From Publishers Weekly
Fearnley-Whittingstall (
The River Cottage Cookbook) runs a farm, on 60 acres of land in Dorset, England. His is a voice full of expertise and respect for nature. If it has walked on four legs, chances are the author has raised, slaughtered and/or eaten it. Thus, this densely constructed tome, first published in the U.K. in 2004, and now in a revised American edition, is worth most to those who know a good butcher. The sentiments are earnest, the mood a bit rainy and the recipes rustic. The first third of the book is dedicated to "Understanding Meat" and explores the different cuts of beef, lamb, pig and poultry. While the author abhors processed meats, he has nothing against offal and provides a comprehensive dissection of brains, lungs and stomach linings. The remaining pages are dedicated to the various ways of cooking meat, the copious rules to follow and hearty (at times primal) recipes that exemplify each technique. The fine section on roasting features a Loin of Lamb Stuffed with Apricots and Pine Nuts. For the brave slow cookers, there is Jugged Hare served in a sauce that contains bitter chocolate and the rabbit's blood. And the chapter on preserving covers not only bacon, but also Pigeon Pate and Preserved Goose Legs.
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--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Review
'The best new book of the year without a shadow of a doubt, a serious treatise, a meat cookery bible and a supremely appetising recipe collection. Fearnley-Whittingstall is our most important and eloquent food writer today.' -- Philippa Davenport, Financial Times 'It should be bought by every meat-eating household, as well as every butcher and supermarket manager throughout the land' -- Martin Koerner, Waterstones Books Quarterly 'If you eat meat, you will buy, prepare and cook it better having read this book.' -- Jill Dupleix, The Times 'Thumpingly enormous, extremely good, and manages to be at once a recipe collection, a series of tutorials on the principles of cooking, a directory of organic suppliers, a philosophical essay, a timely report on the state of intensive farming and a forceful polemic' -- Sam Leith, Daily Telegraph 'I have been unable to put it down ... I urge all meat lovers to go and buy it. It is excellent' -- Mervyn Hancock, Western Daily Press 'Carefully researched, revelatory and powerful' -- Felicity Lawrence, Guardian 'A tome as heavy as a newborn piglet ... brave and deeply challenging stuff... a refreshing and triumphant antidote to dumbed-down recipe writing... positively incendiary' -- Joanna Blythman, Sunday Herald 'The solitary TV regular who can write a decent cookbook ... the enthusiastic carnivore will relish all 550 pages' -- Christopher Hirst, The Independent
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