Serves: 5

When writing the recipes, I’ve tried to be as authentic as possible. But I’ve also taken into account the fact that certain foods, seasonings, and cooking equipment simply aren’t available in the United States (not to mention the fact that our tastes and aesthetics are different). Whenever I depart from a traditional recipe, I’ve tried to suggest the way it would be made in its country of origin.

In my three years on the barbecue trail, I sampled many dishes I know most Americans would never dream of preparing at home. (A few that come to mind are Uruguay’s choto (grilled coiled lamb’s intestines) and Indonesia’s saté padang (kebabs of beef entrails served in a fiery gravy). I’ve tried to describe these dishes in the essays and boxes in this book. I hope you’ll give them a try when you travel.

As I quickly discovered on the barbecue trail, grilling is an art, not a science. Many cooks work in unbelievably primitive conditions. Indeed, one of the reasons I’m drawn to grilling is that it’s so forgiving in terms of measurements and proportions. I hope you’ll use the recipes in this book as I do, that is, as a broad guideline. If you don’t feel like eating beef, make the recipe with chicken or seafood. Most of the marinades and rubs in this book-listed either as freestanding recipes or subrecipes in more elaborate preparations-can be used with any type of grilled fare. You’ll also notice that there is often more than one way to cook a particular dish. As I always say in my cooking classes: There’s no such thing as a mistake in the kitchen, just a new recipe waiting to be discovered.

Seasoning, marinating, and grilling are the cornerstones of live-fire cooking, which brings me to what I call the Barbecue Bible Method, and as you will see, it’s very simple. First marinate the meat, or rub it with spices. Then let the meat absorb the seasonings for as long as recommended or as long as you have time for. Finally, grill it over whatever sort of fuel on whatever sort of equipment you feel most comfortable using. That’s it.

Of course, I hope to expand your horizons-to inspire you to try new techniques and new flavors. But the bottom line is that I want you to make these recipes. Remember, cooking isn’t brain surgery. This is especially true for what is surely the world’s easiest cooking method, grilling.

More Recipes from the The Barbecue Bible Cookbook:
1. Why I Wrote This Book
2. How I Wrote This Book
3. About the Recipes
4. Beating a Path to the World's Best Barbecue