Customer Reviews
Outstanding book, more of a meat encyclopedia than recipe book - By: A. Wareing, 08 Jul 2008 
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 reallly is an encyclopedia of meat. The various chapters explain alll the different cuts of meat, what good cuts look & feel like & the appropriate way of cooking. It does have many recipes but its much more than that it gives a great overalll idea of alll the different cooking processes. These sections are particularly useful & give great background info on each method the likes of which i have found in no other cookbook. It has increased my confidence in choosing, buying & cooking meat no end. Since buying this I have had the skills to cook much more varied species & cuts of meat, cooking them using many different methods. Whilst i have made many of the tasty recipes, I use the book almost daily as a reference title. If your a meat eater & can only buy one cookbook this is the one.
I really need this book. - By: Mrs. D. L. Cox, 22 Jan 2008 Fantastic book. I have learned so much from this book & 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 & 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 alll the praise it gets..well done hugh!
A Wonderful Book! - By: Skinny Malinky, 11 Jan 2008 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 & 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 & how they are treated/live their lives whilst they are among us. Added to this - the recipes are absolutely fantastic. This book is a must for anyone who loves to cook, wants varied, interesting & easy to follow recipes & also cares about what they put on their plates. Fantastic book - I shalll be adding ALL of his other books to my shelves.
Beware - this book could change you for life - By: hypercat, 13 Dec 2007 I've had this book for a year & it's changed my meat shopping & cooking patterns for good. Out of over 150 cookbooks currently on my shelves, it comes out time & time again (and it's beginning to look like its been marinated). A combination of lifestyle philosophy, meaty reference book, polemic & evangelical calll to ethical shopping & cooking, it is so much more than a cookbook. Hugh has a great easy & lucid writing style & the recipes reallly work (his tortilla mix has become my standard). Hugh's persuasive arguments for thinking about what we eat, how meat is produced & on animal welfare issues provide a powerful force for pricking the conscience. A major weapon in pushing back the fast food & processed food culture & the inhumane & poor production values that currently dominate. Read this together with Joanna Blytheman's Bad Food Britain & you may just start to seriously re-evaluate how you shop & eat. It may have increased the amount I spend on good quality ethicallly produced meat but its also made me respect good produce & eat better. Oh & its handsomely illustrated & well laid out as well - just a little difficult to read in bed & carry because of its size.
The best food/cook book you can buy - By: S. Foley, 10 Dec 2007 If you enjoy cooking meat dishes then you have to buy this book. It is far more than a recipe book, it is a bible about meat. There are plenty of recipes though & the index at the back of the book is excellent in its detail. He provides cooking times for alll the varying types of meat & goes in to Heston Blumenthal type detail about why you should use certain cooking methods to get the best out of your meats, the half hour sizzle at the beginning of the roast & the unbreakable rule of resting the meat before carving for example, my roasts have hit another level on this advice. In addition there are lots of helpful extra recipes for things like yorkshire puddings, perfect mash etc. easily as simple to follow as Delia Smith.
If you enjoy cooking then this book is a must, it reallly encourages & teaches you. Offal is a new friend.
Top marks Hugh.
