Benson Matthew - Project fire: cutting-edge techniques and sizzling recipes from the caveman porterhouse to salt slab brownie smores

Cutting-Edge Techniques and Sizzling Recipes from
the Caveman Porterhouse to Salt Slab Brownie SMores

STEVEN RAICHLEN

Food Photography by Matthew Benson

Workman Publishing

New York

In loving memory of my father

Sonny Raichlen

19292016

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Project Fire is my 31st book, and, as always, one of the great pleasures in completing it is thanking the people who helped make it possible.

But this time that pleasure is tempered with sadness, for it is my last book with my longtime editor and friend, Suzanne Rafer. For 43 years, Suzanne has polished the prose of her authors at Workman Publishing, turning their books into international bestsellers. I thank her for her expert editing, unerring counsel, and relentless pursuit of excellence. I wish her well in her retirement and will never forget how hard she has worked to make my books worthy of the name Workman Publishing on the spine.

Equally heartfelt are my thanks to my assistant, Nancy Loseke, who handles any task I throw at herfrom research to recipe testing to proofreading, editing, and bloggingwith an aplomb surpassed only by her enthusiasm and dedication.

The idea for Project Fire originated on the set of my Project Smoke TV show, so its only fitting that I thank Matt Cohen, Gwenn Williams, Chris Lynch, Richard Dallett, and the many cameramen, engineers, editors, chefs, and PAs who make it possible. (That would be Bob, Dan, Dave, David, Emily, Haley, Jacob, Jillian, Joe, John, Jonathan, Jordan, Joseph, Kevin, Lauren, Michael, Paul, Rob, Ryan, Tony, and Vicki). Tip o the hat to Steven Schupak, Stuart Kazanow, Frank Batavick, Jay Parikh, Phillip Guthrie, and Donna Hunt at Maryland Public Television.

When it came time for the photography for Project Fire, I had the great fortune to work again with photographer Matthew Benson, food stylist Nora Singley, and her assistants Kris Kurek and Pearl Jones, photo director Anne Kerman, prop stylist Sara Abalan, and fire wranglers Ezra Dunn (Stokey) and Garlan Dunn (Smokey).

Providing grill gear and product photos were: Arteflame, Carson Rodizio, Char-Broil, The Companion Group, Grillworks, Homdoor, Kalamazoo, Komodo Kamado, Lodge, Matsushima, Maverick, Memphis Grills, Pit Barrel Cooker Co., Safecid, Smoke n Fire Inc., TEC Infrared Grills, and Weber.

Thanks, too, to Francois de Melogue (Foods in Season) and The Green Grape Provisions.

Becky Terhune designed this handsome book. Kate Karol, Carol White, Lily Kiralla, and Barbara Peragine ushered it into production, and publicity director Rebecca Carlyle and head publicist Chloe Puton will make sure people know about it. I will miss former publicity director Selina Meere, and wish her well in California. Molly Kay Upton, Erin Kibby, and Moira Kerrigan keep the barbecuebible.com website humming. (Sign up for our Up in Smoke newsletter if you havent already.) Orchestrating all this are CEO Dan Reynolds, publisher Suzie Bolotin, and Workmans president, Carolan Workman. I only wish that the visionary Peter Workman were still alive to see another Raichlen book join the Workman library.

A HUGE thanks to my family: Betsy, Jake, those three rascals, Ella, Mia, and Julian, and above all, my wife of 28 years, Barbara Raichlen. Consigliere and best friend, Barbara has a hand in all the good things that happen to me, and believe me, keeping me on track is no easy task.

Last, but certainly not least, I would like to thank you, dear readers, for allowing me to have the greatest job on the planet. Thanks to you, I look forward to each new day, with all the new adventures and discoveries it brings.

Steven Raichlen

Contents

Introduction

WHY PROJECT FIRE?

After thirty books, seven TV series, two decades of Barbecue University classes, hundreds of articles in publications ranging from the New York Times to Esquire, and literally thousands of radio and TV interviews, what more could I possibly have to say about grilling?

As it turns out, a lot.

When How to Grill came out in 2002, few people understood such fundamentals as indirect grilling or smoking. Today grillers debate the intricacies of dry brines and reverse-searing, of salt slab grilling and sous vide the way scientists argue the fine points of quantum physics.

Which is to say that like all else in cuisine and culture, grilling continues to evolve. Never in history have more people grilled a more diverse repertory of foods on a more sophisticated array of grills and cookers. Never have people used a wider range of grilling and smoking techniques to derive more pleasure from the ancient art of live-fire cooking. Men do it. Women do it. These days, even kids compete in barbecue competitions.

So whats new in Project Fire? Just about everything.

New grills, from kamados to pellet grills, from plancha grills to hybrid wood burners.

New tools, from remote digital thermometers to high-tech rotisseries.

Revolutionary new techniques, from salt slab grilling to smoke-roasting, from ember-grilling to fire-heated iron.

And of course, new foods, from alternative steaks to eco-friendly seafood, and new twists on popular classics, such as breakfast on the grill and wood-fired desserts.

Think of Project Fire as the companion to Project Smoke my book on smokingpicking up where my previous books leave off. You have some killer grill sessions to look forward to.

The Seven Steps to Grilling Nirvana

G rilling is the worlds oldest and most universal cooking method, practiced in virtually every country and culture on six continents (seven if you consider the cookouts staged by grill-obsessed scientists in Antarctica). But ancient and universal dont automatically mean simple.

Todays grillers face a staggering selection of grills, from inexpensive hibachis to $20,000 supergrills. As for grilling accessories, the indispensable tongs and grill brushes are now joined by sophisticated digital thermometers and temperature controllers that communicate with your smartphone.

The once ubiquitous briquette has given way to specialty charcoals from as far away as Paraguay, Japan, and Indonesia. Then theres woodused for adding a smoke flavor and as a grilling fuel in its own right. Which wood you use and how you add it has an enormous impact on the flavor of your food.

If you think grilling means searing a steak or burger over a hot fire, know that there are actually