Meat, meat, meat, meat!
October 28, 2014 by SusieIs cooking meat the first great hurdle of any omnivorous cook? I think it’s between that and baking. I think my progression was pretty typical: first boneless chicken breast, then ground beef, then pork chops, then whole chickens and chicken parts, then ground pork, then the rest. I didn’t get round to beef cuts until a few years in. (And I’m still not great at game, organ meats, and off cuts.)
This month it seems that America’s Test Kitchen (Cook’s Illustrated Meat Book), DK Publishing (The Meat Cookbook), and Atria Books (Meat: Everything You Need to Know) are all angling for readers at just that culinary developmental stage – let’s call it the Borderline Beef stage. Because they all feature BEEF on their covers: I see what looks like an eye round roast, a grilled skirt steak (yum!), and a porterhouse steak. All are heavy reference tomes in the 3-4-pound range (about the weight of a center-cut rib roast. Coincidence? I think not.)
It’s a little strange given that the price of beef is at historic highs thanks to climate change. We can speculate on the reasons – the ascension of the Paleo diet? the ostracization of carbs? But when it comes right down to it, I suspect that what these books are all banking on is that moment of insecurity when you first face the high heat with a joint of red, red meat, which, in itself, cost as much as all the breakfasts you were going to eat all week.
How did you first learn to cook meat? and would you have wanted to have one of these Big Books by your side? Would you want one now?
Categories
- All Posts (6607)
- Antipasto (1983)
- Author Articles (241)
- Book News (918)
- Cookbook Giveaways (942)
- Cookbook Lovers (247)
- Cooking Tips (97)
- Culinary News (298)
- Food Biz People (537)
- Food Online (756)
- Holidays & Celebrations (257)
- New Cookbooks (139)
- Recipes (1439)
- Shelf Life With Susie (231)
- What's New on EYB (129)
Archives
Latest Comments
- marktiger69 on Sugarcane – Cookbook Giveaway
- marktiger69 on Every Last Bite Cookbook Giveaway
- marktiger69 on Second Helpings – Cookbook Giveaway
- AlyC on Second Helpings – Cookbook Giveaway
- nancytownsend on Sugarcane – Cookbook Giveaway
- nancytownsend on Every Last Bite Cookbook Giveaway
- nancytownsend on Second Helpings – Cookbook Giveaway
- lucianaS on Sugarcane – Cookbook Giveaway
- lucianaS on Every Last Bite Cookbook Giveaway
- lucianaS on Second Helpings – Cookbook Giveaway