Ruhlman's How to Roast: Foolproof Techniques and Recipes for the Home Cook (Ruhlman's How to..., 1)

When I first heard on an Alton Brown podcast that Michael Ruhlman was working on four books, each dedicated to an individual cooking concept, I was very excited. I enjoyed "Egg" quite a bit as a dedicated topic cookbook and was curious to see how Ruhlman would handle his "How to..." series. I'm very happy with "Braise", though not quite 5-star happy. I'll go into more detail on that below...First the good:Like "Egg" and "Roast", this is a beautiful book physically. From the cover to the binding to the thick pages, this is a well constructed book. Also like those two books (and "Ruhlman's Twenty" before them), the photography by Donna Turner Ruhlman is nothing short of gorgeous. From the mouth-watering full page pictures of the finished dishes to the step-by-step instructional pictures that accompany many of the recipes, you will likely find your stomach growling as you turn the pages.Similar to the way "Ruhlman's Twenty" started each chapter with an intro, this book starts with a great primer to the concept of braising, including seasoning, searing and secrets. When the first few pages of a book have me saying "wow, that's good to know!", I take that as a very positive sign. From there Ruhlman dives into the recipes. There are 20 recipes in this book, plus a couple of sides. That may have some people questioning the value of this book -- 20 recipes for $20. That said, I could see myself trying every single one of them. Ruhlman clearly went for quality over quantity.I also love the layout of the recipes. The ingredients are laid out in the order in which you will use them. The instructions are broken into individual bulletized steps, and the action words for each step are listed in bold. All of these things may sound like common sense, but I'm continually amazed by how many cookbooks don't take into consideration that when your hands are full of ingredients and/or utensils, a recipe should be easy to follow at a glance. I consider "Modernist Cuisine at Home" the best at recipe layout I've seen, but "How to Roast" is still darn good.So what keeps me from giving "How to Braise" 5 stars? First, there is a TON of white space in this book. Margins (top, side and bottom) on every page are 1.5 inches. It kind of feels like an attempt to make the book fill up more pages (and it's still pretty thin). There's part of me that would rather see the eventual 4 "How to..." volumes put into a single $50 cookbook. I'll admit, this is a little nit-picky, given that the quality of the content more than justifies the price of this book.One thing that would DEFINITELY push me to give this 5 stars would be more pictures by Donna Ruhlman. Though many of the recipes have her step-by-step pictures, a number do not. I think it is a testament to the quality of her work that I got bummed out whenever I went a couple of pages without her pictures.Overall, "How to Braise" is a great book and one that will have you very anxious for the weekend to roll around so that you can start trying out the recipes. It also has me wondering what the next two books in the series will be. I suspect "How to Fry" will be one...

I really love the introductions as well as simple steps to follow for a wonderful dinner! Easy to follow and use successfully. No gaps found in instructions. Photographs add a lot!

I'm a big fan of Ruhlman's writing, especially his cookbooks. This one is no exception.There's a bit of overlap with some of his others, but it's minimal, and the very expanded information on the technique of roasting is something i welcome. Previous of his cookbooks have done much to improve my own kitchen skills, especially since he not only says what to do but WHY. This allows me to apply the techniques to other recipes.On quibble- the table of contents is not especially informative or helpful; it consists only of "Intro", "Basics"; "Recipes", and "Equipment and Tools". This does not help one to find the info one needs in a more immediate way- for instance, if I want to roast pork. info on roasting peaches is probably irrelevant. Subdividing and making more explicit the sections would be helpful, especially in "Basics" and "Recipes". The index is some help with this, but is also pretty terse.I was thrilled to get this book, and I look forward to incorporating some of its wisdom into making my Thanksgiving turkey.Edited to add: I just finished reading it cover to cover today, though I have used several of the techniques from it. I was troubled that some of the photographs and/or their captions are dead wrong, and can be very confusing, such as in the roasted chicken picture tutorial where the photo of cutting the thigh from the drumstick was labeled as something to do with the wings; another was a picture in the section on roasting root veg that is captioned about bacon and bacon fat, but depicts basting a lamb rib roast. These were not the only 2 times such happened. I bought my copy early on; maybe this has been corrected in future printings, or at least in the ebook.

This book is mostly about meat, while the Stevens book is indeed "all about braising". That is the book to start with. Some of the best techniques for braising are vegetarian and vegan. This book is a good follow-up to the Stevens book because it is about getting the most out of food, and using braising as one way of doing it.The author is very good, and I recommend the book Grocery, also by Michael Ruhlman. It's a good read. Not a cookbook, but a very well done book on important changes in the grocery industry, both historic and current. It helped me to better understand how to get the most out of my local supermarkets.

I am such a fan of Michael Ruhlman! I'll buy just about everyone of his cookbooks without even thinking twice. This one turned out to be no exception. I was concerned that it may just be a rehash of the chapter on roasting from "Twenty" but it dives so much deeper into the subject. Not a lot of recipes in here because its a technique book rather than a cookbook. I am ok with that because there are enough recipes out on the internet. Whats not on the internet is a detailed discussion on the craft of roasting.I bought the Kindle version since the hardcover is shipping up to 3 weeks out. Not sure why that is but I really wanted the actual book since I have all of his others. The kindle version is good but I am slightly annoyed with how some of the captions to the photos do not line up with the photo on the page. This can make some of the pictures confusing until you figure out to turn the page for the correct caption. It's not enough for me to knock the book but it does remind me why I love kindle books for reading novels, cookbooks are often best when you have the actual book in your hand.Looking forward to the rest of his technique books.

Excellent as always

Roasting is the cooking method that gives the biggest bang for your buck. As in all his books, Ruhlman's explains the technical fundamentals and details that separate great cooking from just cooking. Beautiful photos show how delicious roasting can be to the eye as well and make you want to get something in the oven ASAP.

Well-written descriptions of proper braising techniques and a few really great recipes and pictures as well.

haven't tried yet but looks good

Love MR's books and writing style