The Ultimate Meat Cookbook: 425 Foolproof Recipes for Perfectly Cooked Meat & Poultry | Step-by-Step Guide for Grilling, Roasting & Braising | Ideal for Home Chefs & BBQ Enthusiasts

This book is fantastic. For starters, the recipes are delicious. At least the few I've made so far have been. I'm not particularly skilled at food preparation and I have a limited range of kitchen appliances at my disposal but I am a competent cook. That is to say I am capable of following directions and can perform all the usual kitchen operations without catching fire or cutting off my fingers. This book caters to people like me in that it breaks the recipes down into simple, easy to follow instructions and doesn't require a multitude of highly specialized gear.I am in no way implying that the recipes are too simple or basic for the avid cooks out there. The book is bound to teach you a few new tricks or at the very least, inspire you to think more creatively with your cooking. The writers have taken a thoughtful approach to classic recipes and broke them down to really analyze what makes them work and how they can be improved. Often times they employ seemingly odd combinations that yield delicious results There was a lettuce wrap that pairs ground pork with fish sauce, lime juice and mint. It was absolutely amazing. Then there was the chicken tikka masala. I am not very familiar with indian cuisine but the smell and flavor of this dish was something I can't describe. The spice combination created such a captivating, exotic aroma. It tasted like something id get at a nice restaurant.I've been on a bit of a cooking kick lately. More like a quest to expand my skills that has really lead to a lot of fun experiments and a fair number of cook book purchases. At one point I found myself torn between buying this or The Complete Meat Cookbook by Bruce Aidells. Unable to decide, I bought them both but I can definitively say I prefer Cook's Illustrated hands down. The reason being the quality of the book itself. It is hard covered and uses glossy pages with some nice color photos here and there. Very kitchen friendly. Just prop it open on the countertop along side the ingredients. It is also very intuitively laid out. Every recipe is grouped into sections based on the meat that composes it. It is easy to tell which recipes require the grill and it walks you through each individual element of the dish. What the thought process was. What they changed. Why they use one cut of meat over another. Before you even begin the actual cooking process, you will know why the dish is going to be great.