Eating.
Essential to each of us is consuming food for energy and life.
In The Whole Beast: Nose To Tail Eating, you are presented with the most illustrious recipes for all ingredients — from root vegetables to whole pigs.
Even if you’re not a chef, your horizons will be expanded with a sit down with The Whole Beast.
An Introduction by Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Bourdain beautifully shares an introduction for The Whole Beast that conveys the excitement for using an entire animal. It’s challenging to use the more obscure parts of animals, but the rewards are much — with tastes you may have never experienced before.
The more your try, the more you’ll continue trying.
A Few of My Favorite Recipes
A few of the recipes in The Whole Beast can be downright shocking, but this is all due to perception, immersion and culture. Any meat-eater is eating a part of an animal, so what makes another part any grosser?
The recipes that initially jumped out at me included:
- Pea and Pig’s Ear Soup
- Rolled Pig’s Spleen
- Duck Neck Terrine
- Cold Lamb’s Brain on Toast
- Deviled Kidneys
- Lamb’s Kidneys in Their Suet
- Giblet Stew
- Jellied Rabbit
- Chicken and Pig’s Trotter
- Poached Salted Duck Legs
Are you surprised? It’s easy to see Americans’ pallets aren’t so defined — and I appreciate the ability for someone to stomach eating the whole animal, a great show of respect for the taking of a life.
Revolt Against The Foodie
Although there has been a recent revolt against those proclaiming to be “foodies” — there should never be a lack of respect or worship for food.
Maybe the showiness and flagrant display of fancy cuisine can be balanced, but I believe there should always be a reverence for food. Taking the time to soak in the moment of what you’ve been given? Eat consciously? Chew your food?
Keep trying new foods, and keep giving to others.
