The River Cottage Meat Book

As you would expect from the quirky and strong-minded Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, The River Cottage Meat Book is a quirky and strong-minded book. This arm-straining volume (weighing in at an impressive and well illustrated 543 pages) is quite the most ambitious volume yet by an author who absolutely refuses to be categorised. Is he a cookery writer? An expert on the sociology and history of food? An eccentric TV personality? Actually, of course, he's all three (and more); and all of his various skills find expression in this, his magnum opus.

The first intriguing question that The River Cottage Meat Book inspires is: what is the author's agenda? The book has so many aims it's difficult to know where to begin. First of all, this is a definitive guide to the preparation and cooking of meat, in all its various forms. Fearnley-Whittingstall deals (in assiduous detail) with such topics as roasting, grilling and preserving everything from turkey to trotters, in a variety of recipes that he obviously knows and loves. But there is far more to the book than this--fascinating sections on the many different types of meat (lamb, pork and so on) are crammed with information on the different cuts of meat and what they should be used for.

But as someone who raises and utilises his own livestock at the River Cottage, Fearnley-Whittingstall is clearly passionate about the welfare of animals bred for food, and provides some unpalatable information on widespread misdemeanours in these areas. If nothing else, this book will persuade you that it's a good idea to buy your meat from butchers who are equally passionate about these issues, or even direct from reputable farms. The concept makes sound ideological sense, but also ensures that your meat dishes will have an unrivalled depth of flavour. --Barry Forshaw

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I really need this book. - Rated
Fantastic book. I have learned so much from this book and 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 and 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 all the praise it gets..well done hugh!

A Wonderful Book! - Rated
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 and 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 and 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 and easy to follow recipes and also cares about what they put on their plates. Fantastic book - I shall be adding ALL of his other books to my shelves.

Beware - this book could change you for life - Rated
I've had this book for a year and it's changed my meat shopping and cooking patterns for good. Out of over 150 cookbooks currently on my shelves, it comes out time and time again (and it's beginning to look like its been marinated). A combination of lifestyle philosophy, meaty reference book, polemic and evangelical call to ethical shopping and cooking, it is so much more than a cookbook. Hugh has a great easy and lucid writing style and the recipes really work (his tortilla mix has become my standard). Hugh's persuasive arguments for thinking about what we eat, how meat is produced and on animal welfare issues provide a powerful force for pricking the conscience. A major weapon in pushing back the fast food and processed food culture and the inhumane and poor production values that currently dominate. Read this together with Joanna Blytheman's Bad Food Britain and you may just start to seriously re-evaluate how you shop and eat. It may have increased the amount I spend on good quality ethically produced meat but its also made me respect good produce and eat better. Oh and its handsomely illustrated and well laid out as well - just a little difficult to read in bed and carry because of its size.

The best food/cook book you can buy - Rated
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 and the index at the back of the book is excellent in its detail. He provides cooking times for all the varying types of meat and 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 and 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 really encourages and teaches you. Offal is a new friend.

Top marks Hugh.

It's a big fella in every way.... - Rated
A marvellous book, carrying on from the equally excellent River Cottage Cookbook. The whole book is an education with sections on all types of meat from pork & beef to game & poultry.
The recipes perfectly supplement the sections on the meats Hugh is writing about (or is it the other way around ??)
It's a fascinating read but the proof of the pudding (black pudding?) in any book of this nature should be the recipes & they are top notch.
Hugh has selected a range of recipes ranging from the quick & simple to the more complicated & time consuming. He also gives tips & directions on curing & preserving meats - his enthusiasm really is infectious.
A whopper of a book - if you LOVE your meat then this is a must have & if you're king of your own barbecue , then this will be your bible - a book that begs to be bought & then talks you into cooking meat dishes you've never thought of - ideal !