The Complete Wood Pellet Barbeque Cookbook: The Ultimate Guide and Recipe Book for Wood Pellet Grills

I've been grilling for many years, but just recently I decided to up my game, and bought a Traeger (Lil Tex). I'm completely new at using such a beast, so I've been reading all I can on the subject and even attended a little one day "bbq school" nearby. At this point I have a pretty good sized stack of BBQ books, but for where I'm at in terms of BBQ knowledge, and in particular slow cooking with a pellet grill, this is now my go-to book. Why?1. Other BBQ books are either grilling books in disguise, or assume that you are using some ancient sort of charcoal or non-pellet wood burning technique. So when they give you cooking advice and notes, I have to take everything that they say with a grain of salt, which makes something that is already complex and challenging, even more so.2. The book contains a lot of really useful reference material. And other reviewers saying that you could obtain this information elsewhere is besides the point (that's really true of all information is it not?). The great thing is that I can lug this book around, and look up information like what types of pellets go with what sorts of meat. What are the internal temperatures for each given meat type that I should be looking for that correspond to the "done-ness" of the meat (well, medium, rare etc.)3. There are recipes for making several different kinds of rubs and sauces, and just as importantly there is detailed discussion about how to use these.4. This isn't a book with a huge number of recipes, like maybe a half dozen or so for each type of meat, plus a few sides and deserts. But the thing I really like is that the instructions are pretty detailed. For example, the first instruction is always what temperature setting to use on your pellet smoker. That is followed by instructions on prepping the meat, followed by cooking instructions. So many of the other books really just tell you what ingredients you need, and little more. For example, in another book it tells you to brine the turkey but gives you no instructions on how to do that! This book thankfully does (and really good instructions as well).So I'm definitely a big fan of this book. The two criticisms that I have of this book is that I wish there were more pictures (detailing both the preparation steps as well as the finished products), and I wish there were more recipes. Since the number of recipes are limited, really the value of this book, imo, is that it is a noob-friendly book on cooking on a pellet smoker. Then once you get the hang of it and have done some of the recipes in this book, it will be time to move on to the other books that have more and fancier recipes.

I did not find this book very helpful. It seemed more like a cookbook put together for friends and family as opposed to others that are available. Some folks may prefer that, but it wasn't what I was looking for.The chapter titled The Basics of Wood Pellet Grill Cooking gave me the same information that came with my Traeger grill and is available on any number websites.A lot of the recipes are really more indirect grilling recipes than smoker recipes as indicated by the cooking temperatures at least from my perspective. There are not that many recipes in the bookThe wine guide pages will be informative, in my opinion, if your wine drinking experiences are somewhat limited.Overall I didn't think there was a lot here even considering the low price. There are 12 folks who gave it five stars so I guess it depends what you are looking for.If you are new to BBQ smoking in my opinion there is no one book you can buy. Everyone that writes one has a point of view. What I have found is you really need a core of three books I have found helpful and then possibly two more. Also there is a lot on the web, but there is one site I have found particularly helpful. Here is my take:Once you understand temperature in relation to smoke and timing you can translate any indirect recipe to a pellet grill or any other type of smoker. There are some tricks/tips that will enhance the cooking, but in the end it all comes down to temperature and time.Here are the books that I have found most helpful in descending order. I would invest in all five if you are serious about this. I look at two things; technical information and recipes.Slow Fire by Ray "DR. BBQ" Lampe - Excellent from a technical standpoint. A great foundation in terms of understanding smoking (slow cooking) and good basic recipes. It is the first book I would buy.Backyard BBQ The Art of Smokology by Richard W. McPeake - Great in terms of technical. If you study this book along with Lemke's you will really get a handle on the technical aspects of smoking. The recipes are pretty basic, but that is OK if you are new at this.Smoke & Spice by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison - OK technical, but once you have that down good recipes and good guidance on time and temperature,Championship Barbecue by Paul Kirk - Good technical compliment to the first two above. This however is more a smoke and grilling cookbook as more than half the recipes are grilled ones. He also has a habit of trying to replicate indoor recipes to the grill. I have no idea why you would do that. A lot of the recipes seem like let me throw this against the wall and see what sticks. That said he has some good smoked ones and his mustard slaughters really work, Thought everything using them would taste like a hot dog, but they enhance the flavor with no mustard taste. Obviously I am a little conflicted by this book.BBQ USA by Steven Raichlen _ more of a grilling cookbook, but he has some good smoker recipes. I am a fan of his for grilling; I have five of his cookbooks. Again from a smoking perspective this is the last of the five, but it and his others are great if you grill as well.Last do poke around the website amazingribs.com. It is not just about ribs and has a wealth of information.Do not assume that any of these recipes will be spot on in terms of your particular grill. As all the authors say you have to learn your grill so do not try any recipe for the first time for company. As many of the authors say smoked BBQ will be ready when it is done.Again it is all about learning about time and temperature for your particular grill.

For years I have been grilling on my Egg and my kettle grill, I recently decided to add a pellet grill to my grilling collection. I wasn't really sure how to use a pellet and the owners manual for my pellet grill wasn't the best resource other than assembly. I did some research and ran across author Bob Devon which is known for his pellet grill method of use cookbook. The complete wood pellet BBQ cookbook does not have a lot of recipes, it however does cover different cuts of Beef, Chicken, Pork, Seafood, Bread and Desserts. Basically the cookbook covers the different heat cooking methods used for different ingredients and the authors preferred type of wood flavored pellet used in that recipe. The author provides great tips, references and wine pairing throughout the book.Did the Complete Wood Pellet BBQ Cookbook meet my expectations? Yes it really did, I now have a greater understanding for my new pellet grill. I did not buy this book for recipes knowledge, but to gain and understanding of how to get the maximum use out of my new pellet grill. I wanted to know about different cooking methods that I could use on my new pellet grill to achieve good eats. Bob does a excellent job explaining ways of cooking using smoke, sear, roast and boil methods all with the pellet grill.I will be cooking up some of the recipes that Bob and his family have enjoyed for years that are included in the cookbook.

Got started with a pellet grill 3 years ago and the instructions in this book helped me get to enjoy smoking and grilling. So bought this book as a gift for friend just getting started.

Just the job for my new BBQ Smoker, now to start cooking.

Great recipes for our new pellet smoker!

This book was recommended by a friend. Bought for Christmas gift.Have no idea if its good or bad.

I liked the way it is laid out, every recipe contains all the info needed with appropriate page number references to the rubs/marinades they suggest. They have lots of good rubs/marinades suggestions as well as good recipes for a number of styles and meats. Great addition to your recipe book which accompanied your smoker grill/barbeque.

Pretty thorough, with great recipes! Came in reasonable time. Will take me some time to work through all the recipes, plus I have my own, but I am very much looking forward to trying them all.