The Great Meat Cookbook

June 18, 2012
Just as the consumer electronics industry has split its focus between miniature mobile devices and mammoth home entertainment units, so has the cookbook industry traveled two divergent paths. There are the small, boutique books focused on a single subject such as meatballs, charcuterie, or sandwiches. Then there are the massive tomes that attempt comprehensive coverage of an entire food group. Aidells, whose credentials include 11 cookbooks plus the meat chapters of The All New Joy of Cooking, enters into this latter camp with the print equivalent of a 48-inch HDTV. There are charts, preservation methods, 250 recipes, and more than 100 color photos providing instruction and creative inspiration for dishes of beef, bison, pork, lamb, goat, and veal. To aid in selecting what dinner to prepare, each recipe is tagged with several defining key phrases such as “Fit for Company,” “Family Meal” and “Great Leftovers.” Chapters are organized by meat type and then by cut and cooking method. The veal section, for example, begins with grilled chops, then surveys a roast, ground veal, various stews, and, finally, sweetbreads. There are also a handful of entries that have earned the mantle of “Great Meat Dishes of the World.” These are ethnic classics such as Vietnamese rice noodles and grilled pork, an Italian beef fillet stuffed with prosciutto and cheese, and a good ole U.S. grilled rib eye.

Starred review from August 1, 2012

Changes in meat labeling and increased awareness of the shortcomings of industrial agriculture prompted Aidells (Bruce Aidells' Complete Sausage Book: Recipes from America's Premier Sausage Maker) to write a new guide to selecting and preparing beef, bison, pork, lamb, goat, and veal. This isn't a revision of the author's classic The Complete Meat Cookbook; while the heavily illustrated buying guides are similar, the recipes (e.g., Steak with Porcini-Shallot Sauce, Smoky Bison Cheeseburgers, Smoked Boston Butt) are new. VERDICT It's refreshing to see a comprehensive meat bible among proliferating single-subject titles. A great reference for today's meat lovers.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2012
Aidells has devoted a lifetime to meat cookery, and cooks everywhere will find this magnum opus practical and inspiring despite its daunting heft. In addition to dozens of intriguing recipes reflecting just about every culinary tradition on this carnivorous planet, Aidells offers prodigious, authoritative data on cuts of red meat, how to identify and select them, how to prepare them optimally, and even what to do with those inevitable leftovers. Beef, bison, pork, lamb, goat, and veal are all exhibited and analyzed, and tips on safely handling them are given. Many of the detailed recipes go on to suggest numerous variations that encourage cooks to think creatively. Aidells' vegetable- and grain-based side dishes round out and balance a meal's flavors and nutrition. He briefly raises the issue of sustainable meat production and the environmental concerns involved. Aidells' reputation and the comprehensiveness of this volume make this an indispensible reference work for any cookery collection.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)