Steven Raichlen's BBQ USA: 425 Fiery Recipes from All Across America [Paperback]

I now own several of Raichlen's books and have not been disappointed with any of them. My first book was Rubs, Marinades, Bastes, and Sauces and then I bought this one. I have done lots of recipes from all of his books and now use these recipes in much of my everyday BBQ cooking. I have yet to have a bad or poorly understood recipe. Each recipe is well laid out and easy to understand and the index is excellent, unlike many other cookbooks including many BBQ ones. Another feature I really do like about this book is that it is very comprehensive and has recipes from across the US but with still many that have an ethnic background with an accompanying explaination.

Last week for example, I used one of his recipes from either this book or his "The Barbecue Bible" with a pineapple and jalepeno chicken that had these ingredients stuffed under the skin then BBQed. It was one of the best BBQ chickens I have ever made. Another recipe I really liked was the Hula Hula (or Huli Huli) chicken (no marinade time I think) which was in this book I believe and based on Hawaiian BBQ. I have also done some seafood recipes with fantastic results and many other recipes including side orders.

He also provides numerous anecdotes on how he got the recipes and their background which is not only interesting but helps one understand why the recipe is the way it is. Many of the recipes (I particularly liked the chicken and seafood sections in this one) do require marinade times of usually 4+ hours so some planning is needed in advance, but the food I have made from this and his other books has been excellent and well worth the planning.

I own over 100 cookbooks which I use regularly and this book would be in my top 8 or 10 for sure and top one for BBQ. When I bought this one, we bought another as a gift and the recipient loved it as well. If I had to own one BBQ book, this would be it, with The Barbecue Bible a very close second. I wish other authors would put so much effort into their cookbooks.

Very good book with tons of recipies and bbq side notes. If you can't find a recipie for what you want to cook in this book ,then you better take a closer look at what your eating. Most of the recipies are copies that he comes up with of other bbq'ers works, but Raichlen gives a good variety of the different types of bbqing there is for people to try. For the person new to BBQ, there's Carolina bbq, Texas bbq, Kansas City bbq, Asian bbq, Carrabean bbq etc., all found in this book with unique flavours and very tasty recipies. Raichlen shows his love for bbq in his extensive research and effort to make this book. While slow cooking your food, you'll find out how tabassco sauce was made, or read about how the philly cheese steak was created, or better yet, about an old time bbqer who made a living out of selling pulled pork from a shed.

If you pick up this book, and one of Paul Kirk's, then your off to a very very good start. You won't need another bbq book ever again.

BBQ USA is an awesome guide to barbeque throughout the United States (and even a few places outside of the US). This book highlights what is similiar and what is different about how people barbeque in different regions. Organized by food type (ex. beef, poultry, fish, etc) the guide gives various examples of how a food would be handled in different areas. Ribs may be, for example, done with: dry rubs, marinades, smoked, rotisserie, boiled, or jerked, just depending on where you go. This by-food-type organization is a boon to the barbequer who may catch a good deal on a particular food at the store, but isn't sure what they want to do with it.

The discussions of regional barbeque is fascinating. With some pictures thrown in of restaurants and barbeque stops around the country, this is not just a recipe book, but a tour of the US through a different lense. The fact that there are a whopping 425 recipes for barbeque from around the country will keep pit-masters busy for many weekends to come. With this book in hand, there will never again be reason for any ambitious barbequer's family to complain of food boredom!

As a recipe book, this one is great. There is variety for every palate, great instructions, and helpful tips. The only thing that some may not like is that there are only a few pictures of the foods in the recipes. Given the size of this tome, with it's 425 recipes, this is understandable. For the new barbequer who needs pictures, or to those that just prefer them, a better book might be Steven Raichlens' "How to Grill", which gives awesome instructions in equipment, technique, and beautiful glossy photos on every page.