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Lena Tabori

Lena Tabori

Posted: November 3, 2010 08:25 AM

I love meat but I prefer it without antibiotics, hormones or genetically modified anything. When I had a breast cancer diagnosis years ago my brilliant New York oncologist said, "Eat bush." Bush was our President at the time and for a weird second I thought he was digressing into politics. No, he was saying that I should get off diary and focus on fruit and vegetables. That was the beginning of a great deal of thought. I have learned much in the intervening years. Organics matter, local and sustainable agriculture matters, and how the animal I eat is raised, how it is slaughtered, and how it is cooked ... it all matters.

This year, as a publisher, I celebrate fifty of America's great butchers, all of whom live by what the legendary Dario Cecchini from Tuscany said when he wrote our foreword. Andrew Zimmern, who I thought was a wild man but have since reconsidered as a brilliant committed man of food, wrote our introduction and Marissa Guggiana, meat maven from Sonoma, creator of the Butcher's Guild, editor of Meatpaper wrote our book, interviewed and photographed the butchers and collected their astonishing recipes. Primal Cuts: Cooking with America's Best Butchers, with its showstopper die cut cover is the result, and events from Williams-Sonoma to Northern Spy and Public are celebrating its publication.

Below, you'll find my picks for some of the best meat cookbooks out there -- old and new, from our publisher and others, books that embrace sustainable meat and using every part of the animal. As the air gets cold, what better time to show your appreciation for your local butcher (if you're lucky enough to have one) and cook up a roast, stew, or even some homemade sausages? When we published American Farmer two years ago, our mantra was Know your Farmer, Know Your Food. Now I would like you to think about getting to know your butcher and thinking just a bit about where your meat comes from (you might be amused to go to our Google map of fabulous and committed butchers around the country).

"Primal Cuts: Cooking With America’s Best Butchers"
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Primal Cuts: Cooking With America’s Best Butchers, by Marissa Guggiana (Welcome Books, 2010, $37.50). Looking at meat through the lens of the local, organic, and ethically minded butcher, author Marissa finds a revolution happening in the world of American meat, as people seek out alternatives to the industrial meat system. In photos and anecdotes, fifty individual butchers tell their inspiring stories. They share recipes that range across every kind of meat, from ground beef to rabbit to venison, and take in culinary influences from China to Texas to France. Whether you’re looking for barbecue brisket, duck confit, or fried pig ears, the recipes are here. We test-drove a few of them for you over on the Welcome Books blog. Enjoy!
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I love meat but I prefer it without antibiotics, hormones or genetically modified anything. When I had a breast cancer diagnosis years ago my brilliant New York oncologist said, "Eat bush." Bush was o...
I love meat but I prefer it without antibiotics, hormones or genetically modified anything. When I had a breast cancer diagnosis years ago my brilliant New York oncologist said, "Eat bush." Bush was o...
 
 
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aristippe
no more war for oil
04:52 PM on 11/14/2010
You know what i find amazing. If i click on the link and buy one of these books, I think the blogger receives a commission through Amazon's affiliate program
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
GerryS
There they are--
06:16 PM on 11/08/2010
I bought Charcouterie 3-4- yeas ago, great book----------
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Lorelei Shark
11:02 AM on 11/08/2010
I do eat meat - but the pictures of these fat laden sausages make me cringe. Do not eat something that looks like it's dotted with fat - because it IS! It's animal fat - the kind that blocks your arteries - the kind that can build-up and cause narrowing of your arteries - the kind that'll eventually kill you. Be smart when it comes to what you choose to put in your body... the life lived is your own.
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
GerryS
There they are--
06:17 PM on 11/08/2010
heck, in Italy, I've eaten pork fat, on bread instead of butter-- uuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmm.
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marshallastor
10:46 PM on 11/04/2010
I've got two of the books on this list. The River Cottage Meat Book is my meat bible, and a foodie inspiration to read. It's especially helpful for folks looking for common game meat recipes that aren't a novelty. Charcuterie is wonderful, but you better be serious about making sausage and investing in a lot of specialized gear if you're going to get use out of it.
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Badger33
You may say to yourself...
04:55 AM on 11/04/2010
The Whole Beast, by Fergus Henderson, is one for the ages.
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plazma
Never Mind The GOPocks
10:56 PM on 11/03/2010
Brian Polcyn is a teacher here in Michigan that has a class that deals with making sausages and so on.. plus his restaurants are pretty good too.
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ProfWagstaff
Quote me as saying I was mis-quoted.
12:59 PM on 11/03/2010
The Complete Meat Cookbook by Bruce Aidells and Denis Kelly really is an exceptional cookbook.
It does a pretty good job of living up to the title.
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Paganus
Classics Ninja
10:53 PM on 11/03/2010
I was just about to add that title. Great recipes. I'm going to make the California Beef Stew with roasted veggies tomorrow!
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frank day
Republican = FAIL
12:33 PM on 11/03/2010
They all look good.
Will have to check for them in my library system.

We make our own sausage and beef jerky year round.
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Godweiser
The eyes have it.
12:15 PM on 11/03/2010
Why not just advise people try the Garde Manger text from the CIA, the one written by Master Chef Fritz Sonnenschmidt. That man is a total expert, and has been for decades, in meat.
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Finnegans Wake
riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shor
12:05 PM on 11/03/2010
Cool, I have 2 of those on my Amazon wish list already!
11:17 AM on 11/03/2010
In a list that is limited to English language books, a couple of others that should be included:

Fat, by Jennifer McLagan
Bones, by Jennifer McLagan

Definitely worth checking out.....

And if you read French, my favorite is 'Preparez Terrines, Foies Gras et Sauces a l'ecole des preofessionnels.....too many contributors to mention.
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10:58 AM on 11/03/2010
meat. mmm.