Choosing the right grill.

Choosing the right fuel.

Stocking the essential tools.

Setting up a work area.

Building the best fire.

Picking the correct method - direct grilling indirect grilling, barbecuing, split roasting, roasting in the embers.

Managing the cookout.

You can treat it as a primer or as a refresher - the fundamentals set the stage for all grilling heroics to come. The very first technique in the book elevates backyard barbecuing to a new level: Hickory Smoked Prime Rib. It covers the fine points of indirect grilling a large piece of meat along with the technique for using wood chips to create a smoke flavor, and it shows how to French the ribs for a jaw-dropping presentation.

Technique by technique, recipe by recipe, the book runs the gamut of grilling skills: How to jerk pork. How to spatchcock a chicken. How to grill an asparagus raft, a pizza, oysters, tofu, pears, lettuces, delicate mushrooms, scallops, even a whole lamb.

Says the author, If it tastes good cooked, it'll taste even better grilled.

THE BARBECUE! BIBLE Phenomenon

The most extensive collection of recipes, techniques, shopping resources, and barbecue emporiums ever published. (Esquire)

For aspiring gourmets of the grillthere is only on book: The Barbecue! Bible. (The New Yorker)

A universal exploration of the art and meaning of cooking over fire. (USA Today)

May well become the St. James version for the international barbecue crowd. (Knight Ridder Newspapers)

Steven Raichlen, grill jockey extraordinaire, has elevated the art of flipping burgers and charring dogs to international voyeurism. (Philadelphia Daily News)

Steven Raichlen lights up the fire and shows the way. (House Beautiful)