The Great Meat Cookbook: Everything You Need to Know to Buy and Cook Today's Meat

In the last decade since the publication of Bruce Aidells's hugely successful The Complete Meat Cookbook, called by the Washington Post "authoritative" and "all-encompassing," the world of meat cookery has changed radically. With the rise of small farmers and the Internet, a more diverse supply is available— not only of beef, pork, lamb, and veal, but also of bison, venison, and goat. Today's shopper confronts a host of bewildering, often misleading labels: "certified organic," "humanely raised," "vegetarian diet," and many more.

Whether the cook shops at the local farmers' market or the supermarket, The Great Meat Cookbook is the definitive guide to the new landscape. In sidebars illustrated with color photographs of each cut, Aidells shows how to pick the best steaks, chop, roasts, and ribs. With hundreds of  recipes, including "Great Meat Dishes of the World" like Beef Fillet stuffed with Parmesan and Proscuitto; budget-friendly dishes like Melt-in-Your-Mouth Pork Shoulder; speedy dinners like Mushroom-Stuffed T Bone Lamb Chops, and charcuterie and sausage selections, Aidells provides all the information needed for juicy results every time.

"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." Publishers Weekly Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.