(Part 2) Best meat cooking books according to redditors

OP's book/media suggestions, formatted with links:

• People start with Ruhlman's Charcuterie, but quickly learn it's heavy on salt.
  
• For some slightly more esoteric recipes, check out In the Charcuterie by Taylor Boetticher and Levonia Miller. I absolutely "butchered" those names, btw.
  
• Also, get a book called Pig Perfect by Peter Kaminski... Not a lot of recipes, but it will enamor you with all things pig.
  
• Show... There's a series on BBC called <Time Period> Farm]... Edwardian, Victorian, Jacobean, etc... Where a group of historians run a farm for a year by the standards of the time period. It's cool and they do some pig stuff.

Wow, I'm sorry. I completely linked the wrong book. Women everywhere will want this.

Much better.

it's cause they eat grass and graze and have not conducted genetic selection based primarily on marbling. that's what this book taught me anyways. i think it was in fastfood nation too actually.

https://www.amazon.ca/Steak-Search-Worlds-Tastiest-Piece/dp/0143119389

https://www.amazon.ca/Fast-Food-Nation-Dark-All-American/dp/0547750331

My first pick always is the Marinski Books....


Charcutier. Salumiere. Wurstmeister - Francois Paul-Armand Vecchio
http://www.amazon.com/Charcut.../dp/0615720846/ref=sr_1_1...

The Marinski Books : http://www.amazon.com/.../e/B001JRXURI/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

In the Charcuterie from The Fatted Calf: http://www.amazon.com/.../dp/B00C0AO18U/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1

Pig Perfect - Peter Kaminski: http://www.amazon.com/Pig.../dp/1401300367/ref=sr_1_1...

Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery - Jane Grigson : http://www.amazon.com/Charcut.../dp/B004SHJJ44/ref=sr_1_6...

The Art of Charcuterie - John Kowalski: http://www.amazon.com/Art.../dp/0470197412/ref=sr_1_sc_1...

Professional Charcuterie: Sausage Making, Curing, Terrines, and Pates - John Kinsella & David T. Harvey: http://www.amazon.com/Profess.../dp/B0032UXZ4S/ref=sr_1_1...

Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing - Rytek Kutas : http://www.amazon.com/Great.../dp/0025668609/ref=sr_1_1...

Bruce Aidells's Complete Sausage Book: http://www.amazon.com/Bruce.../dp/B007WKE2J6/ref=sr_1_1...
Patés & Terrines: http://www.amazon.com/Pat%C3.../dp/0688038964/ref=sr_1_2...

Hank Shaws Page: http://www.amazon.com/Hank.../e/B004OBEILI/ref=sr_tc_2_0...

Glorious One Pot Meals uses a 2 qt and the oven at 450f

I haven't read some of these books, but they seem to come from credible sources and be generally well-received. Anyone with personal experience with them should chime in.

From professional organizations, if that is your thing:

The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating

American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide

A more in-depth textbook style book with a focus on accessibility and practical application:

Nutrition

Sports Nutrition/Geared towards active lifestyles:

Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook (One of the books that kicked off my interest in nutrition many years ago)

[The Men's Health Big Book of Food & Nutrition] (http://www.amazon.com/Mens-Health-Book-Food-Nutrition/dp/1605293105/ref=tmm_pap_title_0) (not perfect, but probably one of the simplest and most straight-forward options, with recipes included)

Precision Nutrition (Personal favorite. Complete toolkit, amazing recipes, easy to understand, can't say enough good things about it. Best 50 bucks you could spend.)

I hope that helps you at least get started thinking about it, and I hope others have more suggestions.

The Cook's Illustrated Meat Book has some amazing recipes.

It sounds like your meat was too warm. When I grind it, I put the cut up cubes in the freezer for 20-30 minutes until the edges are kind of crunchy. Don't let it freeze though. I do the same with the sausage mixture. It sounds like this is where your main problem was. Try separating into small bowls so you can keep it cold in the fridge or freezer until you're ready to stuff. I would suggest sticking to the basics of Italian & breakfast sausages until the stuffing becomes a little easier. Those are just as good without putting them in links.

I've found the Kitchenaide stuffer to be hard to use, particularly when you get into emulsified sausages. Try not to let the mixture feed all the way down the tube before you add more. Again, keeping it near frozen helps here, otherwise it just climbs out the sides of the pusher. If you get into making a lot of sausage, get a dedicated stuffer. I finally broke down & got one last year. They're kind of expensive, which is why I waited so long, but it was definitely worth it. I got this one.

There's a ton of websites out there. I won't bore you with one's you can easily find in google. But this one http://www.mrswheelbarrow.com/ has been really fun for the past year. They've done a different charcuterie technique each month, I've learned a lot from them.

As far as books are concerned, I have this one and this one. They're both decent, but I don't know if it's not anything you couldn't find on the internet. Michael Ruhlman's Charcuterie is the bible for any home charcuterie enthusiast. You should buy that one immediately. (No, I don't get any royalties, it's just that good.)

Also try /r/Charcuterie. It doesn't get much traffic, but there are some good posts on there.

Have fun! I hope this helps. I look forward to seeing some of your results!

Want to make it perfect? Get a roasting pan with rack like this and a Thermopen.

Preheat your oven to 400F. Dry the meat with paper towels and then rub with salt and pepper. Place the meat standing up on the rack with the bones facing down and put it in the oven. Cook until the outsides are brown then reduce the temp to 300F. Use the thermopen to check the temperature at the thickest part (dead center) early and often. Let the thermopen sit for 5 seconds. Temps are: 120F for rare, 126F for medium-rare, 134F for medium, 150F for medium-well, 160 for well-done.

When it reaches the temperature you desire, pull it out of the oven and take it out of the pan/rack and place it on a platter. Cover it loosely with foil and let it sit for 15-20 minutes to rest.

Source: Very slightly adapted from How to Cook Meat by Christopher Schlesinger and John Willoughby. The thermopen recommendation is mine. You can get any roasting rack, the one I linked isn't a recommendation, just an example.

I present the Cookbook of the Future.

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Meat-Cookbook-Bruce-Aidells/dp/061813512X

The description is a little far-fetched (or at least inaccurate). Being that it's almost 20 years old, it doesn't go into organic and grass-fed much, if at all. So don't buy it for that.

EDIT: You can see the table of Contents at the Amazon link. That may be a little deceptive, too. It's probably 3/4's recipes and 1/4th advice/information. But the recipes are matched with the subject/cuts being discussed and give you a a good idea of how to cook (and how not to) most cuts. Wich is most of what you need to know. You don't have to follow recipes (I never do), but pay attention to the techniques rather than the ingredients in the recipes.

http://www.amazon.com/Smoking-Meat-Essential-Guide-Barbecue/dp/1770500383/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417790294&sr=8-1&keywords=smoking+meat+by+jeff+phillips

I have this book and use it just about every time I smoke. It has a ton of info on smoking with all types of smokers and tons of delicious sides too!

I've not tried dry-cured meats, but here's a stuffer for $40US. I just use my grinder to stuff the sausages I make (bratwurst, andouille, boudin) and it works just fine. The piston press stuffer really shines for emulsified sausages like bologna and franks.

As for recipes, I have this book and this one and they are fairly comprehensive. Read the Ruhlman first for the broad strokes, then the Marianski for some more in-depth theory and practice, along with what seems like a thousand recipes.

I'm sure I'll be talked down for this, but I recommend you buy a copy of Mastering the Craft of Making Sausage.

I am not affiliated with either the author or the book, but I have found that a very good resource full of sensible information for technique more than recipes.

Once you learn technique, the rest is up to you and your own invention.

What about something like a scratch and sniff sticker? You could put that on something too, make it more interesting.

Edit: if you search scratch and sniff on amazon, there are a lot of cool options. Take this bacon cookbook for example. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1925418774/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_8ogCDb5WH9H64

The recipe passed down from my Mom is published in The Chili Cookbook. You'll have to buy the book to see it!

However, this recipe for Classic Chili con Carne was featured on the NYTimes and is also in the book.

Welp, before I finished reading your post I was going to suggest The Food Lab--it really is a great book for understanding why something should be cooked in a certain way, and not just how. I have a copy, so if you had questions I supposed I'd be happy to answer to the best of my ability.

Aside from that, Cook's Illustrated's The Meat Book would be my other recommendation. Cooks Illustrated also does a fantastic job of explaining why recipes work, so you can adapt them or apply the techniques you've learned to different dishes.

Lastly:

>please be gentle

That's Rule #1.

Butchering I don't know much about, but is crucial for the final product. I'd hire someone to walk you through it the first time, regardless of how much you have read by then. To produce charcuterie, you'll need a curing chamber that can handle volume, and have it tuned in to handle the fluctuationsin humidity that will occur when adding so much product. You could freeze some and do it in batches, as processing a whole hog into charcuterie is a massive endeavor all at once.

I'd start looking for a butcher or abattoir that will give you a hand with the butchering and teach you, and start reading. And start building a curing chamber of appropriate size for your needs.

You could get the chamber built and start with making a smaller run out of a portion of one hog, sell the rest and scale up next slaughtering time.

Marianski is a reference for production of cured meats, I'd read it a few times before starting.

Charcuteria is also excellent, about Spanish style cured meats, but has a lot of valuable info.

​

edit - spelling

I believe there's a lot more to flavour than fat - and also, what gives the fat flavour!

This book has a lot to say about it - https://www.amazon.com/Steak-Search-Worlds-Tastiest-Piece/dp/0143119389

I'm not at home so I am away from my bookshelf but here's a start

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004ZZJAQ6/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

https://www.amazon.com/Craft-Beef-Revolution-Small-Flavors-ebook/dp/B07BXGJWVB/ref=pd_aw_sim_351_of_15?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07BXGJWVB&pd_rd_r=18134718-9637-4775-abac-a4b2ac2fd7d2&pd_rd_w=niKPi&pd_rd_wg=d9DKQ&pf_rd_p=dfdb1da3-5e85-40b8-aca6-1f16b6aad03b&pf_rd_r=A7PHQSMTFXPS5PC79DSJ&psc=1&refRID=RVX9E5F0F73H3TA251J6

https://www.amazon.com/Good-Meat-Complete-Sourcing-Sustainable/dp/1584798637

This is also a good site for reference.

The Bacon Cookbook, Ratio, and because I'm obsessed with New Orleans food, The Court of Two Sisters Cookbook.

Also someone else mentioned the Cook's Illustrated cookbook which is absolutely amazing.

I have a book for you to read though i feel like you may have already seen it.

Lard made a comeback a few years ago.

http://www.amazon.com/Fat-Appreciation-Misunderstood-Ingredient-Recipes/dp/1580089356

The Art of Living According to Joe Beef - A Cookbook of Sorts I grew up outside of Montreal, and while I've never eaten at this particular restaurant (I don't live there anymore) I loved the pictures and stories.

Because of where I live a lot of the ingredients are hard to get (like I can't just ORDER hare/rabbit like they do. I have to wait for a friend of mine that hunts to have a spare rabbit from his trapline he can spare me).

But the recipes in the book like fantastic and I do intend to try and make some of the foods I've read through.

Also checkout

Cod
and
Steak

The Cod one is a brilliant history book.

I've got this book pre-ordered.

The Prophets of Smoked Meat: A Journey Through Texas Barbecue

Here is the proof, straight from Daniel Vaughn (BBQ Editor for Texas Monthly + author of soon-to be-released "The Prophets of Smoked Meat")

I think the thing to remember about Salt Lick is that it may make decent BBQ (not IMO), but it doesn't make real Texas BBQ. Especially like some of the places I or u/bartink posted

Not a huge fan of Men's Fitness, but this has the recipes and macro breakdowns you're looking for


http://www.amazon.com/Mens-Health-Book-Food-Nutrition/dp/1605293105/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

http://www.amazon.com/Mens-Health-Muscle-Easy-Follow/dp/1594865485/ref=pd_sim_b_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=0NWGV8JR7SXZ0X3S39MD

"Mastering the Art of French Cooking" is her classic, in every library and its pretty easy to find at a used bookstore for next to nothing. Quite a few of the sauces will involve some creative keto work to get aroud the roux but at least it'll be an interesting experiment.

I just picked up How To Cook Meat second hand and have been working my way through the cuts of meat I would've been less likely to buy on my own. Combine it with a former favorite from my past life, Veganomicon and I've got a nearly limitless supply of new meat and veg dinners.

I'm lucky that vegan years helped me out in the "omg this food is so boring" phases so now I've got all kinds of methods to deal with it but getting a cookbook and plowing through every recipe in it is still one of my favorites. Modifying recipes to be animal product free before and carb and sugar free now makes it all the more interesting. Last month I got on a medieval cooking kicking and started making the amazingly named: Grave of Small Birds.

Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals is a great cookbook that is exactly laid out like you are asking. It can be had super cheap used from Amazon as well.

Recommended

1. MAKE AHEAD one day a week or every two weeks and freeze
   
2. CROCK POT, stand alone appliance, low heat
   
3. ONE POT MEALS, Dutch oven, (fill a pot with any combo of fresh, frozen, dry, meats, grains, veggies, liquid, and spices, layered, and bake for 45 minutes or less on 450 while you do other things, almost no prep, eat for many meals.)
   see http://smile.amazon.com/Glorious-One-Pot-Meals-Revolutionary-Dutch-Oven/dp/076793010X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427436836&sr=8-1&keywords=glorious+one+pot+meals

I haven't yet, soon enough I'm sure. Check this recipe book out - http://www.amazon.com/Smoking-Meat-Essential-Guide-Barbecue/dp/1770500383/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425831781&sr=8-1&keywords=smoking+meat

How to Cook Meat by Schlesinger & Willoughby. Recipes by cut, includes pork, veal, etc.

Love that book.

This recipe comes from The Chili Cookbook by Robb Walsh, which was inspired by A.J. Foyt's recipe for chili.

3 Tablespoons olive oil

3 Pounds beef chuck roast, cubed (I used ground beef)

1 Pound fresh chorizo

2 Onions, diced

5 Garlic cloves, minced

3 Jalapenos, chopped

1/2 Teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 Tablespoons chili powder

3 15 Ounce cans tomato sauce (I used 2 cans)

1 Teaspoon salt

1 Can of Mexican beer (I used Corona Extra)

2 Cups water (I omitted this, it would have been much to thin otherwise)

• Heat oil over medium high. Cook beef in batches until browned. Transfer beef to a bowl with slotted spoon.
  
• Add chorizo and cook until no pink remains.
  
• When chorizo is cooked, add onions, garlic, jalapenos, and spices.
  
• Add tomato sauce, salt, beer, and water.
  
• Add beef and simmer chili, covered, for 30 minutes, stirring often.
  
• Uncover and simmer for 2 hours, adding water as necessary to maintain desired consistency.
  
  I thought the recipe ended up a little runny so I skimmed off as much of the oil and fat as I could, heated it, and whisked in some masa harina to make a quick roux. Adding that back to the chili thickened it a lot, as well as soaked up a lot of the oil.
  
  

My mother-in-law got me both of these books.

I can't remember the changes I made, but this is the book I've been using.

I have not made anything out of this book yet, but like the writing style. I am still trying to figure out why he adds powdered milk to his recipes. Any ideas?

Edit: I should say that when I make different kinds of brats, I just use my intuition on amount when adding chopped habenero, onions or chipotle powder. If it says add water, add beer. :)

Cooks illustrated meat book is on sale at barnes and noble 12$- great pick up. amazon link to the book only-https://www.amazon.com/Cooks-Illustrated-Meat-Book-Game-Changing/dp/1936493861

Does he work with onions and garlic a lot? Then he might love [this] (https://www.amazon.com/Amco-8402-Rub-Away-Bar/dp/B000F8JUJY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487691906&sr=8-1&keywords=rubaway+bar).

Also, [this] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1936493861/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=8PS5VCK53Z69&coliid=IUZXVAJCXCYOF).

From reading a bit in the book, it's not for stews. it's also not a braise.

from what i understand(i'm a noob), most of them are probably similar to the one-pot chiken/rice.

here's the book with table of contents etc:

https://www.amazon.com/Glorious-One-Pot-Meals-Revolutionary-Dutch-Oven/dp/076793010X

Cheers. Check out this awesome book sometime. I learned a ton. meat

Exactly.

Bacon, ham, sausage of every variety, pork shoulder (pulled pork!), cracklings, lard (lardons, motherfuckers!), ribs, roasts... hell, people eat their feet and their faces. Though I haven't embraced that yet.

And if you think that's not enough variation, well I have something to show you.

The Meat Cookbook http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Meat-Cookbook-Bruce-Aidells/dp/061813512X

Also, The Silver Spoon

Bakon!

i'm just gonna leave this here for you

I'll just leave this here. Anyone who is serious about Charcuterie should have a copy.

Although, one thing, regarding "Cheap Fast Good" Its only time saving if you have made the "basics" and frozen them for use later. Like the ground beef, or chicken, and so on. Otherwise the recipes can take a little longer.

You can even scratch both of those books and pickup any of the Rachel Ray 30-minutes or less cook books. I used a lot of recipes from that book when I was learning to cook too.
http://www.amazon.com/30-Minute-Meals-Rachael-Ray/dp/1891105035/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370293556&sr=1-8&keywords=rachel+ray+30+minutes+of+less

Whoaaaaaa...that looks amazing!

Is this the cookbook? - https://www.amazon.com/Art-Living-According-Joe-Beef/dp/1607740141

Skip the rubs/spices. Salt and pepper are the best. Check this book out: https://www.amazon.com/Prophets-Smoked-Meat-Journey-Barbecue/dp/0062202928.

Well, it has the benefit of being true. When you say "I trust what my mom does over science-based stuff" then that's just one example I have to offer.

See, your mom and family might have done things for years and years, but that was back when you could eat raw eggs safely and didn't have to worry about chicken making you sick for three days. We didn't have the factory farms even 30 years ago that we do today. Pigs are raised in conditions so appalling that pig farms sterilize nearby rivers and prevent farms from growing crops. There's a great book called Pig Perfect that goes into all sorts of detail about that. So no, I wouldn't eat anything but farm-raise pork that's been at room temp. Even then I'd want to know how and where it was butchered.

I have been sick from undercooked chicken, and I don't wish to repeat my experiences with food-borne illness. So it's an easy choice for me: defrost at cold temperatures and there's no risk of being sick. Why roll the dice?