Butcher on the Block (Matt Moore)

Sometimes, the best way to get the best recipes is to just talk to your butcher. It’s an age-old adage that Matt Moore, author of Serial Griller and South's Best Butts and grandson of a butcher, took to heart—he’s traveled around the country and beyond to do just that. In Butcher on the Block, he shares stories, coveted family recipes, and expert tips from the people behind the counter who sell your meats, poultry, fish, vegetables, and trimmings.

This all-inclusive book is carved into three separate sections:

Butchering Primer, a quick prep of what a home cook might need to begin butchering at home, including step-by-step photographs of how to break down a chicken, fillet a fish, prep a bone-in pork chop, and slice up a beef tenderloin.

Butcher Profiles, with behind-the-counter access and specialty recipes from renowned butchers and butcher shops around the world, including Hing Lung Company in San Francisco; Cara Mangini, author of The Vegetable Butcher; Red’s Best in Boston; Maison Mallard in France; and Tommie Kelly—the butcher at Matt’s own local Kroger’s. With recipes like Grilled Honey BBQ Chicken Wings with Ginger Scallion Sauce, DiSalvo’s Porchetta, and Matt’s grandfather’s Kibbeh Nayyeh (Lebanese-style tartare), you can simultaneously travel the country and meet the butcher on your block.

And lastly, Matt’s own highly praised recipes, for grilling, barbecue, and all-around cooking to further your own butchering techniques—or to just cook what you get from the butcher’s. Recipes cover it all, from appetizers, sides, salads to meaty mains (including game) and vegetables—even desserts and drinks:

• Grilled Corn “Ribs”
• Bacon Buttermilk Cornbread
• Egg Drop Soup with Pork Belly Cracklins
• Roasted Bone Marrow with Country Bread
• Hangar Steak “New-Vide”
• Catch-all Paella
• Bacon Boulevardier
• Alaskan Ice Cream

If you’re looking for exciting new cooking techniques, delicious recipes, good stories, and to support and celebrate local businesses, look no further than Butcher on the Block.