Do you have a favorite restaurant, food truck, or burger joint (or even a fond memory of one) that makes outstanding burgers, burgers that are uncommonly, inexplicably good? “Wait a minute,” you think. “I make good burgers at home. Why don’t they taste like this?” The answer? Because many of these chefs and chef-like ground beef greats have a few tricks up their sleeves. Read on, and you’ll be privy to “secrets” that will have the guests at your table murmuring, “Best burger…ever!” It’s the meat and what you do to enhance it with umami flavors that will set you apart. (Umami is the Japanese wo ..read more

One of the most underappreciated cuts at the meat counter are country-style pork ribs. Country-Style Pork Ribs What are they? The country-style rib is a rib that believes it’s a pork chop. Even though they resemble them, country-style ribs are not, technically speaking, ribs. They are cut from the shoulder/neck area (Boston butt, in most cases), they are well-marbled, succulent, batons of meat that are several 4 to 5 inches long and an inch on either side. There is almost no waste, and pound for pound, country-style ribs are a bargain—less than half the price of other pork ribs—making them an ..read more

Barbecue and grilling is one of America’s definitive culinary traditions, with each region staking a claim on unique flavors and techniques. At the heart of this lies a supporting player, sauce. From the vinegar-type sauces of the Carolinas to the tomato-rich sauces of Kansas City, each region has its own signature, that adds depth, tang, and complexity to the smoky meats. Here, we’ll explore eight must-try regional barbecue sauces that have stood the test of time. So fire up your smokers, grab a bottle (or whip up a batch from scratch), and get ready to experience the tantalizing sauces that ..read more

One thousand recipes! That’s a staggering number. Yet, my friends Aly and Robbie Douglass have achieved it. Yes, the founders of the Barbecue Bible 500 Club just cooked their 1000th Steven Raichlen recipe—a feat I find impressive and humbling. The former Californians moved to the south of Spain 5 years ago, and during the Covid lockdown, they embarked on a culinary adventure—to cook all 537 recipes in my book The Barbecue Bible. That inspired them to found the Barbecue Bible 500 Club —600+ members and going strong—for other grilling obsessed people who want to cook their way through The Barbec ..read more

“Which grill should I buy?” is one of the questions I am asked most. Today’s grillers face a staggering selection of grills, from modestly priced hibachis to “supergrills” costing $20,000 or more. And while I wish I could give a one-size-fits-all answer, I can’t. I urge would-be buyers to define their own grilling personalities. My personal “desert island” grill would be a conventional kettle grill as it offers great versatility—perhaps I could make my own charcoal from coconuts! But a convenience-minded gas griller or diehard wood griller wants a different sort of live-fire experience. CHARCO ..read more

In our experience, the serious practitioners of barbecue always have a few tricks up their sleeves. Below, we share with you some of the most useful we’ve collected, along with several recipes to back them up. For more grilling tips and hacks, check out Steven’s book Project Fire. 20 Grilling Hacks *When checking the internal temperature of a thin food, such as a fish steak, thin pork chop, or chicken breast. insert the probe of your instant-read thermometer through the side (parallel to the grill grate) for the most accurate reading. Ditto for bratwurst, hot dogs, or other sausages: go in thr ..read more

We are all familiar with the many great ads that used to air on TV with a famous film star who said, “Nothing satisfies like beef.” While we knew they came from the beef lobby in support of the beef industry, with the full marketing weight of Madison Avenue behind them, we were powerless to deny their effect. That statement was true…and the ads worked! Why else are there BBBQ Clubs out there now that do little more than post photo after photo of beautiful medium-rare cuts of beef on the grill and on the plate? While the 500 Club is much more than that, we recognize the reality that Madison Ave ..read more

Lamb is the preferred meat of many of the world’s cultures, appearing on tables everywhere from Australia, where leg of lamb is the national dish, to Argentina, where cordero al asador (lamb roasted whole on an iron cross angled toward an open fire) is served on special occasions. But according to the USDA, the average American eats less than one pound of lamb per year. Its popularity peaks during Eastertime, when it is often the centerpiece of the holiday table. This spring, we urge you to give versatile lamb a try! Tender, rich, meaty, and compatible with many flavor combinations, lamb’s ver ..read more

Salmon is one of the most versatile forms of seafood at the fish counter, available nearly everywhere. Succulent, sustainable, and healthful. Amenable to many ways of cooking, we vote for grilling. (Surprised?) Below are just a few of our favorite recipes, all of which can be on your table in less than an hour. Serve with a pretty salad and a starch—potatoes, rice, bread, etc. Grilled Salmon Recipes 1. Planked Salmon with Lemon Mustard Glaze Long before cedar planks started turning up on American grills, nineteenth-century chefs cooked fish on oak planks in the oven. Even earlier, the Indians ..read more

Tastes like chicken. And that’s a good thing. We’re talking about the favorite chicken recipes of thousands of visitors to our website (not including wings or sandwiches). From Jamaican Jerk Chicken (a recipe shared with Steven by the only Jamaican-approved seller in the U.S. of pimento wood) that will thrill anyone at your table, to old-fashioned barbecued chicken you can grill indirectly without fear of flare-ups. Do you have ingenious chicken recipes of your own? Please share them with us! Our Best Chicken Recipes Basic Beer-Can Chicken Okay, here it is: the master recipe for the ultimate b ..read more