(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best meat cooking books

>I find it difficult to try other recipe sites because I know they don't put nearly the amount of time/effort/experimentation into creating a recipe

ChefSteps is pretty amazing:

• https://www.chefsteps.com/gallery?generator=chefsteps&published_status=published&difficulty=any&sort=newest&premium=everything
  
  They make the Joule sous vide machine. Their Premium membership (extra stuff, not required, but good to have!) is only $39 for a lifetime pass. They are pretty next-level about their recipes, much like Serious Eats & The Food Lab. For example, French fries:
  
  
• Finding the perfect potatoes for French fries (this is no joke!)
  
• Thin-cut French fry recipe
  
• Thick-cut French fry recipe
  
  Their sous vide Fried Chicken is also amazing:
  
  
• https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/can-t-f-it-up-fried-chicken
  
  Modernist Cuisine is a bit niche, but can get super-detailed. Their books are unbelievable (as are the prices), but if you want the authoritative texts on certain topics, they're the go-to. Their latest set is basically the bible of bread...2,642 pages with 1,200 recipes spread across five volumes. You can't even get a used set for under $500 tho:
  
  
• https://modernistcuisine.com/books/modernist-bread/
  
  America's Test Kitchen is also pretty good, although it has a paywall (pricing varies...one site, all sites, monthly, lump sum, etc.). Their books are also excellent. I just got their sous vide book & it's pretty thorough:
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Sous-Vide-Everybody-Foolproof-Technique-ebook/dp/B07F5YDPNX
  
  Two of the things I like about Serious Eats are that there's regular content with no paywall (although I'm happy to exclude them from my adblocker & always buy their books!) & Kenji is pretty friendly with the community in the comments & on social media, so it's not just an authoritative voice dictating a recipe, it's more of a discussion. To me, Serious Eats is the modern, digital version of Alton Brown's "Good Eats" TV show, where he has a passion for good food & enjoys walking you through the process of how you can achieve that consistently.
  
  Norm King's sous vide & smoking Facebook group is excellent. Note that this is a very specific group with specific rules, but if you want to learn the right way to do things, especially sous vide-related things, it's a treasure-trove of information:
  
  
• https://www.facebook.com/groups/272128179509149/
  
  Food Wishes by Chef John is not quite as detailed, but is a phenomenal resource & he also does a really good job explaining his recipes in the videos:
  
  
• https://foodwishes.blogspot.com/
  
  Among his many other delicious recipes, if you haven't tried his fondant potatoes, you're not really living:
  
  
• https://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2013/06/fondant-potatoes-creamy-crusty-blast.html
  
  >Where other resources do you use?
  
  Random list off the top of my head: (website link + a few great sample recipes to try)
  
  
• Smitten Kitchen - Leite's jumbo chocolate-chip cookies
  
• Mel's Kitchen Cafe - crispy southwest chicken wraps (variable master recipe) & also check out "the best recipe" archive
  
• Cooking Classy - amazing caramels you make in your microwave!
  
• 12 Tomatoes
  
• Minimalist Bakers
  
• Six Sisters Stuff
  
• The Fresh Loaf
  
  I have a zillion others in my bookmarks, but that should get you started!

As for starters, the Williams-Sonoma books are great collections of recipes in just about all categories... not always the easiest but they can start you out on the right path to making your own or altering recipes you can do..

Williams-sonoma books:

• Soups and Stews
  
• Salads
  
• Pasta
  
• Vegetables
  
• Soup
  
• Chicken
  
• Roasting
  
• Seafood
  
• Breakfast
  
  You can find all the rest of their books through those links, they have a ton, and a bunch of amazing recipes in them.. Most of their books also have great quality in the used form and some as low as .1 cent :D
  
  I have to agree with starting with Good Eats, it's a great base for ingredients and how to properly identify good ones and what to do with them. As well as Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cooking course on youtube:
  
  Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cooking Course season 1 episode 1
  
  ^ a great start for simple meals
  
  I collect cookbooks actually, and have a bunch of awesome recipes.. I made a homemade Tandoori chicken tonight, though i did not have the correct chili powder (kashmiri) it was delicious.. grilled a chicken up that i quartered and marinated for a bit. Delicious.. I also love Lebanese food and mostly all types of foreign foods.. I watch the Food Network quite regularly, as well as subscribe to quite a few youtube cooks..
  
  If there's anything you need to know feel free to ask :D

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.

It is not totally vegetarian but, Dueling Chefs is great. It is split between a vegetarian and a meat lover, I had the chance to work under the meat lover and meet the other. Great people and a great book

Three words: Fried Egg BLT

Or, in the great Thomas Keller's words, "The World's Greatest Sandwich".

It's very important that you not overcook the egg, else the sandwich will never come together correctly. And the bacon has to be crispy. You can vary the cheese (cheddar does very well) and the spread (dijon's pretty nice), but the egg should be runny and the bacon crispy.

Cuban sandwiches are awesome. My grandmother used to make me medianoches (Cuban made on a smaller, sweeter loaf) when I couldn't sleep as a kid. 3 Guys from Miami discuss the Cubano.

I think one of the easiest ways to kick up a sandwich is to vary your condiments. Instead of one kind of mustard, use another, that sort of thing. And proper layering. Learn to layer your sandwiches correctly, tomato then lettuce, etc...

This book is pretty good. Almost all of the sandwiches are very complex, but goddamn do they taste good. Colicchio knows how to make an amazing sandwich.

You can't really go wrong with the Franklin Barbecue Manifesto mentioned by /u/OmegaDriver.

It's written by a guy that runs a restaurant where people start lining up outside his restaurant at 6 AM on Saturdays. He doesn't open until 11.

He does a lot of helpful online videos that you can find on YouTube, but the book really is something every smoker should have. It goes into the details and even science of smoking, and can get geeky in parts, but I love that. The more understanding you have of what is going on with your food, the better you'll be at being able to get steady, reliable results when you can make changes on the fly to deal with changes in outdoor temperature, humidity, wood flare-ups, etc.

In chapter 6 he gets into the details of Brisket, Ribs, and Turkey breast, but that's about it as far as "recipes" goes, but it's SUPER detailed and describes EXACTLY how to get the results you're looking for. Once you've got those 3 things mastered, you're not going to really need a cook book anyway, other than to find some new flavor profiles for your rubs and marinades.

Can't recommend it enough.

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.

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.

Schmaltz is a staple of several region cuisines. It is generally just rendered and clarified/strained. You can buy tubs of it, but if you can make your own, why not?!

Michael Ruhlman has a book dedicated to it, and ask anybody who was raised with Jewish/kosher food in the kitchen, and they'll know what's up.

OP, save it just like bacon fat or tallow or duck fat. Use it when roasting veg or pan frying. Once rendered and the water removed and other bits strained out, it freezes well to keep on-hand for the future.

According to the schmaltz cookbook I have (which I totally recommend if you're interested in a making schmaltz from scratch), it will keep a week in the fridge, but may pick up flavors from other things in the fridge. If I want to keep it longer, I put it in a quart ziplock bag and freeze it. It will keep for quite a while frozen.

You can fry or sauté anything in it - it's especially good with mushrooms and onions. We've used it to make a roux before making a sauce as well. You can bake with it (instead of butter) and you could fry latkes in it if you had enough.

This book is one of the better kept secrets of pit design if you want to get a deep understanding of the subject: https://www.amazon.com/Smoking-Smokehouse-Design-Stanley-Marianski/dp/0982426704

The good thing is that no matter what style you go with, there are numerous ways to produce great BBQ. I have a custom build Lang 60" smoker, but if I had the room I'd eventually want to build a traditional cinder block/brick style pit for whole hogs.

Here is a cinder block design I really like with an excellent build guide and parts list: http://caughtsmokinbbq.blogspot.com/p/bbq-pit.html

Thank you for the suggestions, I especially like the idea of Henderson's but the books I find by him are called Nose to Tail Eating in two volumes and a complete version. Is this the same book to your knowledge just published differently in the UK?

Definitely getting Kent's book for myself once Uni finally ends and that high paying job (I'm sure it's in the works) comes along.

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.

Well to simply answer your question, no, cooking food does not necessarily mean improved flavor or texture. In fact in some instances, it will only dry the meat out.

That being said, chili is a completely different animal, and contrary, to what another has said, you're not braising chili, at least I hope you aren't. Chili is a form of stew, not a braise, although similar, very different at the same time.

We braise food because they're tough. Items that aren't great for sautee, or grill. There's a great book called braise, by one of the best Chef in the country, if not the world. However, it is possible to easily over cook all your food, so you do need to keep an eye on it.

Also, if you want to cook your chili longer, ground beef is NOT the way to go. Cube up some shoulder cut. Or turn it into a pork chili and use a picnic cut. These meats will hold up way better to long cook times.

Oh and the answer why, chili is great the next day, as the same above poster wrote, it has to due with the cooling down process. Which is why in restaurants, we rest our steaks before adding our compound butters or sauces (well there's other reasons too, but this one pertains to your question). As the food gets hot it expands, as food cools down it contracts, and therefore will absorb flavors.

I'm on my phone and can't link well, do I left a full link on the bottom, for the book, if you want to check it out.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/006223238X

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...

The Complete Meat Cookbook by Bruce Aidells. It looks like he has a newer one out but I haven't read it.

I like it because it teaches you how to buy meat. If you want to make a pot roast, for example, it gives you the common cuts of beef for that and the pros and cons of each one, then gives you the recipe and variations.

Since meat is good for you, I consider it a healthy cook book.

Sadly, in the USA, nose to tail seems to be for “high brow” folks.

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Nose-Tail-Fergus-Henderson/dp/0062282611

> Adventurous palates as well as some of the most famous names in the food world—including Mario Batali, Anthony Bourdain, Jamie Oliver, and Daniel Boulud—flock to Fergus Henderson’s London restaurant, St. John, to indulge in his culinary artistry.

Poorer countries seem to be less picky-wasteful. Last last week, I saw a couple of episodes of that Taco series on Netflix. Mexicans seem to like eating heart, liver, kidney, etc. with their tacos.

Maybe check-out Mexican restaurants in your area.

The 12 Bones cookbook is a really great, too!

http://www.amazon.com/12-Bones-Smokehouse-Mountain-Cookbook/dp/0760347263

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

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.

https://www.amazon.com/12-Bones-Smokehouse-Mountain-Cookbook/dp/0760347263 $16 hardcover with recipes for all their best stuff--smoked potato salad, jalapeno cheese grits, the cornbread.. mmmmmmmmmm

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.

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

Whoaaaaaa...that looks amazing!

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

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

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.

Thank you for the lengthy reply, Well I have a slow cooker and an air fryer, plus I found a store today that sells all of the above (Frozen), so I look forward to trying these.

I also just purchased 2 books by Fergus Henderson.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Nose-Tail-British-Cooking/dp/1408809168

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-St-John-British-cooking/dp/1529103215

A few things that should be addressed, I hope this doesn't come off too negatively.

• Don't tell people they're eating veal when it's pork
  
• It would be a bad idea to use the fat-cap from the loin in sausages, there is way too much silver skin and sinew, grind it and render for lard.
  
• Braising a loin is an affront to the animal that died for it, it tastes sad, dry and stringy.
  
• DON'T TELL PEOPLE THEY'RE EATING VEAL WHEN IT'S PORK.
  
  
  I get that you want to make a Youtube tutorial series, but you need more experience in both the cutting an the cooking of meat. Take a break from making videos to spend time reading/cooking/editing videos.
  
  RESOURCES TO CHECK OUT!
  
  One of the most straight foreward books on Butchery
  
  Amazing techniques on utilizing the whole animal
  
  Great technique for the weird parts
  
  Great foundational stuff as well as a bit about ethics
  
  YOUTUBE VIDZ!
  
  A short series on cool butchery techniques
  
  A well-spring of meat knowledge, dude knows his stuff

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

Much better.

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

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.

I've read that smoke will stop absorbing well once the exterior of the meat reaches a certain temperature. Maybe that's part of it?

Offsets provide the best flavor due to science. Burning wood gives off a sweet smoke while smoldering wood is bitter smoke. Reference: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N6PFBDW/ref=dp-kindle-redirect/189-3796810-6372614?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Experience: my backyard.http://imgur.com/g7cMTZs

The one thing he is right on, if you want a decent offset, you can make a cinder block one like mine for under $300 that will cook 150 lbs of meat or find one made of at least 3/8" steel. Anything less is junk and a waste of money.

Made Asian pork belly according to the recipe here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/006223238X/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_awdo_WSRKwb1W675QH

Made the Bahn Mi sandwich using the recipe from Tartine Bread:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0811870413/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_awdo_HVRKwb1SNPR4R

It was out of this world. So good, that we're doing a repeat of the braise today but with beef brisket instead of pork belly.

I've never tried it before, usually stick to meat or cheese.

​

All joking aside, check out Aaron Franklin's book...

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

I've got this book pre-ordered.

The Prophets of Smoked Meat: A Journey Through Texas Barbecue

https://www.amazon.com/Smoking-Smokehouse-Design-Robert-Marianski/dp/0982426704/ref=mp_s_a_1_25?keywords=meat+smoking+book&qid=1559301632&s=gateway&sr=8-25

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

Also, The Silver Spoon

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0609610511/ref=redir_mdp_mobile

https://www.amazon.com/Book-Schmaltz-Love-Song-Forgotten/dp/0316254088

i'm just gonna leave this here for you

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?

I tried once, but I didnt do a very good job of it. I'm willing to give it another shot at some point. I followed the directions in this book but I think I was too impatient.