Customer Reviews

Pig Perfect: Encounters with Remarkable Swine and Some Great Ways to Cook Them

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Pete Kaminsky's Pig Perfect was just the treatise I was looking for as a yardstick for our farms own free-range pork production. The descriptions of the ham curing in Spain are of such great detail they inspire the reader to try their own hand at such an "art." The only thing that would be better would be to duplicate his travels and experience the taste first hand. I want to thank The author for sharing his insight with such passion and flair.

Collins Huff

Gryffon's Aerie

Heritage Livestock & Artisan Meats

Green Springs, Virginia

This book is must-read for foodies, especially those with a Slow Food bent, interested in culinary traditions, and curious to know how good, full flavored, naturally-raised pork -- the kind our grandparents remember --slipped away from us. His journey is riveting, and he tells it with humor, great reporting and sparkling prose -- what I really liked about this book is how much I learned and hog industry vs the culture of pigs, without feeling preached to.

i reccommend this book to you whether you eat pork or not. the pork production in the US affects everyone. you should read this book so you understand how "pig farms" which are actually pig factories, affects the environment as well as the quality and flavor of pork.

but the book is not an environmental manifesto, it is an excellent look at the world of pig farming and pork. the recipes mixed into the meat of the book add a nice touch as well.

i know, now, that a pig, raised properly, produces pork with fat that can be as healthful as olive oil, and with a far better flavor. the reason your porkchops come out dry may be the meat itself, not your cooking.

the book is well written, informative and entertaining. it makes me want to raise my own pigs, apparently it is not that difficult. it also makes me want to take a tasting trip around the south, as well as go to spain to taste the amazing iberico ham there.

the reason i gave it only four stars is the author occasionally gets a bit off track, and the book gets a bit dry or saggy at times, but the dry spots do not last long at all. the description of the flavor of a good ham is worth owning the book, as well as a pretty comprehensive suggested reading list at the end. i hope you buy this book, and i hope, after you read it, you reccommend it to others.

`Pig Perfect' by culinary and fishing journalist, Peter Kaminsky is almost like the flip side of Eric Schlosser's 'Fast Food Nation', in that Kaminsky is in search of the very antithesis of modern American industrial pig husbandry. One very important note is that while the title of the book brings the whole pig to mind, Kaminsky really spends over half his book dedicated to the ham, and more specifically the hams created from the `iberico' black pig of Spain and southwestern France.

I really have to love a book that engenders connections between widely dissimilar areas such as the opening scene of the movie `2001 A Space Odyssey', Jewish and Muslem dietary laws, and analysis of linguistic usage. The first of this triad arises when Kaminsky discusses the speculation that the origin of the large brained arthropod in Africa came about when a particular tribe developed a taste for animal fat and protein, thereby scoring the nutrients which fed a larger brain. As you remember, the great epithany in the first scenes of `2001' was the teaching of tool usage to proto-hominids, who used the tools to kill their piggy looking competitors for scarce grass on the veldt. This brings up the third leg of this triad, where Kaminsky rapsodises over the `humane' language of the Spanish farmers who `sacrifice' their pigs, in contrast to the American usage where pigs and other food animals are `slaughtered'. Kaminsky imagines the first word establishes a stronger connection between the two levels of the food chain, the humans, and their meat animals. I will offer the thought that Kaminsky is reading far too much into this difference in wording, as my consulting Webster's confirms that both words are simply two different words for killing animals. The first is for killing them simply for food, the second is for killing them as an offering to the gods. Both words are intimately connected with animals, just as the German verb `fressen' means an animal's eating. But then, I'm really just playing Kaminsky's game here, as both of us are simply `playing with words'.

Kaminsky's review of explanations for why middle eastern cultures such as the Jews and the Arab Muslims both forbade eating pork or any other meat from an animal with cloven hooves.

The first reason is traced back to Egypt, where pigs are hardly ever mentioned because, as Kaminsky speculates, they were raised by individual families, as it was very inexpensive to support a pig or two, in contrast to cattle, sheep, and goats, which required state supported resources. It also meant that cattle, sheep, and goats were a lot easier to tax, as their husbandry was more involved and required larger establishments. Thus, states preferred endorsing those animals whose herds produced better tax income.

The second reason is the fact that pigs are major competitors with humans for the major Middle Eastern grains, wheat and barley. So, the pigs had to go.

The third reason was always my favorite. It is based on the fact that historically, the Arabs and Jews both arose from nomadic tribes, and pigs are a lot harder to herd than cattle, sheep, or goats.

Kaminsky's favorite expert has a fourth reason. He theorizes that with everything else going against pigs, they were immediately replaced by chickens which were even cheaper to raise in small homesteads, did not compete for wheat and barley, and could be easily slung over the mules when the tribe travelled from place to place.

The point of all this theorizing is to strengthen the picture for those cultures in Spain and France where the pig had exactly the opposite reception and was treated as the mainstay of the culture's animal protein. This brings us to Kaminsky's central venue, western Spain and its oak forests, where pigs can happily grow fat on its abundance of chestnuts. From Spain, Kaminsky takes the story to colonies of the black `iberico' pig in the United States and how superior the fatty meat is in these animals compared to the commercially raised white pigs.

Kaminsky also reviews all the facts which back up Emeril Lagasse's famous explamation that `pork fat rules'. It is well known to me by now that lard is superior to butter and to all other common animal fats in its level of unsaturated lipids. This advantage has been bred out of American pigs to create `the other white meat' which seems to be a pale shadow of its more active and more fatty `artisinally raised' porkers.

I delight in the prospect that this book may add another pebble to the movement to return to a better source of pork, just as Julia Child was able to change supermarket stocking habits by demanding on `The French Chef' that she needed her shallots and leeks!

Good luck, Peter, for all of us who look forward to a better porky future.

This is a great culinary read, with a worthwhile agenda to consider. Not exactly `Silent Spring', but not chopped liver either!

Library Journal

Kaminsky, an award-winning writer of numerous articles for Field & Stream, Food & Wine, and Outdoor Life magazines and currently a columnist for the New York Times, is a lifelong lover of ham; this is his culinary search for the best pork. He travels from Kentucky to Madrid to Brooklyn, NY, regaling readers with stories and mouth-watering recipes (e.g., Porchetta, Burgundy Style). Meanwhile, Kaminsky reveals a disquieting fact: the industry has changed processing procedures to market large quantities-the end result of which has only compromised flavor and our health. Kaminsky's passion and love of pork is reminiscent of Peter Mayle's fervor for food and the south of France (see A Year in Provence). For those who enjoy food literature and cooking, this work is an ideal escape; it will inspire creativity in your kitchen, as well as have you embarking on your own pork adventure! For all collections.-Jennifer A. Wickes, [...], Pine Beach, NJ Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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!

Kaminsky has written an easy-reading, far-ranging account of his travels and thoughts about pork. The book is divided into short chapters, grouped roughly by topic, interspersed with recipes. The recipes range from fairly straightforward to extremely complex. I havent tried any of them, but they do sound delicious.

Kaminsky starts the book focused on ham, specifically Spanish Iberian ham, and goes into some detail in the food science that studies the curing process. It all remains fairly non-techincal, consisting mainly of quotes from the experts, but the scientific study was a welcome addition to the normal food/travel writing. He also discusses the Spanish conquest of the Americas, and how their introduction of swine changed the way we eat today. He uses this as a segue to talk about American barbeque, and then he delves deeper into American pigs, looking at the factory farms that dominate pork production in the US.

The section on factory farming is an important one, and it certainly deserves its own in-depth book (and perhaps social and governmental intervention, depending on your point of view.)

Overall, this is an engaging book. There were some minor faults, though. I felt the narrative structure could have been a little more tightly focused; Kaminsky covers a lot of topics, and sometimes I felt there was little tying everything together. The section on "pork taboo" seemed particularly underdevolped. It felt at times like it might have been a series of long magazine articles, rather than a single book. I also found Kaminsky's writing style to be a bit pretentious at times, when simpler descriptions (and less name-dropping) would have sufficed.

Overall though, I would recommend this book. It is filled with eccentric characters, often from far-off places, who are passionate about pigs, which is exactly what you want from a food and travel book.

A self-described "hamthropologist," Peter Kaminsky takes us from Andalusia to ancient Mesopotamia to modern-day North Carolina hog farms as he shares his quest for delectable pork in the book Pig Perfect: Encounters with Remarkable Swine and Some Great Ways to Cook Them (2005, Hyperion).

"Cooking" might not be strictly accurate, as it's cured pork in all its forms that really fuels Kaminsky's fire. Although there are a few recipes, they're not the point of the book. I haven't tried any; they look tasty, but some are not for everyday use, such as the recipe for cocido. It's an incredibly hearty Spanish stew with an ingredient list almost 2 pages long. We've had it in Madrid and it's delicious, but it took me hours to eat, all day to digest, and from the looks of it, a mighty long time to prepare.

No, read this for the story of the pig. Kaminsky delves into history, and produces fascinating economic reasons why pork is forbidden to the Jewish and Muslim faiths. He discusses the role pigs and their ancestors may have played in shaping our landscape. He travels to Spain, where the famed jamon iberico rules, and learns about black pigs and pasturing. Rare in North America, where they're a "heritage" type, these breeds are also very well suited to being farmed using time-tested methods. Allowed to forage for a traditional diet of acorns, they are actually healthier to eat because their fat is monounsaturated. They're also tastier because pigs take on the flavours of their feed, and the meat is more thoroughly marbled with fat as the pig exercises as it forages.

These methods date from before pigs were mass-produced as "the other white meat." Pork is white because the pens in most modern farm systems don't allow pigs to move, and because they're slaughtered so young (just 6 months of age). Kaminsky observes: pork can be deeply coloured, with a corresponding increase in flavour, when the pigs have had a chance to exercise. In contrast, a modern sow might bear and suckle multiple litters of piglets and never ever see them because she can't turn around in her pen. When you think that pigs are at least as smart as dogs, indignation is natural. However, Kaminsky never dips into sentimentalism. He describes the huge factory-like plants in North Carolina where millions of pigs are slaughtered, called CAFOs or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, but his arguments against them are logical and based on a wide variety of interviews. As Kaminsky convincingly portrays them, they are bad for the environment with their acres of untreated lagoons of chemical-laced sewage; bad for the farmers economically and for the neighbours healthwise; bad for the pigs themselves; and ultimately, bad for the consumer because the final product just doesn't taste that great. He mentions that a lot of award-winning barbecue is made with pork from Sam's Club, but what kind of pork ambrosia would result if those techniques were applied to high-quality meat?

One of this book's real strengths is Kaminsky's rapport with people and his ability to capture their unique voices. He interviews a number of them, all diverse - competitive barbecuers in the American South, anthropologists, Spanish cooks and farmers, an energetic elderly woman living alone on an island filled with Ossabaw pigs (the descendants of the very first pigs brought over by Spanish explorers), food activists, French cheesemakers and gourmands - and their personalities keep an already lively writing style hopping.

The other great asset Kaminsky brings to the table, so to speak, is his undiluted enthusiasm for piggy eating experiences. He actually ends up facilitating a network of like-minded pig aficionados, and connecting heritage-minded farmers with suppliers of Ossabaws, transporting some of the meat up to New York to meet with the hands of Italian-based ham-makers and the tastebuds of chef Daniel Boulud. Overall, his book is not only a great read with a mouth-watering topic, but a thought-provoking look at how our food interacts with the world around it, and how it can bring people together.

if you are interested in real food, i wholeheartedly and without reservation recommend this book; it is delightful, serious, informative, useful and thought provoking. if, however, you are a lover of real pork and real ham, then click on "add to shopping cart" immediatly! it is all of the above plus, like real pork and real ham, it is the best on the market, and like real pork and real ham, it is immensely satisfying. you may even be stimulated into action, a project, who knows....

Kamisky covers that gamut in his quest for the perfect 'country ham'. Whether you enjoy the history of food, are part of the slow food movement, or are just looking for some great pork recipes, there's a little bit of something for everyone here.

What is most striking about Kamisky's work, though, is how he weaves together historical pieces of cheese, wine and ham-making into a culinary tapestry that most people won't ever encounter. This novel is a great counter-point to the factory-style food industry of today.