From Asada to Argentine Fire: The Best Grill Cookbook for You

Grilling looks simple until you try to do it well. A grill is just fire and a grate, and almost everything that goes wrong (charred outsides over raw middles, dry chicken, flare-ups, steak that never browns) comes down to how the fire is built and where the food sits over it. That is why a good grilling book is worth more than another gadget. It teaches the fire first and the recipes second.

The trouble is that “grill cookbook” covers very different books. Some are about the science of heat and smoke, some are encyclopedias of recipes, some are about one tradition: Argentine live fire, Texas smoke or a backyard carne asada. This guide picks eight that earn their place, and for each sets out what the publisher, library catalogs and named reviewers say it contains, and which cook it suits.

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Quick verdict: the best grill cookbook to start with

The other five cover Argentine live-fire cooking, gas and charcoal side by side from America’s Test Kitchen, fire and smoke from Aaron Franklin, weeknight grilling from Food52, and the sauces and rubs that go on everything.

Five grilling books side by side

Five of the eight, one for each kind of cook, with the details each publisher or catalog gives. All eight are described in full below.

Cover images from Amazon. Page counts and formats are for the editions linked; other editions and catalogs differ.

Our picks for the best grill cookbook, book by book

These eight cover the science of grilling, the big all-purpose collections, three distinct live-fire traditions, quick cooking and the flavorings that tie it together. For each we give what the publisher, library records and published reviews say it covers. We have not cooked our way through these books; where we describe a strength, we say whose view it is.

How to choose a grilling cookbook

Four questions sort these books out quickly. Start with your grill, then your goal.

1. What you cook on

Gas grill owners get the most from books that write for gas, such as Master of the Grill, which gives gas and charcoal instructions for every recipe. Charcoal and wood cooks get more from Franklin, Mallmann and Goldwyn, whose books are about managing a live fire. If you cook mostly at a fire pit or campsite, Seven Fires is the most at home there.

2. Technique or recipes

Some books teach you to grill; others give you things to grill. The Meathead Method and Franklin Smoke are technique books with recipes attached. Bittman, ATK and Food52 are recipe collections with technique woven in. A cook who already grills well gets more from a recipe or flavor book; a cook whose results are uneven gets more from technique.

3. Grilling or barbecue

Grilling is hot and fast, directly over the fire. Barbecue, in the American sense, is low and slow with smoke. Goldwyn and Franklin cover both; Bittman, Food52 and Asada lean toward grilling. If brisket and ribs are your goal, pair a smoking book with a smoker; our best charcoal grill guide covers grills that can do both.

4. The flavors you want

A general American grilling book will give you burgers, ribs and chicken. If you want carne asada and salsas, choose Asada; for chimichurri and Argentine cuts, Seven Fires; and for marinades from many cuisines, Raichlen. For Texas Mexican and border barbecue specifically, see our guide to the best Tex-Mex cookbook.

How we chose these eight grilling books

We looked for books that a working kitchen would respect: clear on fire and heat, honest about technique, and written by cooks or test kitchens with a track record. We searched Amazon’s book listings and kept only titles in stock when we checked, then took the facts for each from the publisher’s own pages, library catalog records and named reviews, chiefly Publishers Weekly, which we cite in each entry, and BellaOnline for our top pick. Where catalogs disagree on page counts, we say so. Several famous books, including Franklin Barbecue, Raichlen’s The Barbecue! Bible and Weber’s Way to Grill, were out of stock or only available from later dates when we checked, so they are not on this list. We have not cooked from these books ourselves; the strengths we describe are the publishers’ and reviewers’, and we name them.

Grilling cookbook questions, answered

What is the best grilling cookbook for beginners?

Mark Bittman’s How to Grill Everything, which Publishers Weekly called well suited to novice grillers, or ATK’s Master of the Grill if you cook on gas. Both explain the basics alongside the recipes. Add The Meathead Method once you want to understand why the methods work.

Is there a good Mexican grilling cookbook?

Yes. Asada, by Bricia Lopez and Javier Cabral, covers the full Mexican-style cookout, from carnes and mariscos to salsas, aguas frescas and dessert. For wider Mexican cooking, our guide to the best Mexican cookbooks covers the classics, and our guide to Mexican cooking methods explains where the grill fits.

Which book is best for cooking over a wood fire?

Francis Mallmann’s Seven Fires is built around wood and embers, and Franklin Smoke teaches managing a live fire from kettle grills to built fire pits.

Do I need a separate barbecue or smoking book?

Not to start. The Meathead Method and Franklin Smoke cover both grilling and smoking. If you buy a dedicated smoker and want to go deep on brisket and ribs, a specialist smoking book is worth adding later.

Which grilling book is best for a Dutch oven or cast iron over the fire?

None of these is a Dutch oven book, though Mallmann and Franklin both cook with cast iron over fire. For that, see our guide to the best Dutch oven cookbook.

Our final pick for the grill

Buy The Meathead Method if you want to understand your fire and fix uneven results for good. Choose Bittman’s How to Grill Everything for range and weeknight ideas, ATK’s Master of the Grill if you cook on gas, and Asada if your grilling ends in tacos and salsa. For wood fires, Seven Fires and Franklin Smoke are the two to read, and Raichlen’s sauces and rubs book makes all of them go further.

Related guide: Best burger cookbook.

And if you would rather someone else stood at the grill tonight, see the menu or call to order.