Italian Grill
by Mario Batali, Judith Sutton
List Price:
Our Price: $9.79
You Save: $20.16 (67%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $9.78 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Judith Sutton, Mario BataliBrand: Harper Collins
Edition: Hardcover
Published: 2008-05-01
ISBN: 0061450979
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Ecco
Book Reviews of Italian Grill
Book Review: Believe piastra, but take grill with a huge grain of salt
Summary: 3 Stars
After a week or so with Mario Batali's "Italian Grill", I can give you a good rule of thumb: Everything he says involving a piastra (or which might possibly involve a piastra) is dead on. Everything he says otherwise you should seriously question in regard to cooking times/temperatures.
When Mario says to make the piastra HOT, he means it. When there are recipes like the thick onion slices with lemon thyme, that presumably could be cooked on the piastra even though it isn't mentioned in the recipe, they should be cooked hot hot HOT on the piastra. When you follow his prep and his timings on these recipes, you will find yourself in Italian grill nirvana. Every time.
But when there are rotisserie or grill recipes such as the 3-inch-thick ribeye, you should assume that Mario has tested on a grill that has the approximate power of an Easy Bake Oven, for those of you old enough to remember that toy.
My grill is no great shakes -- a 2002 Weber Genesis. Most steakophiles would scoff at its meager grilling power; commercial steak grills are 1100-1300F; I'm lucky if I can get mine to 550F after a week of preheating. Yet Mario says to take a room-temp 3-inch-thick ribeye and cook it over a hot grill on the hottest part of the grill for 10-12 minutes before even turning it. Are you kidding me? I cooked mine for 4 minutes a side to develop a crispy crunchy crust, then put it vertically on its t-bone for the next 30 minutes on indirect medium to get it to 120F internal temp. Even with only 4 minutes per side on direct high heat, the outside was crunchy and barely edible.
Same for the rotisserie duck I did today on indirect medium heat. Mario says 1.25 - 1.75 hours for a 4-4.5 lb. duck. My 5.25-lb. duck cooked in exactly one hour; I didn't even get a chance to apply the second coat of glaze because it was already done the first time I checked it! The skin, far from being crisp as advertised, was flabby in most places because it was cooked too fast to let the fat melt off in time.
So get the piastra. Even though my first one cracked all the way through on first use even though oiled on both sides; it had visible hairline cracks on the ridged side when I got it. The replacement so far appears pristine, and DAMN but it does a great job once you really get it really hot! But for recipes in the book that obviously make no sense on the piastra, imagine that the directions are given for a grill that has half the power that yours has. Then you'll be fine.
Summary of Italian Grill
Italian Grill By Mario Batali, Judith Sutton"From Mario Batali, superstar chef and author of Molto Italiano, comes the ultimate handbook on Italian grilling, which will become an instant must-have cookbook for home grillers."Easy to use and filled with siGeneral Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in General Books
Kitchen Confidential Updated Ed: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (P.S.)by Anthony Bourdain
Harper Perennial; Published: 2007-01-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.44
Price in other shops:
Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbookby Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Terry Hope Romero, Isa Moskowitz, Terry Romero
Da Capo Press; Published: 2007-10-31; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $16.99
Price in other shops:
The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Lifeby Ellie Krieger
Taunton; Published: 2008-01-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $17.48
Price in other shops:
Skinny Bitch in the Kitch: Kick-Ass Recipes for Hungry Girls Who Want to Stop Cooking Crap (and Start Looking Hot!)by Rory Freedman, Kim Barnouin
Running Press; Published: 2007-12-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops:
Hello, Cupcake!: Irresistibly Playful Creations Anyone Can Makeby Alan Richardson, Karen Tack
Houghton Mifflin; Published: 2008-04-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.16
Price in other shops:
The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wineby Benjamin Wallace
Crown; Published: 2008-05-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.84
Price in other shops:
The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Mealsby Missy Chase Lapine
Running Press; Published: 2007-04-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops:
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (P.S.)by Barbara Kingsolver, Camille Kingsolver, Steven L. Hopp
Harper Perennial; Published: 2008-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.85
Price in other shops:
Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real Worldby Lisa Lillien
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2008-04-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.74
Price in other shops:
Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Foodby Jessica Seinfeld
Harper Collins; Collins Living; Published: 2007-10-01; Spiral-bound; Book
Best price: $13.24
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Lidia's Italy: 140 Simple and Delicious Recipes from the Ten Places in Italy Lidia Loves Mostby Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, Tanya Bastianich Manuali
Random House; Knopf; Published: 2007-04-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $19.99
Price in other shops:
Gordon Ramsay's Fast Foodby Gordon Ramsay
Key Porter Books; Published: 2008-03-28; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $20.10
Price in other shops:
Fish Without a Doubt: The Cook's Essential Companionby Rick Moonen, Roy Finamore
Houghton Mifflin; Published: 2008-04-29; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $17.99
Price in other shops:
Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchenby Gina DePalma
W. W. Norton; Published: 2007-10-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $21.19
Price in other shops:
Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill Cookbook: Explosive Flavors from the Southwestern Kitchenby Bobby Flay
Clarkson Potter; Published: 2007-10-16; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $18.95
Price in other shops:
Mario Batali Simple Italian Food: Recipes from My Two Villagesby Mario Batali
Clarkson Potter; Published: 1998-09-29; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.98
Price in other shops:
Wine Bar Food: Mediterranean Flavors to Crave with Wines to Matchby Cathy Mantuano, Tony Mantuano
Clarkson Potter; Published: 2008-04-22; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.91
Price in other shops:
The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper: Recipes, Stories, and Opinions from Public Radio's Award-Winning Food Showby Lynne Rossetto Kasper, Sally Swift
Clarkson Potter; Published: 2008-04-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $18.25
Price in other shops:
Molto Italiano : 327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Homeby Mario Batali
Published: 2005-05-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $22.27
Price in other shops:
Bobby Flay's Grill It!by Bobby Flay, Stephanie Banyas, Sally Jackson
Random House; Clarkson Potter; Published: 2008-04-29; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $17.99
Price in other shops: