The Ethical Meat Handbook

by Meredith Leigh

Overview

A delicious alternative to the status quo when it comes to how we farm, cook, and eat

Nutrition, environmental impact, ethics, sustainability – it seems like there's no end to the food factors we must consider. At the center of the dietary storm is animal-based agriculture. Was your beef factory farmed or pasture-raised? Did your chicken free range, or was it raised in a battery cage? Have you, in short, met your meat?

Most efforts to unravel the complexities of the production and consumption of animals tend to pit meat eaters and vegetarians against each other.

In this 2nd edition of The Ethical Meat Handbook, Meredith Leigh argues that by assuming responsibility for the food on our fork and the route by which it gets there, animals can be an optimal source of food, fiber, and environmental management. This new edition covers:

• Integrating animals into your garden or homestead
• Step-by-step color photos for beef, pork, lamb, and poultry butchery
• 100+ recipes for whole-animal cooking
• Culinary highlights: preparing difficult cuts, sauces, and extras
• Charcuterie, including history, general science, principles, and tooling up
• The economics and parameters for responsible meat production.

Eating diversely may be the most revolutionary action we can take to ensure the sustainability of our food system. The Ethical Meat Handbook 2nd Edition challenges us to take a hard look at our dietary choices, increase self-reliance, and enjoy delicious food that benefits our health and our planet.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781771423120
Publisher:	New Society Publishers
Publication date:	09/17/2021
Series:	Mother Earth News Books for Wiser Living
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	20 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	16 Years

About the Author

Meredith Leigh has worked as a farmer, butcher, chef, teacher, non-profit executive director, consultant, and writer for the past 17 years, all in the pursuit of sustainable food. She has amassed a wealth of experience and perspective in re-imagining mindful foodways, and focuses particularly on supply chain development, whole systems thinking, and the cultural implications of food activism. She is passionate about integrated agriculture that includes plants and animals in dynamic rotation, soil and food microbiology, and food preservation. She is the author of Pure Charcuterie: The Craft&Poetry of Curing Meats at Home, and has written for Mother Earth News, GRIT, Crop Stories, and Edible Asheville. She travels extensively teaching charcuterie and food production and processing to chefs, butchers, home cooks, and farmers. She lives with her partner and four children in Asheville, NC.

Meredith Leigh has worked as a farmer, butcher, chef, teacher, non profit executive director, consultant, and writer for the past 17 years, all in the pursuit of sustainable food. She travels extensively teaching charcuterie and food production and processing to chefs, butchers, home cooks, and farmers. She lives with her partner and four children in Asheville, NC.

Table of Contents

Introduction to the Second Edition

SECTION 1: THE ETHICAL MEAT EATER
Introduction
1. Buying Differently
2. Cooking Differently
3. Eating Different Things
4. General Notes on Raising, Cooking, and Eating Animals
     Slaughter
     Notes on Cooking and Eating Muscle
     Disclaimers
5. Butchery Tools and Tips
6. The Non-Farming Omnivore
     Activism
     Sourcing
     Butchers and Butcher Shops
     Buying Options
          Buying Cooperatively
          Buying Whole but Small
          Pricing and Terms
     Space and Storage for Home Butchery

SECTION 2: RAISING ANIMALS FOR FOOD
7. Beef
     Raising Beef
     Breeds
     Feed and Minerals
     Space and Water
     Fencing

8. Lamb
     Raising Lamb
     Breeds
     Space and Water
     Fencing
     Feed and Minerals

9. Pork
     Raising Pigs
     Breeds
     Space and Water
     Fencing
     Feed and Minerals

10. Poultry
     Raising Poultry
     Breeds
     Housing and Fencing
     Feed, Minerals, and Water
     Additional Consideration
     Home Slaughter

SECTION 3: BUTCHERY
11. Beef Butchery
     The Forequarter
     The Chuck and Brisket
     The Rib and Plate
     The Hindquarter
     The Flank, Loin, and Sirloin
     The Round
12. Lamb Butchery
     The Shoulder
     The Rib
     The Saddle
     The Leg
13. Pork Butchery
14. Poultry Butchery
     Deboning

SECTION 4: WHOLE ANIMAL COOKERY
15. Cooking with Beef
     Beef and Lovage Sausage
     Braised Beef Shank Tacos with Herb and Caper Salsa
     Beef Bacon
     Beef Tallow
     Beef Jerky
     Beef Stock
     Bresaola
     Sauces and Sundries for Beef
          Pickled Red Onion
          Bone Marrow Horseradish Sauce
          Queso Fresco
          Anchovy Butter
16. Cooking with Lamb
     Earl Grey Braised Lamb Shank with Herb Dumplings
     Lime Curry Lamb Sausage with Dosas and Raita
     Fire-Cooked Lambchetta with Apricot and Rosemary
     Sous Vide Hogget Rib with Orange, Fennel, and Honey Marmalade
     Roast Leg of Goat with Mustard, Capers, and Marjoram
     Bourbon- and Sorghum-Glazed Lamb Spare Ribs
     Sauces and Sundries for Lamb
          Broiled Tomatillo Salsa
          Red Wine Mushrooms
          Ginger Mint Cilantro Chutney
          Grilled Artichoke Salad with Smoked Paprika Aioli
17. Cooking with Pork
     Pulled Pork with Hot Vinegar Sauce, Chow Chow, and Corn Pancakes
     Pork Banh Mi Sandwiches with Quick Pickles
     Braised Pork Ribs with Rooster Sauce and Balsamic
     Chicharron with Apple Butter and Cilantro Crème Fraîche
     Lard
     Pork Tourtiere
     Basic Pie Crust
     Breakfast Scrapple with Arugula, Eggs, and Maple Syrup
     Porchetta with Persimmon, Chestnut, and Pine
     Sauces and Sundries for Pork
          Barbeque Sauce
          Sauerkraut
          Apple Butter
          Bread and Butter Pickles
18. Cooking with Poultry
     Spatchcocked Roasted Chicken with Lemon and Fresh Herbs
     Chicken Ballotine, Three Ways
     Chicken Cardamom Sausage
     Fried Chicken
     Duck Confit
     Duck Rillettes
     Sauces and Sundries for Poultry
          Quick Buttermilk Drop Biscuits
          Milk Gravy
          Pesto
19. Charcuterie
     Salt
     Temperature
     Humidity
     Smoke
     pH
     Nitrites and Nitrates
     Getting Started with Fresh Sausage
          Preparation
          Grinding
          Stuffing
          Drying
          Cooking
     Breakfast Sausages
     Chorizo
     Herbes de Provence Sausages
     Garlic Orange Bratwurst
     Pâtés, Terrines, and Meat Specialties
          Preparation
          Grinding
          Molding
          Cooking
          Cooling
     Liver Pâté
     Headcheese
     Beef Bologna
     Whole Muscle Cures
     Bacon
     Smoking Meats
     Pancetta Stesa
     Prosciutto
     Coppa or Capicola
     Lardo
     Smoked Fiochetto Ham
     Fermented Sausages
     Basic Salami
     Fennel Salami with Nutmeg and Wine
     Pepperoni
20. Conclusion

Appendix 1: Beef Cuts Diagram
Appendix 2: Lamb Cuts Diagram
Appendix 3: Pork Cuts Diagram
Appendix 4: Resources for Further Study
     Books
     Suppliers, Websites, and Support Organizations
Thanks and Praise
Index
About the Author
A Note about the Publisher

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Meredith Leigh is, in her own words, "a lifelong pilgrim for food," but not just any food. She is a pilgrim for living food, real food, and food produced within intricately balanced natural systems, which, Leigh gently and elegantly reminds us, we can either live peacefully and humbly within or fight tooth and nail against. This book is for anyone looking to become an active, thoughtful participant in an intricate and always changing living system of food, community, and deliciousness."
— Camas Davis, executive director of the Good Meat Project, founder of the Portland Meat Collective

"Community. Vitality. Deliciousness. The Ethical Meat Handbook is more than a dive into butchering, it's a look into our ecosystem and taking back our planet through good food and through mindful sourcing and eating in our day to day lives. Meredith Leigh has a visionary approach towards ethical slaughter, whole animal utilization, and being aware of the world around you. This book is an essential read for meat eaters, and non-meat eaters alike, as it is a head first dive into our agricultural system that sheds light on the age-old importance of raising, and eating, healthy and sustainable livestock."
— William S. Dissen, executive chef and owner of The Market Place Restaurant, Haymaker Restaurant, and Billy D's Fried Chicken

"This book is practical, yes, but it's also deeply personal. Meredith Leigh will teach you how to raise animals, butcher them, and cook and cure their meat. Even better, she explains what it means and why it matters, and her passion is infectious. After reading this book, I longed to smell the deep funk of the barn, to feel the squish of mud beneath my chore boots, to heft a butcher knife in my hand."
— Mark Essig, author of Lesser Beasts: A Snout-to-Tail History of the Humble Pig

"Meredith Leigh is an unassuming superhero of the meat supply chain. She has taken a subject so often presented in the extreme ... either in the toughness of the butcher or the evilness of the industry to begin with and presented the nuance of real life while pulling no punches; delivering on every single point. In the tale of the life, death, and consumption of the animal to sustain us, Leigh alternates between the role of hands on expert, social and environmental activist, and inspired poet. Apply Leigh's comprehensive research and practical knowledge to your food choices ... then apply her style of living, learning, and teaching to whatever you do next."
— Joshua Lewin, chef and owner of Juliet and Peregrine

"For the growing number of people looking to eat better meat, this book is invaluable: deeply thoughtful while accessible and pragmatic. It asks the right questions and answers them brilliantly."
— Nicolette Hahn Niman, author of Defending Beef and Righteous Porkchop.

"The Ethical Meat Handbook is an inspirational must-read for anyone who eats food. Meredith Leigh champions for the respectful and ethical treatment of animals and those who raise and grow our food. This is thoughtful book for meat eaters and vegetarians alike."
— Cassidee Dabney, The Barn at Blackberry Farm

"The Ethical Meat Handbook, 2nd Edition elegantly invites the reader, as an eater, to consider food systems and how our choices (not always easy) can be the most radical thing we can do in regard to the health of our planet, our soils, our farmers, our communities, and ourselves. This is a must read for anyone looking to find something they can do at the home level to impact our planet's crisis positively. Leigh deftly and elegantly helps us, the consumers of food, understand the intricacies of the production of our food and consumption habits. She paints an honest, yet hopeful picture. The Ethical Meat Handbook, 2nd Edition is wise, practical, and flexible, offering the reader a chance to dip in to any aspect from husbandry and butchery to charcuterie or nose to tail cooking."
— Kirsten K. Shockey, food educator and author of Fermented Vegetables and Miso, Tempeh, Natto, and other Tasty Ferments

"I was only pages into reading when I was both surprised and delighted to realize that what I thought was a glorified cookbook was a much more dignified and intellectual look at the farm-to-table meat industry. I will definitely keep this book in my arsenal of educational tools, and I know I'll will refer to it again and again."
— Brianna Hagell, owner/head butcher of Vessel Meats and local food advocate

"As a chef or anyone who gives a damn about the preparation and consumption of food, this book is a must-read. Witnessing Meredith mindfully slaughter a hogette from start to finish was a profound and emotional experience that I only fully realized after reading her words. She understands the complexity of our modern-day food system and offers real-life, unabashedly honest, informative, no bull shit possibilities towards ethical, sustainable, and delicious change."
— Ann Kim, Chef, owner of Young Joni, Pizzeria Lola, Hello Pizza, and Sooki & Mimi

"This is an essential guide for anyone interested in where their food comes from and how to start raising it for themselves. It's a perfect reference book, covering topics such as; how our food should be produced, good animal husbandry and how that benefits us all, excellent photos with clear and thorough descriptions of full carcass, nose to tail butchery, and it even has some great recipes. Meredith Leigh shows us how we can all make a difference in our local communities and benefit from a symbiotic relationship with our Mother Earth."
— Louisa Halewell, owner of Little Black Pig

"The Ethical Meat Handbook is not just a "carnivores guide" to meat. It provides keen insight on our responsibility to the land, agriculture, and the Farmers that tend to it; it takes a deep dive into Food Access, Food Privilege, and what it means to redefine the way we approach meat preparation from slaughter to plate. This work is an eye-opener with regards to respectfully approaching the animals that sacrifice life for our sustenance as well as our bodies by reimagining the American dining experience."
— Elle Scott, founder of SheChef Inc

"The Ethical Meat Handbook is at once profound, poetic, and practical. Those of us who care deeply about the nourishment we give our bodies, the compacts we make with other living beings, and the future of this earth, realize that ours must be an ever-evolving understanding of what is right, sustainable, and good. In this, the second edition of her masterwork, Meredith Leigh shares new information for our decision making, deeper insights for our spirit, and thoughtfully crafted recipes for our tables, as well as for our lives."
— Ronni Lundy author of Victuals, An Appalachian Journey with Recipes, James Beard Cookbook of the Year, 2017

"The second edition of Meredith Leigh's The Ethical Meat Handbook is a poetic call to action for every modern day omnivore. What a relief to have a tool that isn't just some morose view on what's wrong with the food system but rather a practical instruction manual on how to contribute to lasting change. These pages are packed within critical information for every meat consumer from professional butchers, to novice culinary enthusiasts. Meredith's incredible attention to detail and respect for every living microorganism in the ecosystem is apparent in every chapter. Leigh takes an honest and balanced look at current farming systems a produces a fun guide to sourcing, purchasing, utilization, and fun recipes for all meat. She doesn't act as the ultimate authority with all the answers, rather shares her findings and invites the reader to embark on a journey with her even past what is between these pages. This educational text reads like you're having a coffee with your favorite person."
— Mavis-Jay Sanders, executive chef and social equity advocate

"Meredith Leigh has given us a refreshing and holistic perspective in The Ethical Meat Handbook. Even as a professional chef I feel challenged decoding which meats align with my ideals. The information in this book has empowered me to make more informed choices and somehow at the same time left me feeling like I had dinner in the home of a very heartfelt and thoughtful cook."
— Mike Lata Chef, co-owner of FIG and The Ordinary