Butchering Poultry, Rabbit, Lamb, Goat, and Pork: The Comprehensive Photographic Guide to Humane Slaughtering and Butchering

Danforth, a butcher and professional butchering instructor, has created a stunning book, in both senses of the term. With precise lessons on how to stun, and then dispatch and dissect, chickens, rabbits, lambs, pigs, and goats, the author pulls no punches in offering an, at times, breathtaking guide through the paradoxical process of killing animals with compassion. The introduction advises that “slaughtering an animal is not for everyone,” and a quick glimpse of the photography is all readers need to determine if they qualify. Eviscerated hogs, a severed lamb’s head, and a duck being bled are all vividly presented. The opening chapter, “Muscle to Meat,” employs illustrations as well as photos as it tracks the transformation from “complex living system” to a well-aged cut, complete with discussion of fast- and slow-twitch fibers and the three stages of rigor mortis. Numerous tips and techniques are presented for assuring maximum calm with minimal suffering before the kill, and for carving racks of ribs and boneless tenderloins afterwards. For those who have embraced the farm to table movement and are ready to take matters into their own hands, this is required reading. For those whose consideration of meat and poultry begins and ends at the supermarket, it is a transformative wake-up call. [em](Mar.) [/em]