Book on Butchering/Meats

[winesonoma]

Drawings not photos. Guy was my local butcher in the early 70's.

[Chris Amirault]

I'm too pooped to find it, but isn't there a fairly new book from a very animal-friendly butcher guy?

Yep, that description ought to really help.

[Daniel]

Oh you me the guy with the shoulders?

Chris, I think I need to take a drive up to that place you took those awesome photos for the fried chicken cook off.. I think hanging out there for a few hours would teach me more then a book..

Chris's Post

[Mallet]

I'm too pooped to find it, but isn't there a fairly new book from a very animal-friendly butcher guy?

Yep, that description ought to really help.

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Are you talking about "The River Cottage Meat Book" by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall? It's not really a butchering book though (although there is some useful information there).

[handmc]

Daniel

The best way to learn is to go to one of the last great shops in the area, which you still have in NYC and and offer to trade a few days of free labor for instruction. It privides an opportunity for someone to get a few hours off. It should not take much to convince them.

I learned at the business end of a knife and while books are ok there is no substitute.

If they have any question bring a pack of your OINK pictures. They will welcome you with open arms.

It is really neat to learn how to break down a pig, cow, lamb or chicken first hand. You, I'm sure, will be a pro the first day.

P.S. the knives will scare the shit out of you....then you will never want to be without them. Tiny cuts with a knife half the size of your arm, I still don't get it.

[Daniel]

Thats exciting.. I would love to do that..

[ned]

Bonnie Slotnick Books just a couple of blocks from the great Ottomanelli's on Bleeker.

The book by the guy who likes animals is very good: The Cottage Meat Book.

Also see "The Meat Buyer's Guide" I think I got mine at Bonnie's.

Finally, the CIA's New Professional Chef has lots of info.

A couple of weeks ago I fabricated the pig peering over my shoulder in my current avatar. I used all the books I've mentioned. None had as much info as I wanted and I think it's likely that the above-mentioned wisdom is on the money: hands-on practice can't be bested by ink on paper.

Good luck.

[Daniel]

Thanks Ned..Did you photograph what you did, or talk about it anywhere?> That alone could be a great tool for people..

[Mallet]

Thanks Ned..Did you photograph what you did, or talk about it anywhere?> That alone  could be a great tool for people..

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I agree! It would really be great to see some sort of tutorial on breaking down an animal (sort of like the demos they have in the Pastry forum, but less pretty )

[ned]

Sorry, no photos. I was so focused on the process, couldn't really be thinking about anything else. I can say that I made a headcheese out of feet and head. Slammin'. Headcheese is a terrible name for a delicious and not very challenging terrine. If I had any further advice it's to take it slow. Very slow. And for the most part, the animal kind of tells you what to do.

[Wayne]

A useful book is "Basic Butchering of Livestock and Game" by

John J. Mettler 1986.

No photos but good drawings.

I found the chapter on butchering venison very useful however

the book also covers beef, veal, pork, lamb, poultry and small

game.

[Chris Amirault]

I found Merle Ellis's Cutting-up in the Kitchen: The butcher's guide to saving money on meat and poultry at a yard sale and it's a hoot. It's got some useful information throughout, though it's a bit dated (published in 1975), and the illustrations are to die for. Here's Merle breaking down a side of beef wearing a plaid shirt and a paisley tie....

[paul o' vendange]

Tim mentioned the John Mettler book, Basic Butchering of Livestock & Game. I think it's got decent if not exhaustive information. Also, as a kid, I read the Foxfire Series, and do recall a section on slaughtering and butchering livestock. A quick search yielded Foxfire Anthology, which includes a section on dressing hogs. Both of these texts are geared more to basics than culinary preparations, but may be useful. I loved the Foxfire series - set my prepubescent mind reeling on the possibilities of moonshine in S. California!

[jonnyhunter]

After giving up my vegetariansim 3 years ago i have found my knowledge on animals a bit lacking. I can cook a decent amount of dishes and can figure my way around an animal while preparing it but i want to add some depth to my knowledge about how beef works and different aspects of it. I would love to find something with description about where each cut comes from and how to butcher a full cow for different cuts and then get into cooking the different aspects of the cow. Something like this would be of great interest but if there isn't one book maybe pointing towards something that has aspects of this idea.

[Mallet]

A good start might be "The River Cottage Meat Book" by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. The first half of the book covers ethical and husbandry concerns followed by guides on how to buy meat and chapters on beef/veal, lamb, pork, poultry, game, and offal (including cut diagrams and descriptions). The second half contains the recipes, divided by cooking technique (roasting, slow cooking, fast cooking, barbecuing, preserving and processing). Guaranteed to cure you of any residual vegeterianism

[JAZ]

I have found The Complete Meat Cookbook by Bruce Aidells and Denis Kelly to be a great addition to the library. They don't go over butchering, but they do explain various cuts of beef, pork and lamb, and how to cook them. I've used a couple of recipes from the book, and they've been good, but mostly I just use it for reference.

[Blether]

It would be easier to advise knowing your location. Hugh F-W is a Brit, of course, and Aidells and Kelly's book is American. If you're in the UK, even Delia Smith's original complete cookery course is plenty informative, but you'll want a book that uses the terms appropriate to your area - the names of meat cuts are quite different from place to place.

That said, I can second Jaz's suggestion, and comment that I too tend to refer to it rather than cook from it. There again there's a lot of info on the internet for free - some of my bookmarks for meat at the moment:

http://www.askthemeatman.com/

http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/resource-room/...fbeef/index.htm

http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/resource-room/...wcutsofbeef.jpg

http://www.greatbritishkitchen.co.uk/cg_beef.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:British_Beef_Cuts.svg

[Margo]

I really love Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby's books. They may even have one called "How to Cook Meat." I (almost) literally cooked through "Big Flavors of the Hot Sun" when I went from vegetarian to omnivore about 10 years ago. What I like about their books is that 1) they explain clearly how to cook meat, and not just the most popular cuts, and 2) they use salsas, rubs, and side dishes extensively, to give you an idea of how to serve that meat--maybe the trickiest thing, I think, for former vegetarians.

[RobertCollins]

These bookmarks are all I had that I think someone may find useful.

I too am interested in learning more. I have helped with a hog breakdown a couple years ago. Learned enough to know I need to learn a lot more.

http://members.shaw.ca/masterbutcher/meat_cutting_tutorial/meat_processing.html

http://members.shaw.ca/masterbutcher/home.html

http://www.gourmet.com/food/video/2009/06/ruhalter_pig_butchering

http://www.qmscotland.co.uk/cutting/pork-major/index.html

Hope someone finds these links useful.