Calling All Meat Lovers: Books About Butchering
By Sharon Franke
There used to be a butcher in every town and that's where you bought your meat. Steaks and chops were cut, meat was ground, and roasts were tied to order. If you wished, you could have your chicken breasts pounded for cutlets, ask that your beef stew chunks be cut into precise 2-inch cubes, or bring your own stuffing to be rolled into a breast of veal. As you waited you gossiped with the butcher and exchanged cooking tips and recipes. If you were accompanied by a child, he or she'd be given a chunk of salami or bologna to munch on while your purchases were neatly wrapped in brown paper. You know what happens today--you toss a plastic wrapped package into your supermarket cart.
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But things are changing. The local butcher is not only coming back...he's a rock star. Young people are seeking out internships with the butcher and forsaking law, business, and advertising careers for meat cutting. And hot on the heels of the resurgence of the butcher is an interest in custom and unusual cuts of meat. Cooks are embracing juicy chicken thighs, short ribs cut Korean-style across the bone, pork shoulder steaks, and other delicious cuts of meat.
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Is your mouth already watering? You'll love two cookbooks that were introduced in the last year. The Butcher's Guide to Well-Raised Meat: How to Buy, Cut, and Cook Great Beef, Lamb, Pork, Poultry, and More ($17.96) comes from Joshua and Jessica Applestone of Fleisher's Grass-Fed & Organic Meats, which is practically a shrine for anyone interested in butchering here in the northeast. It tells the authors' story which started with their own desire to buy good meat from a neighborhood butcher, gives you a primer on cuts and how to cook them, and offers a few select recipes like "Flanken, Fleisher's Style" and "Japanese Fried Chicken. In their book, they tell you the best way to cook bacon, why you should give lamb neck a try, and how to wrap meat in butcher's paper.
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If it's less info and more recipes that you're after, check out Williams-Sonoma's The Cook & The Butcher Juicy Recipes, Butcher's Wisdom, and Expert Tips by Brigit Binns ($19.28). In it, you'll find new ideas for cooking meat like "Caramelized Beef with Onions and Watercress" and "Spicy Pork and Eggplant Stir-Fry", which is on the menu at my house for the second Sunday in a row. The book also gives you lots of notes from butchers across the country on how to buy, cook, and substitute cuts of meat. Find out how to order a rib roast, use top round instead of sirloin, and pick out the juiciest pork chops.
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