The Outdoor Cook

How to Cook Anything Outside Using Your Grill, Fire Pit, Flat-Top Grill, and More

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Your comprehensive guide to outdoor cooking with 150 recipes to make the whole meal outdoors, including snacks, sides, breads, and desserts

Go beyond burgers and basic proteins to become your best outdoor cooking self. Whether you use a gas or charcoal grill, flat-top griddle, open-fire setup, smoker, or pizza oven, you can revel in the outdoor cooking lifestyle. By learning to harness fire and smoke the ATK way, you'll even be able to convert many of these recipes between different cooking methods.

In-depth information covers fire setups and heat levels; reviews of outdoor cooking equipment including grills, griddles, planchas, rotisseries, pizza ovens, and smokers; and all the invaluable tips ATK has learned from more than 25 years of outdoor cooking experience.

Whether you need fast, creative weeknight dinners or you're gathering friends around the fire pit for Charred Guacamole and Grilled Peach Sangria or you're seeking a weekend adventure smoking a whole chicken or simmering open-fire paella for a crowd, you'll find recipes for every meal component:
  • Snacks and Small Plates: Smoked Loaded Nachos, Grilled Oysters with Soy-Citrus Sauce, Watermelon with Grilled Queso de Freir, Serrano, and Pepitas
  • Both Hands Needed: Grilled Smokehouse Barbecue Burgers, Smoked Salmon Tacos, Philly-Style Cheesesteaks
  • Weeknight Dinners: Stir-Fried Szechuan-Style Eggplant, Grilled Garam Masala Chicken, Tomatoes, and Naan
  • Weekend Gatherings: Kansas City–Style Barbecue Ribs, New England Clambake, Diner-Style Breakfast
  • Over an Open Fire: Fireside Chili, Chicken Souvlaki, Paella for a Crowd
  • Grilled Breads: Thin-Crust Grilled Pizza, Rosemary Focaccia, No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread
  • Desserts: Glazed Rotisserie Pineapple with Salted Rum Butterscotch Sauce, Cherry Spoon Cake 
"This encyclopedic volume comes from the experts at America's Test Kitchen, the respected Boston-Based operation that tests and tests recipes, and then tests them again, making it invaluable for folks just getting started with grilling or those moving up from grilling to smoking (or as a summer wedding present). Appropriately subtitled 'How to Cook Anything Outside Using Your Grill, Fire Pit, Flat-Top Grill and More,' the book covers equipment, fuel, fire and safety before getting into meals to whet your appetite." -- San Jose Mercury News
America’s Test Kitchen is well-known for its top-rated television shows with more than 4 million weekly public television viewers, bestselling cookbooks, magazines, websites, and cooking school. The highly reputable and recognizable brands of America’s Test Kitchen, Cook’s Illustrated, and Cook’s Country are the work of over 60 passionate chefs based in Boston, Massachusetts, who put ingredients, cookware, equipment, and recipes through objective, rigorous testing to identify the very best. Discover, learn, and expand your cooking repertoire with Julia Collin Davison, Bridget Lancaster, Jack Bishop, Dan Souza, Lisa McManus, Tucker Shaw, Bryan Roof, and our fabulous team of test cooks! View titles by America's Test Kitchen

About

Your comprehensive guide to outdoor cooking with 150 recipes to make the whole meal outdoors, including snacks, sides, breads, and desserts

Go beyond burgers and basic proteins to become your best outdoor cooking self. Whether you use a gas or charcoal grill, flat-top griddle, open-fire setup, smoker, or pizza oven, you can revel in the outdoor cooking lifestyle. By learning to harness fire and smoke the ATK way, you'll even be able to convert many of these recipes between different cooking methods.

In-depth information covers fire setups and heat levels; reviews of outdoor cooking equipment including grills, griddles, planchas, rotisseries, pizza ovens, and smokers; and all the invaluable tips ATK has learned from more than 25 years of outdoor cooking experience.

Whether you need fast, creative weeknight dinners or you're gathering friends around the fire pit for Charred Guacamole and Grilled Peach Sangria or you're seeking a weekend adventure smoking a whole chicken or simmering open-fire paella for a crowd, you'll find recipes for every meal component:
  • Snacks and Small Plates: Smoked Loaded Nachos, Grilled Oysters with Soy-Citrus Sauce, Watermelon with Grilled Queso de Freir, Serrano, and Pepitas
  • Both Hands Needed: Grilled Smokehouse Barbecue Burgers, Smoked Salmon Tacos, Philly-Style Cheesesteaks
  • Weeknight Dinners: Stir-Fried Szechuan-Style Eggplant, Grilled Garam Masala Chicken, Tomatoes, and Naan
  • Weekend Gatherings: Kansas City–Style Barbecue Ribs, New England Clambake, Diner-Style Breakfast
  • Over an Open Fire: Fireside Chili, Chicken Souvlaki, Paella for a Crowd
  • Grilled Breads: Thin-Crust Grilled Pizza, Rosemary Focaccia, No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread
  • Desserts: Glazed Rotisserie Pineapple with Salted Rum Butterscotch Sauce, Cherry Spoon Cake 

Reviews

"This encyclopedic volume comes from the experts at America's Test Kitchen, the respected Boston-Based operation that tests and tests recipes, and then tests them again, making it invaluable for folks just getting started with grilling or those moving up from grilling to smoking (or as a summer wedding present). Appropriately subtitled 'How to Cook Anything Outside Using Your Grill, Fire Pit, Flat-Top Grill and More,' the book covers equipment, fuel, fire and safety before getting into meals to whet your appetite." -- San Jose Mercury News

Author

America’s Test Kitchen is well-known for its top-rated television shows with more than 4 million weekly public television viewers, bestselling cookbooks, magazines, websites, and cooking school. The highly reputable and recognizable brands of America’s Test Kitchen, Cook’s Illustrated, and Cook’s Country are the work of over 60 passionate chefs based in Boston, Massachusetts, who put ingredients, cookware, equipment, and recipes through objective, rigorous testing to identify the very best. Discover, learn, and expand your cooking repertoire with Julia Collin Davison, Bridget Lancaster, Jack Bishop, Dan Souza, Lisa McManus, Tucker Shaw, Bryan Roof, and our fabulous team of test cooks! View titles by America's Test Kitchen