Jack Ubaldi's Meat Book: A Butcher's Guide to Buying, Cutting, and Cooking Meat

A retired butcher who teaches at the New York Restaurant School, Ubaldi shares a lifetime of butchering know-how and offers recipes as choice as his ingredients. His European heritage and travels, plus his love of good food, contribute to dishes like chicken Tuscany and braciole (beef roll) alla Bolognese. Many recipes require a good bit of preparation, but Ubaldi's commonsensical approach makes them manageable (on roast suckling pig: ""Be careful to measure your oven first before you buy the pig''). There are instructions for dressing a deer, curing pork and preparing prosciutto. But it is Ubaldi's knowledge of what lies behind the plastic-wrapped package in the supermarket that will appeal to those who want good value for their meat dollar. His discussions of the structures of the various animals are particularly helpful. Food writer Crossman has aided Ubaldi in presenting a very readable and useful guide. Illustrations not seen by PW. BOMC/Cooking & Crafts Club main selection. (February 27)