Meat: Everything You Need to Know

This is a beautiful book. I greatly enjoyed reading it and learned quite a few things about meat. I also tried a couple of the recipes and liked them - especially the sweetbreads. I have a few quibbles but not enough to mark it down. For instance, there is a statement about why to choose grain fed beef over grass fed beef. Simply put LaFrieda opines that grain fed tastes better because the cows are fatter and that is what makes beef tasty. What his statement does not consider is that most corn today is GMO in such a way as to hurt the environment. It also does not address the fact that some people (like my husband) do not like their beef to be so fatty. So little quibble on my part. Second quibble, is that they do not provide a list of butchers who can do the cuts. I live in a foodie area but the butchers here have not been so willing (maybe they just are not as talented). Again not really a quibble but an observation. Finally, my last quibble is more of an observation or personal preference. I, like most Americans, only want to see the final product. I am able to eat fish with head/eyes in tact but that's as far as it goes. The book has several pages that show the reader the image of a skinned animal. Very instructive but also more than I care to see. Every time I open the book and see the images I eat vegetarian. Not a good selling point. I know this is stupid on my part but it is a warning to others who feel similarly. Just be prepared.

This is a wonderful book for us carnivores. Lots of great information, interesting stories and fun recipes. For examples I never new that veal was a by product of the dairy industry. Of course, one consequence of reading this book is that I hate New Yorkers. They have access to veal and an amazing array of great meat products. Where I live in Arizona we can get some beef, chicken, ultra-lean pork (blah), and a little lamb. La Freida's web site needs work, so I can try ordering online. Still, a great read.

Great book, great pictures and some great recipes. I haven't tried every recipe in this book, but the ones I have, are pretty good. The author obviously knows his business and explains everything is a very straight forward way. Though I grew up butchering both farm animals and wild game, I learned a lot of new information. The author provides some surprising insight on "Grass Fed" beef, and Veal production. I liked everything about this book. You know how you know this is a good book on the subject? When you look through it, you get hungry.

I have purchased many food related books, this is by far the best. The description of the various meats provided me with a new understanding of the meat that I prepare. The recipes included many from NYC restaurants and some from Pat LaFrieda's family. The recipes were interesting and made me want to cook immediately. I have tried a number of them and the results have been outstanding. I would recommend this book to everybody whether you like to cook or not. The photographs of the various meat cuts were beautiful and presented perfectly.

If you are a meat lover, this is a great book. I saw some commentator remark that it was a personal story, which was dull, and little to do on food. I do not know if he was reading the same book I read. The personal stories were interesting, but only a sidebar. If you are going to be a chef, and include eating meat (veal, lamb, pork, poultry, beef) you have to get this book. If you remember the old time butcher with a chart of the different cuts of beef described on a wall chart, this is an expanded version of that. If the book was cut by 80% to just include the list of the different cuts of beef, and a description of each cut, the book would still be worth the price.

The content of the book is impressive. Although used, the book is in an excellent shape and came very fast, superbly protected for shipment. The customer service A+++.

I bought this as a gift for my boyfriend. I'm actually a vegetarian and I thought this book respected animals and provided good teaching about obtaining and preparing meat. Beautiful layout and interesting prose. Good coffee table book. I'm not happy my boyfriend eats meat, but if he is going to do it, I'd like him to do it responsibly which I feel like this book does. Although the veal section is still off limits!

We LOVE this cookbook. I especially love the diagram showing where different cuts of meat come from on a cow! We learned a lot and we love to cook. This has been great and we LOVE the 5-minute marinade. We bought this for my brother-in-law for Christmas and he loves it too! Great way to learn how to cook ALL THE MEAT!

El mejor libro sobre la carne

Great book

Sure, here and there I would have appreciated a bit more info but the thoroughness of this book is superb and the tone of LaFrieda is delightful. Up to date info that is beautifully presented, detailed and just a treasure to those of us who love to cook.

Livro perfeito!

Beautiful photographs and diagrams of different cuts plus recipes and how to's and the importance of what type of minced meat to use for burgers and how to cook them. After reading this you can start to engage in a meaningful relationship with your butcher