Great Books for Summer Grilling

Getting ready for those summer barbecues? Or maybe you've got the grill up and running but need some great ideas for entertaining as well as everyday meals. We have a great selection of books to get you started!

If you're new to grilling, a great place to start is David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding's Grill This Not That. Part of the series that began with Eat This Not That and that teaches consumers to cook low-cal versions of fattening restaurant favorites, Grill This is an awesome book for the new griller. The book offers concrete tips about the whats and hows of grilling for charcoal and gas as well as simple, pantry-friendly recipes you can make tonight.

There are sections covering red meat, poultry, vegetables and even desserts. Didn't think you could grill strawberry shortcake? Think again!

Stéphane Reynaud's Barbecue & Grill is a showpiece with more advanced recipes and a coffee-table-worthy appearance. The recipes are more complicated and require more ingredients but they look amazing. This book would make a great gift for the gourmet griller you love (and would like to cook for you!).

Another one I love is Kathie Robitz's Grilling Surf and Turf, a terrific guide to seafood and more. There is also a lot of very helpful how-to information at the beginning covering grill maintenance and safe food-handling measures.


Finally, for vegetarians and vegans, we have the terrific Grilling Vegan Style: 125 Fired-Up Recipes to Turn Every Bite into a Backyard BBQ, by John Schlimm. Schlimm is the author of several other cookbooks including The Beer Lover's Cookbook and The Tipsy Vegan and brings his expertise to bear with a book chock full of recipes for tofu, tempeh, seitan and all things vegan, with sections on salads, drinks, marinades, desserts and more.  It's a must-have for the no-meat cook.

Find all these books and more in our cooking section and get ready for a great summer!