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Editorial Review:
As you would expect from the quirky and strong-minded Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, The River Cottage Meat Book is a quirky and strong-minded book. This arm-straining volume (weighing in at an impressive and well illustrated 543 pages) is quite the most ambitious volume yet by an author who absolutely refuses to be categorised. Is he a cookery writer? An expert on the sociology and history of food? An eccentric TV personality? Actually, of course, he's all three (and more); and all of his various skills find expression in this, his magnum opus.
The first intriguing question that The River Cottage Meat Book inspires is: what is the author's agenda? The book has so many aims it's difficult to know where to begin. First of all, this is a definitive guide to the preparation and cooking of meat, in all its various forms. Fearnley-Whittingstall deals (in assiduous detail) with such topics as roasting, grilling and preserving everything from turkey to trotters, in a variety of recipes that he obviously knows and loves. But there is far more to the book than this--fascinating sections on the many different types of meat (lamb, pork and so on) are crammed with information on the different cuts of meat and what they should be used for.
But as someone who raises and utilises his own livestock at the River Cottage, Fearnley-Whittingstall is clearly passionate about the welfare of animals bred for food, and provides some unpalatable information on widespread misdemeanours in these areas. If nothing else, this book will persuade you that it's a good idea to buy your meat from butchers who are equally passionate about these issues, or even direct from reputable farms. The concept makes sound ideological sense, but also ensures that your meat dishes will have an unrivalled depth of flavour. --Barry Forshaw
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
Informative and inspiring This massive tome has a wealth of information about everything to do with the meat we buy and eat. The pictures of what happens in abatoirs are salutary and remind one that to eat meat is a privilege. It's much more than a recipe book: more an instruction manual about which cuts to choose and how to cook them. The author is convincing in his discussion of the ethical issues connected with different types of farming and the necessity to use every part of a carcass if an animal has been reared in a... more info
Outstanding book, more of a meat encyclopedia than recipe book As many others have mentioned this is a truly outstanding book. Aside from the chapters on the ethics of meat, which many others have covered, this really is an encyclopedia of meat. The various chapters explain all the different cuts of meat, what good cuts look and feel like and the appropriate way of cooking. It does have many recipes but its much more than that it gives a great overall idea of all the different cooking processes. These sections are particularly useful and give great background info on... more info
I really need this book. Fantastic book. I have learned so much from this book and I have developed a whole new respect for the meat I eat.
This book is an eye opener educating about...
animal farming/welfare
what cuts of meat work for what purpose
how to recognise good quality
pricipals of different styles of cooking and why they work. I also highly value the chapter on meat thrift. Using leftovers to their best advantage. There is no doubt that this book deserves all the praise it gets..well... more info
A Wonderful Book! Please please please - everyone buy this book. Infact, everyone buy every book Hugh has published about food! This man is a hero. Yes, it is a cookbook but it is also soooooooo much more. A real education about meat - the whole process and not just skirting around the issues. Hugh states that he is a meat eater but that he is not a meat eater at ANY cost. He cares passionately about the conditions animals are kept in and how they are treated/live their lives whilst they are among us. Added to this - the... more info
