The Butcher’s Apprentice: The Expert’s Guide to Selecting, Preparing, and Cooking a World of Meat

If you’re a meat eater and want to know more about how to choose, trim, store, and prepare meats, including poultry and game, this book is a wise investment. With clear, easy-to-follow step-by-step photos showing techniques like how to trim a whole beef tenderloin (and save money), how to cut flat-iron steak from a beef top blade, how to trim a whole pork loin (and save money), making pollo al mattone–Italian-style flattened chicken for grilling, preparing chicken wing “lollipops”, deboning a leg of lamb, breaking down a whole duck (and saving money), making duck confit, and preparing veal sweetbreads, and making sausage.

I’ve interviewed meat masters working in all aspects of the business including a Wagyu cattle rancher in Oregon, a new-age hunter in California who only eats what he hunts; a salumaio from Tuscany who raises his heritage breed pigs in the woods and cures it himself without nitrates; a kosher ethical chicken producer and trained kosher slaughterer; the man who created the flat-iron steak, Steak “Umms” and KFC’s popcorn chicken; the woman who has designed the majority of slaughterhouses in America to make them more humane; a talented chef in Orvieto, Italy who serves only meat from her family’s farm; and a farmer whose animals stay in their family groups their whole lives so they are content.

 

These dedicated people have fascinating stories to tell about working with animals to which they’ve dedicated their lives and how they respect the sacrifice of their animals lives by helping them live the best life possible. Others make sure that every part of the animal is used to its fullest and that nothing is wasted but all are caring and extremely knowledgeable.

 

Read the synopsis from Amazon:

The masters in The Butcher’s Apprentice teach you all the old-world, classic meat-cutting skills you need to prepare fresh cuts at home. Through extensive, diverse profiles and cutting lessons, butchers, food advocates, meat-loving chefs, and more share their expertise. Inside, you’ll find hundreds of full-color, detailed step-by-step photographs of cutting beef, pork, poultry, game, goat, organs, and more, as well as tips and techniques on using the whole beast for true nose-to-tail eating. Whether you’re a casual cook or a devoted gourmand, you’ll learn even more ways to buy, prepare, serve, and savor all types of artisan meat cuts with this skillful guide.