5 comments about Professional Charcuterie: Sausage Making, Curing, Terrines, and Pts.

1. Oh my god I just read Thomas kellers book it's the Best!! This book on the other hand, is mediocrity at best. The author takes up countless pages of out dated equipment and definitions of things like what a crushed red pepper is. I can only say that as a Professional chef this book is a total disappointment. Don't spend your money on the Rytek book either the only book is Thomas Kellers



2. I was pleasantly looking forward to this book, since there are not many books that cover this subject. Sadly, this one is rather inadequate. The explanations and essays are scatterbrained and perfunctory, although I thought the recipes were `interesting'. I do not recommend this book, unless you are already knowledgeable on the subject and are only looking for recipes and can distinguish good recipes from bad.
   
   Starting right off in the Preface, the author steps into the proverbial cow-pie. `We wanted to address the professional chef, student, and the dedicated amateur-anyone, in fact, who wants to explore the art and practice of fine charcuterie'. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is not nearly enough educational material for an `amateur' let alone `anyone'. Page ix has a long winded essay on nutrition, yet the writing is laughably circumspect, vague, and non-committal.
   
   The author makes a number of statements that I have serious issues with. I will dismiss them as a simple difference of opinion, but I believe the author to be simply wrong. IMHO, this book is not a source of unimpeachable information on charcuterie or anything else.
   
   The entire issue of fresh charcuterie, cured charcuterie, drying, brining, and smoking is a critical subject that all must thoroughly understand before undertaking any recipe in this book, yet all the author devotes to the interweaving of these important subjects is a couple of confusing sentences on page 51. The author does not demonstrate why curing is necessary, what the difference is between wet and dry brines, when to use each one, or what changes in the meat occur, but just skips ahead to discussions of Prague powder and different types of injection needles. The author does not describe why meats were smoked in the first place, why it is still done today, and even if you really have to smoke your charcuterie if you really do not want to or cannot do so because you do not have the proper equipment or expertise. He cannot even bother to describe sodium nitrate, what it is, what it does, and why it is necessary (answer: it is not necessary, but if you leave it out your meats will be various, unappealing shades of grey or brown, and not the happy pink people expect for hot-smoked sausage; if you are brave enough to do a cold-smoked or dried sausage, it is essential to control bacteria).
   
   The information on safety and sanitation is brief, inadequate, and lacking in practical particulars. This can actually be dangerous, since the uninitiated may attempt the recipes without knowing the necessary precautions required in all charcuterie, cured or otherwise (listing various types of bacterial poisoning and their symptoms is nice, but worthless unless you also describe how to avoid them in exacting detail; even here, the author fails: he does not mention Listeria, a much more common and serious bacterial contamination than the ones he lists, ditto for E. Coli).
   
   The first 75 pages are devoted to essays, explanations, and information. Yet, the author does not go into any subject in any depth. The material tends to be vague and perfunctory, sort of like brief excerpts randomly pulled from a student's lecture notes. About the most charitable thing I can say about this section is that it might serve as refresher material for a foodservice professional who may have forgotten some aspects of charcuterie. It is certainly not adequate enough to serve as an educational or learning resource by itself.
   
   Happily, I did like the recipes very much. There are some 150 recipes, presumably tested, professional ones from a cooking school. Most, but not all, recipes are for sausages. Sadly, even here, there is a serious format problem. They are listed in alphabetical order, not very helpful. It would have been more useful (and educational) to have them categorized: cooked, cured, fresh, wet brine, dry brine, hot smoked, cold smoked, hams, sauces, etc. Also useful would have been a complete listing of all recipes and pages numbers in the beginning of the recipe section.
   
   Perhaps the recipes for simple, fresh sausages are within easy reach of any home cook, but a better source is a cookbook devoted entirely to the subject: Bruce Aidells's Complete Sausage Book : Recipes from America's Premium Sausage Maker is specifically aimed at the average home cook.
   
   Even in the recipe section, however, I have some doubts about; based on the first 75 pages, I found it difficult to take the recipes seriously. Many of the fresh sausages seem to have too much added liquid and not enough fat. There is no mention that chunks of meat should NOT be trimmed of fat, or that extra-fatty pieces of meat work better in sausages than lean ones. The recipes do not list the expected fat % of the finished product, nor is there advice anywhere in the book about controlling the fat content of sausages. Many recipes use soy protein concentrate, but the author does not cover this ingredient in his essays; this is a serious deficiency, as few people, even professionals, have ever used it or even know what it is, much less know why it is included in various sausages or how to handle it.



3. This book is not worth the price! It is light on the educational aspects required for successful and SAFE sausage making. The art of sausage making is not difficult, but some of the techniques can be challenging for a beginner to understand without examples, such as drawings, photos, etc . . . this book contains VERY FEW illustrations, and NO PHOTOS. This book appears to primarily be a recipe collection, of which I've noticed that a number of the recipes are strikingly similar to those found in other, far superior books available. I would highly recommend either 'Great Sausage Recipes & Meat Curing' by Rytek Kutas, or my absolute favorite, 'Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing' by Michael Ruhlman & Brian Polcyn over this book. Either of the alternative titles would be a much better match for someone just venturing into, or expanding on their skills in sausage making or any other type of charcuterie.



4. not impressive to complex for a intro to cureing too minimal for advance cureing. I would suggest "Charcuterie" if your a beginner or "Great Sausage Recipes and meat curing"(Kutas)for advance.



5. This book goes into great detail on the subject which can be a bit intimidating.

5 comments about Bruce Aidells's Complete Book of Pork: A Guide to Buying, Storing, and Cooking the World's Favorite Meat.

1. Bruce Aidell is one of my favorite cookbook writers. Every book he has written has been solid gold in its use and depth of knowledge. For people who are fans of his _complete meat cookbook_ this is the volume to have. the first book is a masterwork for those who need to not only cook meat but to understand its background and want to have substantive knowledge on every aspect of it.
   
   Taking off and enhancing the information found in the pork section he goes truly in depth on the subject of pork. The section on brining today's industrial pork is well worth the price of the book. I am pleased to say that he does not repeat anything from his earlier book so you are definitely getting new material.
   
   Aidell is renowned as one of the early members of the northern California cooking scene and is known to some as the chicken sausage king - yes, it is THAT Aidell who sparked the gourmet sausage movement so, trust the man on his meat.
   
   Everyone can cook from this book since it does not use complicated cooking methods and the spices and ingredients are readily available through the supermarket or from a trusted butcher (uncommon cuts like shin or cheek) it is accessable to anyone.
   
   Highest recommendations for the cooking library and for cooks who prepare a great meal.



2. This is an excellent book, with a few minor shortcomings.
   
   STRENGTHS:
   
   * This is a solid book, written by an expert on the topic - a butcher and an acclaimed expert sausage maker. He knows his stuff, and he does a passable job of passing along some very useful information ... such as the real story about trichinoa and how to protect yourself without ruining the meat by overcooking, how to spot substandard pork that wasn't slaughtered properly and/or which is getting a bit old/off, how to grind meat without ruining it, etc. That's important stuff which most authors neglect to cover in reasonable depth, if at all.
   
   * Good explanations, and well written head notes for all recipes.
   
   * Tasty, well honed recipes, from around the world, and using good techniques and varied seasoings. I also like the fact that the author borrowed Julia Child's "Master Recipes" system, for covering with one swell foop many recipes at once that differ only in their seasoning/ingredient profile ... the technique is the same, so describe the technique, so that all the related recipes are just variations on a theme. It's the culinary equivalent of give a man a fish vs teach a man to fish.
   
   COMPLAINTS:
   
   * Once again, here is a book that's broken down by chapter, but within those individual chapters all recipes appear to be in random order ... and there's no recipe index to help you shop for, much less find in a hurry, a given recipe, even if you know what you're looking for. I mean come on ... how hard can it be to rename recipes like (this is a fictional example) "Billy-Bob's Foot Stompin Tamarind Tenderloin" into say "Tenderloin, Tamarind Marinated", and then sort the whole chapter alphabetically so that everything appear by order of cut and key ingredient/flavor ? If you wanna include a "Billy-Bob Foot Stompin ..." credit somewhere, the place for such things is in the head notes of the applicable recipe, NOT the title. In general I'm not really concerned with who "Billy-Bob" (or whoever) is ... if I want a recipe for, say, tenderloin, I want to be able to do it easily, without having to flip page by page through entire randomly ordered chapters to find it. It's a recurring peeve of mine with a lot of culinary books.
   
   * The author includes a credit for a graphic artist / food stylist. HOWEVER, aside from a diagram of a pig (and it's basic primal cuts) in the in-leaf, there are NO PHOTOS and NO GRAPHICS anywhere in this book. I mean come on ... for a hardcover that includes a overview of meat butchery, and provides recipies for things like ribs, pates, terrines, roulades, and the like (all of which CRY OUT for full color photos) ... for a book like that not to have a single picture is ... well, words fail me. Why even bother mentioning a food stylist / graphic artist if there are no graphics in the book?
   
   * I also wish the author had devoted much more space to basic butchery in his opening chapter, in which he covers only the basic primal cuts of pork. He could have, and should have, given information on how to do things like the following (this is just one example):
   
   > How to buy a whole bone-in loin roast primal, ask the butcher to shave off the chine bone, and then do any number of things to it when you get it home ... such as transform it into a standing rib roast or crown roast (photos please !), break it down into nice thick chops (hence the removal of the chine bone earlier), or how to debone it entirely into a boneless loin (and butterfly and stuff it ... photos please) and make other uses of the bones. I know how to do all those things, but most readers dont - and a book claiming to be "The Complete Book of Pork" should cover such things. I also dont see any recipes for offal yet ... but {as of this writing} I'm still reading.
   
   BOTTOM LINE: This is a great book, with solid techniques and flavors. I'm looking forward to cooking my way though it. Recommended.



3. There is a lot to admire in Bruce's large tome on the preparation and cooking of pork; along with chicken, the world's most popular meats. I salute his dedication to detail and his philosophy on the 'flavour brining' of pork, which does work, IF YOU HAVE DECENT PORK TO BEGIN WITH. Something that is NOT Bruce's fault, however, is the world's seeming obsession, and pig producers' obsession with breeding animals without enough fat. Yes, animal fat, is a 'dirty word' in many, health-conscious minds these days but they, as Bruce knows, have got it all wrong. FAT = FLAVOUR. You don't have to EAT the pork fat, but at least, for heaven's sake, have it there during the cooking process. Here, in Australia, we used to breed big, fat, HEALTHY pigs with good coverings of fat. Now, the poor things are more like Twiggy than Miss Piggy! Bruce's book would be of far more benefit to the dining, cooking world, if pig producers stopped listening to the cardiologists and started to take notice of good chefs and cooks, like Bruce.
   Let's face it, pork just doesn't taste like pork used to. And, there is that old hangover from the post-WW2 days when a lot of pork was diseased so it had to be cooked to death, thus drying it out and making it unpalatable, even rubbery. Pork meat is RED meat that has had the blood removed. It can now be safely treated like red meat, except for very rare.
   Bruce's book is a great book but it shouldn't be necessary, and wouldn't be, if pig producers did the right thing and produced better, rare breed, fatty pigs. However, if you are a lover of good pork, no matter what your supply quality might be, this book will help you make the best of a poor situation. It's a little too detailed for my liking, as a cookbook, but it is an important and wide-ranging work. Good on you Bruce!
   William Kenneth Halliwell
   Hobart, Tasmania, Australia



4. This book is a must read for anyone in the restaurant industry and leaves no stone unturned about pork and how to cook it. Buy it, you'll like it.



5. I bought this book as a gift for my husband's birthday. It is great! We have made many of the recipes and they are easy to follow. It is our go to book for roasts and ribs. You won't be sorry you bought it because it contains recipes for every taste. It really helps to have something to reference for pork recipes that goes well beyond barbeque sauce - although if that's what you love you will find plenty of things to choose from.

4 comments about Everything Tastes Better with Bacon: 70 Fabulous Recipes for Every Meal of the Day.

1. Everything Tastes Better With Bacon showcases over seventy recipes to demonstrate how bacon can be utilized in virtually every meal of the day; from traditional breakfast dishes such as Bacon Biscuits to Sizzling Herb Pasta and Cobb Salad. Color photos add to the attractions, while the inclusion of many innovative dishes such as Bacon-Wrapped Zucchini Flans, makes for a delightful presentation.



2. An exquisite book outlining the best ways to add spice to cooking. The rarity of course is the use of bacon as the suppliment to any good dish. This book is a handy guide for any iron chef who is baconly challenged.



3. This is an amazing cookbook. Every recipe I have tried, save one, has been absolutely delicious. The coq au vin and vodka sauce recipes are particularly good, the best I have ever eaten, even when compared to what I have tried in excellent restaurants. Pictures are lovely and the instructions are very easy to follow. I wish every cookbook was so inventive, and so reliable.



4. 
   I found a copy of this book onmy doorstep the other morning. I suspect the neighbor across the street. She isnt part of the Arcticacre clan and sometimes we find her drinking from our hose and isolating certain blades of grass with these small but very detailed sponge figures. I thought one of them was me, until it rained.
   
   So, the book was there on my doorstep. I immediately started reading. I cant tell you how long I read the book, but it must have been three hours and twelve minutes. My favorite part was the part about how bacon is great in all sorts of bacon related food items. I just wish that they had some animated bacon cartoon characters on the cover and in a DVD inserted into the book. I dont like the idea of watching what I eat dance cutely, but with so may bacon recipes perhaps my neighbor has other plans.
   
   cheers, Joe Arcticacre

No comments about Pig: King of the Southern Table.

5 comments about Pig Perfect: Encounters with Remarkable Swine and Some Great Ways to Cook Them.

1. real informative book on how to raise a pig the old and real way.raising world class hams



2. Most ham is the U.S. is barely edible. There are exceptional country hams put up in the South, but these are seldom available to the casual shopper. If you do love ham, you just have to try the Pure Bellota Iberian ham from Spain.
   
   Now what this book does is illustrate, educate, and sharpen you taste buds for the incredible delight of eating great ham. There are taste matches made by the Creator: Iberian Pure Bellota ham with an ice-cold glass of Fino Sherry is one of them.



3. I am a lover of all pork products. This book presents the history of pigs, ham, and how it has evolved to what we know today. The author has an entertaining style, and his love of ham shines through. I was moved to buy a Kentucky Country Ham, just after I had finished the first third of the book. My knowledge on the history, raising, breeding, and processing of hogs has increased dramatically from this book. An interesting look into the present and future of pigs is given. This brings back memories of Fast Food Nation, and its description of the cattle industry.



4. God, I loved this book! At times fascinating (why is pork eschewed rather than chewed by millions of muslims and jews?), funny (the stuffing of sausage), and evocative (virtually every description of a meal well set), I was enthralled by this most excellent jaunt through the porcine world. Kaminsky pulls off a difficult balance: making us admire and care for the pigs even as we long to eat them as soon as we can apply some of the author's recipes. He makes a valid argument that we must eat them in order to save them, offers a call to arms to take back pork production from the industrial torture chambers that pass as 'agriculture' and return to a more humane and respectful treatment of this remarkable animal.



5. A most entertaining and informative journey through all sorts of pork and the many aspects of its production and enjoyment. Not a how to manual but a great story. The education is just the cherry on top!

5 comments about CHARCUTERIE AND FRENCH PORK COOKERY.

1. I have cooked from this book for 30 years and my original copy has fallen to pieces so I am thrilled to have a new copy. Highly recommended.



2. The most important jewel one can hold from a cuisine book is often the easiest to grasp. Jane Grigson provides temptations page after page. I was taken to another time, surrounded by French charcuterie and enamored by Jane's love of experience and her love of food. What more can one say about a foodie book. Cuddle up, or read it on a plane, it will take you to another place and time and give you some great courage to produce the unexpected. Even from yourself. I only wish it were a much longer book.



3. This is the book to buy first - the one others should be measured by. Interesting, scholarly, but above all informative and practical.



4. The book is a great reference if you are looking into sausage making from an extremely old world/traditional perspective.
   
   Probably my major gripe with this book is the repetition of recipes. The vast majority of the recipes are slight variations of one another. (This is because the book features sausage recipes from various regions of France-so the spice mixtures etc are only going to change so much).
   
   Its a neat book but the complete lack of pictures makes this a bad book for a novice. Unless you simply want a book on sausage to read and not to use-I would not buy this book. For day to day use it is not practical.



5. Next to getting to work with your French Uncle at the local charcuterie shop; Jane's book brings you an unabridged look at the craft with an unapologetic eye. Although the book was originally written in the late 60's (1967), and some of the discussion reflects this time period, don't be fooled, it is timeless; the recipes classic and the instruction still clearly relevant. Jane has made this an interesting read, and a doable set of recipes for most cooks. It is a must have for anyone who wants to move beyond just exploring Charcuterie.

5 comments about Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue.

1. This is a great book on North Carolina barbecue and is worthy of a spot next to "North Carolina Barbecue" by Bob Garner, another good read. They make you want to hit the NC barbecue trail!



2. This book is an excellent overview of North Carolina barbecue. What sets this book apart from others on the subject is the amount of detailed research. The authors not only did their homework, they interviewed many of the major figures in North Carolina barbecue first hand.
   
   The unique structure makes the book very readable. First they give a detailed history of barbecue in North Carolina while touching on the debates that echo within the state as to what constitutes "real" barbecue and what does not. This ranges from the style of sauce and what cut of the pig is used, to what fuel does the cooking (wood vs. gas, electric, etc.) Second, they go into the food in detail giving many excellent recipes and enough detail that even a barbecue novice could produce their own 'cue. Finally (and my favorite part) are the interviews. The authors scoured the state, interviewing the important restaurant owners and pitmasters who make North Carolina the epicenter of barbecue as we know it.
   
   Highly recommended for fans of good food and history.



3. "Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue" by John Shelton Reed and Dale Volberg Reed ($30, University of North Carolina Press, 316 pp.). This book does a great job of telling its story through its content supported by loads of pictures (although only black-and-white here). However, this book has a juicy back story that goes past being just an ode to the barbecue of its region. Everyone knows of the rivalry among the four major barbecue regions as to which one is the best. But North Carolina has its own rivalry within that rivalry between barbecue of the Piedmont and barbecue of Eastern North Carolina. The authors do a great job of telling that story, making this book all the better. This book, like the others, covers its topic in such a detailed manner that you'll be an expert by the time you finish the book no matter if you've ever set foot in the Tarheel State or not.



4. this is a great book, there are recipes, history lessons and local knowledge. anyone that wants to learn about N.C. bbq should get this book



5. This book goes beyond the recipe style BBQ books. It delves into the history behind various notable BBQ "joints" across the state. It is a good read, even for a BBQ loving native son.

5 comments about Pork and Sons.

1. I've never written a review before but felt passionately about how good this book is that I felt I had to add my two cents. Beautifully laid out, with a photograph for each recipe and great background on the pig. Its taking pride of place in my large cookbook collection, highly recommended.



2. Great book by someone who understands and treasures pork as an ingredient and a way of life. Exceptional food pictures accentuate the recipies and other information within the book.



3. This book is definitely one of my go to books when working with pork. I made a version of his pig feet, bacon, caramelized onions dish (page 190) and served it with a homemade mustard...absolutely delicious! Nothing pretentious about this book at all. It's all straight forward.



4. Yummm! Did it in the fireplace. Excellent taste altho wine evaporated too quickly as coals likely too hot. Will try again in firelplace after quick boil of sausages and shorter time in coals along with perhaps making some red wine sauce on stovetop.
   Whole family enjoying the book...fantasizing about taking a year off to spend in st. agreve with stephane to learn the art of piggy prep.
   Coolest cookbook ever!
   -deuxcapecodchefs



5. We cooked Christmas dinner (and lunch) using this book. Before the holidays, we've made about half a dozen meals from Pork & Sons. All have been excellent.
   
   However, the book conveys the bigger picture of food, including were it comes from, what are the tradtions, who are the people who created the recipes, and why is it so good. After all, life is short, so make the most of each day and each meal. Enjoy the meal and enjoy making it.
   
   And of course, enjoy the book.

5 comments about The Meat Buyers Guide : Meat, Lamb, Veal, Pork and Poultry.

1. At $65.00, this book is primarily intended for libraries, but also for those who often buy and cook meat. It is an encyclopedia with lots of color illustrations of the various animals, and cuts of meat.



2. I bought this book based on a review in Saveur. It did not give me the information that I wanted and at $50+, I thought that it was very overpriced.



3. A well documented handbook of most meat in the market.It has beautiful pictures and detail describtions of each cut of meat.
   
   From the scientific names of all muscle to the skeletal chart of the animal.The detail location, structure,and names of bones to the exact cutting point to seperate each muscle..it's awesome.
   
   The addition of the poultry, turkey, duck/goose, and game birds section makes the guide book an even interesting and worthwhile purchase..
   
   For students who are in the culinary courses this guide book will provide an in-depth knowledge of all the cuts of meat in the commercial market and help them to have a further understanding on this topic "BUTCHERING".
   
   The guide book is a must have for people in the meat industry,it acts as a great reference book like what an encyclopedia does..



4. This book is a must have for any culinary proffesional like myself, or anyone interested in meats. The knowledge gained is invaluable.



5. I had to get this book for my Meat Cutting class in culinary school. It had so much information! I highly reccomend it if you ever plan on owning a restaurant/buying large quanities of meat. Or if you just love meat. Tells you body parts, etc.

5 comments about The Glycemic-Load Diet Cookbook: 150 Recipes to Help You Lose Weight and Reverse Insulin Resistance.

1. This is not a diet book. This book explains just exactly which types of foods help you to gain weight and which types help you to lose weight in plain English. A refreshing change from all of the "diet" books out there.



2. We've heard a lot about the glycemic index in recent years, but not many people know exactly what that means and why they should care. The problem with GI is it is an incomplete equation when it comes to figuring out what impact a particular food will have on the body. A better tool is to determine the glycemic load of what you eat and that's something Dr. Rob Thompson has devoted himself to with his diet plan. In this book of recipes that serves as a companion to The Glycemic-Load Diet, Dr. Thompson teams up with world-famous low-carb cookbook author Dana Carpender to whip up some yummy recipes that are designed to control insulin spikes which lead to weight gain, hunger, and disease. One thing you can always count on when Dana Carpender contributes recipes to a cookbook is variety, mouthwatering dishes, and a commitment to keeping them low-carb. You get 150 outstanding recipes to enjoy for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and everything in between with this book!



3. I'm happy that I did research taking the glycemic index a step further and found the info on glycemic load. Definitely better for diabetes type 2 that I have.



4. Delivery was very fast and the book was in great condition. I have found it to be very enlightening. I am glad I got it. Thank you.



5. Having read The Glycemic Load Diet, I was interested to get this book and try some new recipes. Every dish I have tried so far has been easy to prepare and quite tasty. Also, this book includes an overview of information from The Glycemic Load Diet, which may be helpful for those who do not own that book.