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

As a I was growing up, we would always slaughter a pig during the fall. The whole family would gather for this event. My uncle would arrive with their knives sharpen and ready to go. I was always amazed at the way my uncles butchered the pig but I always wonder as to where all the cuts came from. Most of the meat of the pig slaughtered that day was cooked into chicharones or carnitas so I really did not see where a pork chop or a ham came from. This book not only tells me but it shows how to. It is an excellent source for someone who would like to do this as well as someone who want to know where the cuts come from when buying meat at your local meat market. I for one enjoyed reading this and looking at the detailed photos. I've even gotten the urge to buy me a whole hog and try to make me some chops. Ryan Farr knows his meat and cuts and shows you how it's done. I highly recommend this book.

This book is exactly what I was looking for!!! It has step by step process of breaking down a whole animal into cuts. Each page is full of excellent pictures. Also a lite diagram at the top showing you where the cut came from on the animal. Awesome book!!!! Thos book is a must have for the library collection.

It's a good book with a lot answers to questions. I think it could have used both west and east coast names for the different cuts of meat, but all in all a good book for beginners.

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 usefulAnd 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!

I am not a Foodie and I don't cook all that well. So why in the name of good cooks would I read Ryan Farr's book let alone suggest you read it too? Because I found it intriguing that someone would write a book about cutting up things that won't fit in a refrigerator (until, of course, you cut it up). There is another reason. I believe I don't cook well because recipes aren't written well. There is always some minuscule detail left out that apparently any slob should know that is paramount to culinary success. Ryan is detailed enough for even me to "get it!" Ryan writes like he is your friend and you are having an everyday conversation. I suppose most cookbooks are printed on shinny paper for easy clean up should a particle of the recipe become airborne and land on the page. I prefer the non-glare paper utilized in this book. Little things do make a difference. This is just one illustration of Mr. Farr's detail orientation. If you read nothing more than the book's dedication and acknowledgement you will have met a truly beautiful person. Thank you Ryan Farr!!

This is about making meat into cuts of meat (there is nothing about "harvesting" an animal, just what to do with it afterwards). We've been looking for a comprehensive book with this kind of information. We purchased this one.

We’ve processed our own meats(mainly deer) for a while now. The contents of the book is exactly what we were looking for, more details about butcher quality cuts. I read the kindle version and was so excited about getting the printed version. I’m disappointed in the quality of the printed book. The cover quality is really nice. The pictures inside and smaller than I expected and low average quality. I wanted to buy the sausage book as well but now I’m reconsidering.

Very simple, laid out well in detail, step by step directions of how to disassemble a barnyard or pastured animal into the well formed pieces known as food. I appreciated the blunt nature of the book and the authors insistence on cleanliness and keeping your cutting tack in as good a condition as possible.If you are raising a hobby farm or you want to butcher animals yourself, an excellent starter guide.

This book is full of picture and really easy to understand. I was looking for a book showing me exactly how to cut my own meat. A book with all the information about butchery and not slaughtering. It took me forever to figure out how to make all the pieces of chicken you can find in the store and make it look like in the store without any help or book to show me how. I do raise pig also but it was too hard for me to try to cut my own meat. With this book I feel confident enough to try to cut my own porc chop, picnic ham, spare ribs, etc. I was able to get the meat from the head of the pig but after reading the book I realize I was giving myself a hard time because I wasn't using the right technique. This book show you how to butcher beef, lamb and pork. I do know how to slaughter an animal and this book doesn't talk about that. This book will not show you how to get from live animal to steak. It will show you how to break down a whole animal and utilize the entire carcass. It covers the basic cuts step by step. It tells you the basic guidelines, the tools to use, some important techniques to have and some recipes to use does uncommon cuts.

Simply superb. I've got many books on the subject (Mettler, Grigson, HFW etc) but this is just excellent and stands head and shoulders above the others. I love most of the books in my butchery library (HFW's are great too) but if I were limited to just one, it would be this one. I'm a Chef with my own farm and restaurant and I rear, slaughter and butcher my own livestock. I've read many books over the years but never have I come across a book that so simply, so concisely and so expertly demonstrates butchery and meat cookery. It's beautifully bound and very well made, stylish, concise and the photos are superb. Nothing has been overlooked and somehow vast quantities of information have been distilled into remarkably few pages. A work of genius. And no, I don't know Ryan Farr or Bridget Binns, though I wish I did, so I could thank them energetically and enthusiastically for creating such a masterpiece.

I was hoping for more recipes. This book is better for those who want to learn how to butcher a whole animal. A lot of the pages explain how to cut off pieces of the animal...many instructions include using a saw as you will need to cut through bone. I understood that this book would be heavily based on butchery wish there were more recipes available.

The best book out there. Farr is a meat wizard and the book is so easy to follow. Great photo's and clear explanations. The money you'll save first time around will more than pay for the book. The art of butchery is back and here to stay thanks to this book.

A clear simple and concise book, good illustration and definitely takes the mystery out of butchery!