FoodReference.com (since 1999)
BOOK REVIEW SECTION

 You are here > Home > 

Next

 How to Cook Meat

by Chris Schlesinger, John Willoughby            
 

Chef James Review
This is the most complete guide to cooking meat you will find. A guide to buying meat, what cooking methods work best with which cuts of meat, and 200 recipes. Schlesinger is chef/owner of the East Coast Grill in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a 'Best Chef' James Beard Award winner.  Willoughby is the senior editor of Cooks Illustrated Magazine.
Together, they came up with one great book on cooking meat. I consider this a kitchen essential.
Chef James

Review
Want to learn about meat? Really learn? Then How to Cook Meat is your book. In great and enjoyable detail it explores beef, veal, lamb, and pork--which cuts to buy, what cooking methods suit each, how to judge doneness, and much, much more. Authors Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby, responsible for the bestselling Thrill of the Grill, also provide more than 200 explicit recipes that comprise a wide range of dishes, from prime-rib roasts to hearty stews, lamb-shoulder braises to grilled pork fillets--and they even cover innards and specialty cuts such as ham hocks. It's hard to imagine a meat lover who wouldn't benefit from this comprehensive yet approachable investigation.

Staring with illuminating notes on butchering and meat grading, the supermarket versus butcher meat-buying issue, and other related matters, the book then provides ample notes on cooking techniques. Recipes for the major meat types follow, organized usefully by cut size and tenderness; these treat the most melting cuts, which can stand quick cooking, to the tougher (though often more flavorful) ones that demand braising or stewing. Particularly attractive recipes include Sage-Rubbed Roasted Loin of Beef with Shallot-Bourbon Sauce; Veal, Sausage, and Fava Bean Stew with Lemony Greens; and Traditional Dry-Rubbed Saint Louis-Style Pork Spareribs. With additional recipes for the likes of hash browns and rice, beans, and vegetable sides, plus useful tips, nomenclature, and substitution notes, the book is a real addition to the kitchen library, though it won't remain shelved for long.
--Arthur Boehm, Amazon.com