and the 10th edition of his Barbecue! Bible (500 recipes in 556 pages), this Tolstoy of Tabasco traveled the globe thrice, stopping everywhere he could think of in search of the next great dinner. Six continents, 53 countries, and 275 recipes later, there is grilled crocodile with garlic walnut lime sauce from Kenya, and Singaporean grilled pork belly. There is Kuwaiti chili shrimp, and kangaroo kebabs from you know where. Each country gets a two-page profile, which lists the types of grills and fuels most common to the region, dishes that are a must if you happen to be in the neighborhood, as well as what traditional condiments one might expect to find on one's beef, fish, pork, or vegetables. There are also profiles of various “Fire Starters,” grill masters he has met on his voyage such as Madam Djan and Miss Panin, the grilled fish divas of Laos. The chapters are arranged by meat rather than point of origin, so the Serbian bacon-grilled prunes are seated next to the jalapeño poppers, and Laotian grilled fish sits next to Canadian trout grilled on a log. (May)