Want to make BBQ that will make your
guests happy and your neighbors envious? I am reviewing a book that
might just help you out with that.
Karen Putman and Judith Fertig
Published by Robert Rose Inc.
$24.95
The Authors
Karen Putman was a prize-winning chef who won many contests on the competition BBQ circuit, including a grand championship at the American Royal. Judith Fertig is a food/lifestyle writer and cookbook author who has written eight barbecue books, including 300 Big and Bold BBQ and Grilling Recipes.
The Book
Championship BBQ Secrets
is a full size, 440 page soft cover book. The first section includes
concise, often bulletized information about different smokers,
techniques for smoking, and how to get into competitive BBQ. The second section is loaded with recipes.
Recipes:
The recipes start off
with a varied and comprehensive selection of brines, marinades, rubs,
mops and sauces. They include all sorts, covering regional and
international flavor profiles, for building layers of flavor before,
during, and after smoking. The variety of rubs/sauces/etc reminds me
a bit of the classic Smoke and Spice (that is a big compliment, IMO).
Don't get confused by the
“Championship BBQ” part, the book does NOT limit itself to
recipes for the basic competition ribs, pork, brisket, and chicken
thighs. The recipes include much more than that. For example,
instead of just comp chicken thighs, the poultry section has 27
recipes including whole chicken, chicken quarters, wings, skewers,
turkeys, turkey wings, and the cornish hens recipe posted here. Each
section is just as diverse.
The book gives a quote
that I love: Slow smoking, or creating
traditional barbecue, is a technique, not a recipe. It's a technique
that you gradually begin to master after lots of practice, practice,
practice. The book arms you with plenty of original recipes to do
just that, practice. I've done a handful of recipes from the book
and look forward to trying
- Portobello mushrooms with brandied cream
- Scallops in sesame marinade
- Mango and chipotle turkey breast
- Run and cola country style ribs
- any of the 7 brisket recipes
The Photos
The book includes 32 pages of color
photographs of finished dishes, step by step techniques, and tips.
Summary
I think the people who
would most benefit from this book are people who want to make
championship level BBQ in their backyard. I also think anyone
looking at getting started in competitive barbecue would also find it
helpful as in introduction into that world.
But I don't think the
established competitive cook is going to gain much from the book.
For example, in the competition tips part, the book focuses on
chicken halves. The standard for comp chicken these days is chicken
thighs with bite through skin and that was not even mentioned.
Rank
5 stars – an absolute resource, will
refer to frequently
4 stars – good cookbook with value
added tips, photos, guides, and other content
3 stars – Good, average cookbook,
glad to have it on my shelf
2 stars – a recipe collection for those who have not heard of the Internet
1 star – would give it away to
someone else to get rid of it, but only if I didn't like them very
much
Stuffed Cornish Game Hens with Apricot Mustard Sauce
r
Ingredients (serves 4)
- 4 Cornish game hens
- maple wood chips or chunks
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup crumbled crispy bacon (about 5 strips)
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 Tbsp minced fresh mint
- 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- pinch Kosher salt
- pinch ground black pepper
- 3 Tbsp apricot preserves
- 1 1/4 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 1/4 tsp mayonnaise
- 2 tsp apricot syrup
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine garlic, butter, bacon, rosemary, mint, thyme, salt, and pepper.
- Rinse hens inside and out under cold running water and pat dry. Using your fingers, smear some of the butter mixture under the breast skin of each game hen, loosening the skin from the meat. Place some of the butter mixture in the cavity of each hen. Sprinkle hens inside and out with additional salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Prepare the sauce; In a small bowl, combine apricot preserves, Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, and syrup. Note: I couldn't find the apricot syrup so I made and used a simple syrup by melting equal parts sugar and water together over medium heat.
- Prepare a fire in your smoker.
- Place hens, breast side up, directly on the smoker rack, add wood to the coals and close the lide. Smoke at 225 to 250f for about 3 hours or until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a hen registers 165f.
- Serve hens with sauce on the side.
Powered by Recipage
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| Instead of crumbling bacon, I used a mini processor and then added the butter ingredients for a smoother compound butter. Tip stolen from Chris Lilly. |
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| Tuck the wing tips behind and tie the legs for even cooking. |
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| Good color but I'd cook at a higher temp next time to get crispier skin. |
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| I made a quick portobello - asparagus stir fry while the hens rested. |
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| Glazed and served. |
I also tried a few other recipes from the book, including using the Aromatic Poultry Rub when I was practicing competition chicken with a cherry chipotle sauce a few weeks ago. Definitely a good bird rub. For bite through skin, I did the trick where you remove the skin, scrape the fat off the back of it and put it back on the thigh.
If you want to take your
backyard bbq to the next level this Spring/Summer, consider picking
up a copy of Championship BBQ Secrets.
