Customer Reviews

Whole Beast Butchery: The Complete Visual Guide to Beef, Lamb, and Pork

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(1)
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As someone who began raising and butchering his own livestock several years ago, I've developed quite a library of "how to butcher" books. Most of them are quite useful and I've usually been able to take home a least a couple of "pearls" that I find useful in my private on-the-farm butchershop. Needless to say it's been quite a journey and I still have a long way to go, so it was definitely a sense of relief when I opened Mr. Farr's new instructional manual and found to my surprise loads of useful tips and ideas.

The book is divided into three main parts - beef, lamb and pork. Each section begins with a clear schematic the various parts of each animal. Each schematic is then reproduced in miniature at the top of each ensuing page, keeping the reader oriented as to where in the animal the current photos originate. I for one, found this extremely useful

And what photos! Each one is clear, detailed and nicely laid out, accompanied by short and concise notes. It's harder than you might think to describe in words accurately how to break down an animal carcass. Believe me, I've read some other texts that leave you so confused, you don't know which end is up. Not here. Farrs descriptions are smart, pithy and to the point. Not to mention plentiful.

One aspect that this book doesn't cover (nor does it claim to) is the livestock side of things. Farr assumes you will be picking up your carcass from a local butcher. He offers no advise or instruction on how to slaughter a live animal, something many of us small scale livestock farmers need. But there are other good texts for that such as The Complete Book of Butchering, Smoking, Curing, and Sausage Making: How to Harvest Your Livestock & Wild Game by Philip Hasheider. Together with Whole Beast Butchery, these two texts are all an amateur butcher needs to get started. Thanks Ryan! Great job!

The concept of whole animal butchery and utilization is fairly new to me. It wasn't something I grew up with, nor did the story of how the animal got to my plate ever occur to me until I moved to California a few years back. I found out about Ryan Farr and 4505 Meats during that time. He was offering whole animal butchering classes, and from the moment I signed up for that first class, I knew it was the next logical step to my tasty education. Having now taken all the butchering classes he has to offer, I can honestly say that this book is a true expression of that living craft he continues to teach people. The step by step manner in which the book is presented, along with simple but clever visual aids, provides an effective method for understanding the butchering process. I will never think of meat in the same way again. In fact, I will never buy meat the same way again.

I feel very lucky to be a part of this growing movement of people who are both reviving vitally important skills and forging new paths in the world of sustainable meat. Ryan Farr is one of those people, and his book, Whole Beast Butchery, will serve as an important personal reference for years to come. If you eat meat, regardless of whether or not you intend to butcher your own, this book should be a part of your library, period.

It's great that more people are moving away from the nasty plastic-wrapped meat in the supermarket and hitting up farmers' markets and old-school butchers. You can take it one step further by learning how to actually butcher your own meat. You want a true farm to table experience? Pick up Whole Beast Butchery, source a whole pig or a lamb or go in with a group of friends on a steer and go to town! Ryan Farr shows how, with hundreds of very cool-looking step-by-step photos, breaking down everything you'd ever want to know about breaking down beef, lamb or pork. And even if you don't feel up to the task, the book is worth it for the recipes alone -- Spice-Cured Beef Brisket, Merguez Sausage, Crispy Pork Shoulder...
This man knows his meat.

This is a comprehensive and very well written butchery book. Perfect for both beginner and more advanced home butchers! The step by step photos are extremely helpful. And Farr's personality is present throughout the book, making it seem both familiar and fun. His simple recipes will give you a great building block from which to grow your skills. Really excited to have this book in my cookbook collection.

I recently finished my first look thru WBB. So much information presented in an understandable way. I recommended this book to several friends, one has a son who wants to be a chef. The attention to detail and advise about tools is invaluable for both professional chefs and serious home chefs.

WOW! WOW! WOW! Whole Beast Butchery is exactly everything I want out of a butcher book. The market is flooded with the same old meat books, but nothing is as visual and has such a extensive attention to detail as this one. I have owned a small butcher shop in New York for 15 years and having this as a tool would have been invaluable. The way Ryan walks you through butchery makes it so simple, it doesn't matter if its a whole animal or just a section, the step by step is flawless.

In addition, I just switched our Merguez sausage recipe to the one in the book, my Moroccan customers are raving, saying its exactly what Merguez should taste like. The sausage recipes and Ryan's roasting techniques in this book are so spot on. I have emailed about training with him and taking all the butcher classes. Ryan Farr is truly a master chef and butcher, Whole Beast is a must have!

This is a very thorough book. We have a home butcher shop and cut up our own meat; beef, lamb, hog, wild game and fowl. I have been looking for a book like this book!

This is really an amazing book even if you're not a professional chef. I've enjoyed every page and learned a lot. I bought a copy for my father in law and he loves it too. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about how to prepare the animals you are eating.

I've seen Ryan work his butchery magic a couple times, at the cochon 555 events he is often a part of. It amazed me how he transformed what the mainstream think of a back room activity into a clinic that was absolutely appropriate to the formal ballroom setting. Even the cocktail dress and tie set pushed to get closer to the action.

I grew up an occasional hunter and an avid griller, so learning to refine my whole-cut prep has long been on the culinary to-do list. When I heard Ryan was putting out a how-to book it was a no-brainer to get a copy for myself, my Dad and my brother.

Gotta say, I most like the no-frills progression approach, and the by-animal, by-anatomical-area maps that follow you through the book. Couple that with the end-product tips like semi freezing sausage ingredients (I always wondered why mine come out with little texture) and you have a book that ups your game in one read.

Kudos Ryan, keep them coming!

I bought this for my son-in-law who loves to cook. He's roasted whole pigs, makes his own sausage and bacon and other items I can't describe! He wants to know how to butcher meats and do it right! This was fantastic for him and he was thrilled.