Slow Fires

From a crunchy peppercorn-crusted, slow-roasted short rib to a delicate braised snapper, New York Times three-star chef Justin Smillie shows us how to master the most satisfying ways of cooking- braising, roasting, and grilling.

The celebrated chef of Upland explores the fundamental techniques of braising, roasting, and grilling--and shows you how to see them in new ways, to learn the rules to break them.

The chapters begin with thorough lessons on these basic methods. From there, the recipes evolve to feature variations on the techniques, altering ratios of moisture, intensities of heat, reversing expected processes. Sometimes the techniques are surprising, like braising chicken leggs in the juices created by overcrowding a pan of peppers. And sometimes the results are unbelievable, like tender peppercorn-crusted short ribs, made by first steaming the ribs before searing them to a spicy crisp.