The River Cottage Meat Book

[dern]

Anyone got this book? Does it cover how to prepare whole rabbits and pheasants and the like?

I only started eating meat a few months ago so haven't got a clue what I'm doing with pretty much anything past steaks and mince. Is this a decent book to teach me the theory of meat preperation and cooking?

Thanks,

Mark

[Tina K]

Fantastic book and one which no carnivore should be without.

[SpydieNut]

i had a look through this once and it's like an encyclopedia .very impressive.

i don't think there's anything meat related (steady) that it doesn't have.

i didn't get it as i don't *need* to know that much about meat (not yet anyway )

you could also post this on the food section.

[Lord Benjo]

dern said:

Anyone got this book? Does it cover how to prepare whole rabbits and pheasants and the like?

I only started eating meat a few months ago so haven't got a clue what I'm doing with pretty much anything past steaks and mince. Is this a decent book to teach me the theory of meat preperation and cooking?

Thanks,

Mark

Yes, Yes and Yes.

Great book and comprehensively covers all of the meat you are ever likely to eat.

[dern]

It sounds like a good book from the description but I was specifically interested in whether it would teach me how to prepare a rabbit or pheasant that I'd shot.

Cheers,

Mark

[bigandclever]

Brilliant book, and if I recall correctly the first half explains in detail how to prepare all sorts of meat, including game.

[dern]

Lord Benjo said:

Yes, Yes and Yes.

Great book and comprehensively covers all of the meat you are ever likely to eat.

Cool. Thanks.

[mechsympathy]

dern said:

Anyone got this book?

dern said:

Does it cover how to prepare whole rabbits and pheasants and the like?

If you mean skinning/plucking and gutting, I'm not sure it does. But it's easy enough to do.

dern said:

Is this a decent book to teach me the theory of meat preperation and cooking?

Oh [/Churchill]

[Lord Benjo]

dern said:

It sounds like a good book from the description but I was specifically interested in whether it would teach me how to prepare a rabbit or pheasant that I'd shot.

Cheers,

Mark

Does tell you how to prepare a rabbit and pheasant. There is a knack to skinning a rabbit that is fairly easy to pick up. Game birds are easy, pluck them, draw them and chop of the bits that you don't want.

[dern]

Cheers all. I was a vegetarian for about ten years from the age of 18 and a pescatarian (just learned that word) for the next ten years and didn't want to just start eating the shite I see in the supermarkets. We seem to have plenty of farm shops near us so time to get stuck in. Started eating meat about 3 months ago and it's all good.

Regards,

Mark

Edited by dern on Thursday 27th September 12:57

[RaeB]

My friends who were veggie for 17 years now swear by this book. They decided to rejoin the carnivores once they were in a position to 'grow their own' and they now raise pigs, chickens, ducks and geese. The book shows you how to use the whole animal including brains, ears, balls and all sorts of other things that you don't want to think about eating. They are considering getting a lamb or calf next year.

Cooked brekkie at their house is fantastic, fresh eggs and the most delicous bacon ever.

[Don]

Got it for Christmas last year. First cookery book I have actually read cover to cover and couldn't put it down.

I can't say I have totally forsworn inexpensive chicken but I buy a lot less of it and DO buy ethically produced meat whenever possible. Its good that the animals are treated well - but what clinches it is that it really, really, really does taste so much better!

It encouraged me to start cooking things like Oxtail too.

[love machine]

It's old practice and some of the more vintage cookery books have a real slant on doing it properly-properly. (Especially with game birds)

HFW goes in to this with some enthusiasm and great ideas and I think it's good to be able to eat wild food, plus, it tastes good.

I have several mates who are real wild meat enthusiasts and eat everything from seagulls to hedgehogs as well as deer/etc.

Grey Squirrel is about the finest meat IMO.

The old books avoid these sorts of things as they were a bit plebian, does HFW? I can't remember offhand.

[dern]

Exactly the sort of stuff I wanted to hear... thanks all.

[dern]

As an aside... can I legally shoot wood pigeons walking around my garden with an air rifle?

[mechsympathy]

Don said:

I can't say I have totally forsworn inexpensive chicken but I buy a lot less of it and DO buy ethically produced meat whenever possible. Its good that the animals are treated well - but what clinches it is that it really, really, really does taste so much better!

It should be compulsory reading before you can buy a pack of turkey twizzlers

[KingRichard]

dern said:

As an aside... can I legally shoot wood pigeons walking around my garden with an air rifle?

I think it depends on how big your garden is, and how powerful the air rifle is...

I'd probably suggest you didn't do it in full view of the street or neighbouring gardens. It's never fun to be arrested by an Armed Response Unit.

Yes it has happened to me.

[KingRichard]

dern said:

As an aside... can I legally shoot wood pigeons walking around my garden with an air rifle?

Oh, and make sure they aren't those horribl disease ridden town pigeons. They probably taste of diesel and chewing gum

[dern]

KingRichard said:

dern said:

As an aside... can I legally shoot wood pigeons walking around my garden with an air rifle?

I think it depends on how big your garden is, and how powerful the air rifle is...

I'd probably suggest you didn't do it in full view of the street or neighbouring gardens.

We target shoot in the garden quite a bit and the rifle is legal. I wouldn't shoot them out of the trees as you wouldn't know where the pellet would go but the pigeons can often be found walking across the grass.

KingRichard said:

It's never fun to be arrested by an Armed Response Unit.

Yes it has happened to me.

Lol, how did you manage that?

[KingRichard]

dern said:

KingRichard said:

dern said:

As an aside... can I legally shoot wood pigeons walking around my garden with an air rifle?

I think it depends on how big your garden is, and how powerful the air rifle is...

I'd probably suggest you didn't do it in full view of the street or neighbouring gardens.

We target shoot in the garden quite a bit and the rifle is legal. I wouldn't shoot them out of the trees as you wouldn't know where the pellet would go but the pigeons can often be found walking across the grass.

KingRichard said:

It's never fun to be arrested by an Armed Response Unit.

Yes it has happened to me.

Lol, how did you manage that?

Long story. Got reported to BiB for pointing a 'firearm' at a cashier in a petrol station. Trouble was, it was a four foot long supersoaker, that made the old trout VERY wet. If only she'd been more obliging to our request for flapjacks through the night window, she could have avoided a police caution for wasting police time.

Served her right.

I still got pinned to the floor outside my house at 4am amidst blue flashing lights, megaphones and sniffer dogs.

I'd just got a job working for a credit hire company, and happened to have had several new cars on the drive at very odd hours of the day. A Range Rover Vogue, 2 E Class mercs and several Jags. God know what the neighbours thought I was into...

Edited by KingRichard on Thursday 27th September 15:20