First published in the United Kingdom, THE RIVER COTTAGE MEAT BOOK quickly became an underground hit among food cognoscenti around the world. Now t...
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Jan 13, 2012
Joey
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The section on preserving meat is rife with references to the River Cottage cookbook. Rarely does the rest of the book refer to it (only in a few pointers to recipes in it). But this section consists of a few introductory paragraphs on each subject, and then a reference to the cookbook for the details, over and over. I counted 3 references to it on two facing pages alone. Infuriating!
I suspect that he got near the end of the book and they realized this behemoth was going to outgrow t More...
I suspect that he got near the end of the book and they realized this behemoth was going to outgrow t More...
Sep 14, 2009
Dale
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Title says it all. Think about the word "meat". Start with "mmmm" and ends with "eat".
Not really a cookbook (though recipies are abundant), Fearnley-Whittingstall does a masterful job of raising awareness of where our meat comes from, and how it should be respectfully treated from animal husbandry all the way through to our dinner plate. And how we can change our perceptions and upgrade our quality of eating in small steps.
A thorough study of all types o More...
Not really a cookbook (though recipies are abundant), Fearnley-Whittingstall does a masterful job of raising awareness of where our meat comes from, and how it should be respectfully treated from animal husbandry all the way through to our dinner plate. And how we can change our perceptions and upgrade our quality of eating in small steps.
A thorough study of all types o More...
May 18, 2008
Steve
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A carnivore's dream come true, this book combines equal parts philosophy, science, and culinary instruction into a thoroughly entertaining read. The first section of the book talks about the philosophy of meat eating and takes a hard look at the ethical choices we make when deciding to enjoy that steak or chop. I liked this section because it was not as predictable as I thought it would be, and the author presents some truly thoughtful perspective on the question. The second section talks abo
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Feb 24, 2009
Emily
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As a former fish-a-tarian, this book has become my meat bible. Hugh F-W makes an interesting case for meat eating, pondering the moral dilemmas of eating animals, a must read for vegetarians and meat eaters alike. Very informative, with everything from sourcing meat and understanding cuts, to the best way to cook your meat. I am putting his Fish book on my wish list.
Aug 04, 2008
De
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Yes I am reading a book about meat. All about meat. A meat obsession. We've started eating organic and HFW is one of my heroes. Quit a job and started a farm and now raises all his family's food himself, my dream personified. (I know my friends are laughing.) But this book covers all meats, including the parts we've thrown away for years. Mmmm, beef tongue, beef cheeks, and oxtail. Tried and loved them all. Delicious. Had beef liver last night with sage and onions, one of the recipes fro
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Jul 29, 2011
Catherine
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The author is quite a chearacter, who is clearly very passionate about what he does and what he beleives, and I do sympthize with his contention that we need to stop factory farming, and pay twice as much for meat and eat half as much of it. He is nowhere near as likable as Michael Pollard, but along the same lines.
Jan 26, 2009
Kate
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Ok, this is sort of a cookbook, but it's got over 200 pages of pure reading on how meat is produced/where it comes from, how to buy it, and what to do with it before it even gets to the bit about how you cook it, which there's another 300 pages on, so I count it as a book. And it's awesome.
Jul 22, 2009
Steve
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This book is amazing. Although very English-centric (duh... Hugh F-W lives in England!), anyone who is a carnivore or omnivore NEEDS to read this book. It's more approachable than most/many other books (including Omnivore's Dilemma) about this topic. Plus, there's some good recipes within.
Oct 20, 2008
Brooklyn
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This is such a beautiful book. A seriously fantastic book. It's got everything you ever wanted to know about (sustainable) meat: butchery charts, pictures of various organs, step-by-step guidelines on how to break down a chicken, how to preserve meat...and so much more. And Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's "Meat Manifesto" is one of the most important bits of food writing in a long time, me thinks. An excerpt from the manifesto: "Think about the meat that you eat. Is it good enough?
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May 23, 2011
Junio
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Hugh fearnley-Whittenstall is a nose-to-tail chef and tv host who has become a very accomplished gentleman farmer. He values the animals that he puts to death for meat and has a pretty good argument for eating veal (as long as it's pink veal which hasn't been confined like white veal).
This is more than a cookbook, It's a tome all about every step of the process from raising or hunting animals for meat, to finding a good butcher, to showing the food you care. Then come the recipes, and More...
This is more than a cookbook, It's a tome all about every step of the process from raising or hunting animals for meat, to finding a good butcher, to showing the food you care. Then come the recipes, and More...
Jan 04, 2009
Pete
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It is massive and beautiful and my edition has an enormous piece of red meat on the cover in place of Hugh at the cottage egress. It starts where I needed it to: "Meat and Right". I grew up in a hunting culture, but there are times when I wonder if we humans aren't to step beyond our "natural" path and jettison the meat intake and the implication that we must kill the sentient (at least what we currently percceive to be sentient).
Fearnley-Whittingstall dispenses More...
Fearnley-Whittingstall dispenses More...
Feb 06, 2012
Brendan
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You want to learn about the types of meat you can eat, the cuts you can have and tasty ways to eat them, this book is for you. I also recommend the rabbit dish.
Apr 24, 2010
A lazy afternoon when I should be coding, instead I'm reading about cuts of meat, finding purveyors of quality product and roasting meat! Sunday dinner ideas!
Jul 29, 2011
Catherine
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this guy is a bit of an extreme nut, but he makes some very good points about factory farming
Apr 27, 2010
Tim
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This book is amazing. I now know more about meat than I'm really comfortable admitting.
Oct 30, 2011
Terri
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Hugh is the best. Every book he does deserves 5 stars.
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Nov 16, 2008
Thehusbandsrule
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I seriously recommend this book for anyone concerned with the morality and consequences of eating animals for food. It's about traditions of husbandry, butchery, and meat preparation. The introduction is a thorough evaluation of the arguments for and against eating meat and the industrialization of the meat industry. I haven't read the recipe section yet but I know it focuses on not only how to prepare popular cuts of meat but also game animals and the weird parts that people usually don't both
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May 14, 2008
Dayna
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This is everything a meat cookbook should be. It talks about how to buy and prepare meat, and also discusses the moral implications of killing animals for food. As there are a slew of recipes on how to cook meat, he (obviously) comes down on the side of "Yes, it is moral". This is going to become a cooking Bible for me, I can tell. It is also leading to me wanting to abandon my city ways so that I can raise some cattle and pigs myself. Mmmmmmm
Dec 17, 2009
Marius
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A bible for the conscious meat eater. The first part of the book conveys two main messages: 1) as long as (and only if!) the animals are well husbanded, eating meat is OK. 2) The conscious carnivore appreciates every edible part of an animal, not just the finest filet pieces.
The second half describes the various ways of preparing meat (slow roasting, broiling, braising, etc.) to get the best even out of the more economic cuts.
The second half describes the various ways of preparing meat (slow roasting, broiling, braising, etc.) to get the best even out of the more economic cuts.
Sep 22, 2008
Neal
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Where does our food come from? Is it ethical to eat other animals? How do you make the perfect mole sauce for pork? Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall knows this and more. Thoroughly comprehensive and extremely well written, meat examines "the proper way" to raise, slaughter, and eat meat. I couldn't get enough. Equally balanced between philosophically sound and mouthwatering food porn.
Nov 30, 2010
Liz
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An excellent book that makes you think about the meat that you eat, from the common (beef) to less so (offal and game birds). Raises a lot of ethical questions about the quality of meat that you eat. It is UK-centric (as that's where the author is at), but his views are equally applicable no matter where you are.
Oh yeah, lots of recipes too! :D
Oh yeah, lots of recipes too! :D
Dec 09, 2008
Lauren
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Excellent and VERY detailed. So detailed that you might want to turn the pages without your glasses on -you never know when the next page might hold a dead rabbit or chicken feet or a pig head staring right at you... Ug. Other than that: LOTS of good information about buying meat, about different cuts, and about cooking every kind of meat any kind of way.
May 02, 2008
Delight
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This is a book along the lines of The Omnivore's Dilemma--only the author is extremely clear in his conviction about what it means to ethically raise and eat meat. It made me happy to plunk down $20 for a chicken--if I could be assured that it was able to live the life of a chicken while it was alive. There are also some really tasty recipes, too.
