Cook big. Play with fire. Get your hands dirty. Chef Ben Ford is known for wowing crowds with his handcrafted feasts of enormous proportions-a whole pig roast, paella for eighty, burgers for the block. Now, in Taming the Feast, his complete guide to outdoor grilling, smoking, and roasting, Ford divulges his secrets for nine jaw-dropping feasts for the adventurous home cook and DIY enthusiast. From mouth-watering Texas-style barbecue to Wood-Fired Paella, these entertaining blueprints can be used to throw a party for the whole neighbourhood or an intimate dinner for four. Ford also provides unique complete do-it-yourself primers for making simple custom outdoor cookers that coax the ultimate flavour out of salmon, pig, rabbit, burgers, bratwurst, turkey, and lamb. Here are easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions, drawings, and timelines for constructing a baking barrel, cinder-block oven, smoking shed, and roasting box in your own backyard.
Taming the Feast is further enlivened by gorgeous photography and Ford's stories of growing up with his father Harrison Ford, then a carpenter, and his life as chef at some of California's most celebrated restaurants working under such pillars of California cuisine as Alice Waters, Paul Bertolli, David Tanis, Nancy Silverton, Mark Peel, and Eberhard Muller.