Pure Beef

Oregon’s Wallowa Valley is home to food journalist Curry, as well as the source of her in-depth knowledge of how to raise, slaughter, and prepare grass-fed cattle. In the first half of this, her first book, she shares the wisdom she has gleaned from local ranchers and the practices she has polished over years of experience. The reader is quick to buy in once Curry describes how grass-fed differs from grain-fed beef: “red as a beet instead of rosy pink... compact and firm like a relaxed bicep, not slack and yielding.” There are lessons on “how to cook like a butcher” and how to make the most of cuts that are generally leaner and smaller than their chemically enhanced, corn-stuffed counterparts. Part two of the book contains more than 125 recipes that span a vast spectrum of influences. In a chapter dedicated to steaks, variations range from chicken-fried to filet mignon in brandy sauce. And a section entitled “Global Beef Cuisine” travels from Korean barbecue and Turkish kabobs to Argentinean empanadas. A short list of online foodie databases is provided to aid in locating sources for pasture-raised meats. While a glossary of choice steak cuts is de rigueur, Curry raises the bar with additional glossaries of choice bones (for making great soups and stocks) and choice charcuterie cuts. Agent: Sarah Jane Freymann. (May)