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Pig Perfect: Encounters with Remarkable Swine and Some Great Ways to Cook Them
What Bill Bryson did for trees and walking shoes and Mark Kurlansky did for cod, Peter Kaminsky now does for pork in Pig Perfect 'I love ham and I love this book.' -Annie Dillard o you crave a juicy pork chop An old-time country ham Or maybe some Southern-style barbecue Then you'll want to join Peter Kaminsky on his pilgrimage in search of the perfect pig. Part travelogue, part cookbook, part naturalist's encounter, and part love letter, Kaminsky's book takes us from Kentucky, Burgundy, and Madrid to the Yucatn and back to Brooklyn to tell the tale of the pig. From the wondrous techniques of tailgate chefs to Mayan home cooking, competitive barbecuing, and the ancient rite of the pig killing that has bound communities together over the centuries, Pig Perfect brings together an oddball pork-loving band of chefs, farmers, and food lovers and offers a tasty history of the oft underappreciated pig.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published May 11, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 5, 2013
A wonderful book that details the authors quest to find the finest ham available. It is interesting both as a travel memoir as well informative account of the pig industry both historically and currently. Potential readers should be cautioned that this is a difficult book to read on an empty stomach. I had a curious craving for ham, pork chops and bacon for a good portion of the book.
The best, or perhaps worst, depending how one looks at it, part of the book is the description of the factory farmed pigs at the end. Without the extensive guilt mongering of a PETA ad, the book provided a wealth of excellent reasons why factory farming is so terribly unethical. It is well known that factory farms are not pleasant places for the animals and that alone should likely be reason enough to stay away from them, but there were many other reasons given. One is that there is extensive pollution caused by the waste of the pigs. The concentration is too great for the amount of area that is used. Furthermore, there are a ton of antibiotics given to the animals to prevent the inevitable disease that would otherwise sweep through the closely packed animals. This leads to the accelerated risk of bacteria evolving immunity to the current types of antibiotics. The stench from the farms is overwhelming. The animals and farmers have far greater satisfaction on conventional style farms and not least important, the meat from the free range hogs is far superior.
The book did a great job of showing the benefits and beauty of the historical ways of raising hogs and the joy that comes from the resulting barbeque!
The best, or perhaps worst, depending how one looks at it, part of the book is the description of the factory farmed pigs at the end. Without the extensive guilt mongering of a PETA ad, the book provided a wealth of excellent reasons why factory farming is so terribly unethical. It is well known that factory farms are not pleasant places for the animals and that alone should likely be reason enough to stay away from them, but there were many other reasons given. One is that there is extensive pollution caused by the waste of the pigs. The concentration is too great for the amount of area that is used. Furthermore, there are a ton of antibiotics given to the animals to prevent the inevitable disease that would otherwise sweep through the closely packed animals. This leads to the accelerated risk of bacteria evolving immunity to the current types of antibiotics. The stench from the farms is overwhelming. The animals and farmers have far greater satisfaction on conventional style farms and not least important, the meat from the free range hogs is far superior.
The book did a great job of showing the benefits and beauty of the historical ways of raising hogs and the joy that comes from the resulting barbeque!
July 18, 2012
There is some great information in here about the history of swine and how we have interacted with them in the US and in other countries and how their physical evolution is tied to landscape. Also some great, but basic information, about how industrial farming affects the environment, the quality of the food we eat, and the flavor of the food we eat. And after reading how serrano ham is made, I can kinda understand why the US doesn't permit importationg. But I would still totally eat it if I could get my hands on it. That said I wasn't as impressed by the book as I'd hoped. There were far too many "OMG! Midwesterners are so chatty! Southerners are so nice!" Well, bless his heart, he just doesn't understand the ways of the non-New Yorker.
February 22, 2013
Peter Kaminsky loves all things porcine. He loves it from piglets to pork roasts. He loves it from breeding-stock genetics to artisinally-cured hams. In this book, he pursues his love from villages in France and Spain to gas stations and general stores alongside blue highways in the Old South. He tracks the descendents of the pigs which Spanish conquistadors brought to America. He even makes a theological/cultural excursus to consider why pork is prohibited to Jews and Muslims. Recipes, some his own and some lent by others, are interspersed. Kaminsky is a Renaissance kinda guy. He is a good writer with lots of credentials in magazines like "Field and Stream." He is a funny writer, having been the managing editor of "National Lampoon." He is a foodie writer, having written a column called "The Underground Gourmet" for New York Magazine. This excellent book ends with an intense (but not preachy) appeal for sustainable agriculture and husbandry and a condemnation of factory farms. He is, of course, absolutely correct.
February 23, 2007
Anyone who knows me understands how much I relate to the author's passion for cured pork. There were a couple chapters that I coudln't get into, but tthis was for the most part a fun pork adventure that takes you from New York to the Deep South, to the hills of Spain, and back to an island off the Eastern Seaboard in search of a properly fat american pig. Funny--you wouldn't think fat american pigs would be hard to find.
Note, a story of the author's search for great pork, and not a cookbook. When he eats a great dish, he usually follows it up with the recipe (or something similar), but they're a bonus...not the reason for reading.
Note, a story of the author's search for great pork, and not a cookbook. When he eats a great dish, he usually follows it up with the recipe (or something similar), but they're a bonus...not the reason for reading.
July 15, 2008
I learned that large scale pork production, or any animal raising using confined pens, antibiotics, or any otherwise unnatural method to raise these animals is devastating to the land, the surrounding water, and to the people's livelihood it serves.
I read , and then sought out the Iberian ham mentioned in this book that was raised free range on a diet of acorns and I will never eat eat willingly a lean, tasteless, american white hog that was feed slop and antibiotics.
And that is only two small things I learned.
I read , and then sought out the Iberian ham mentioned in this book that was raised free range on a diet of acorns and I will never eat eat willingly a lean, tasteless, american white hog that was feed slop and antibiotics.
And that is only two small things I learned.
June 3, 2011
Really enjoyed this book. Great mix of anthropology, environmental/food activism, good stories, and great recipes. Peter Kaminsky takes the reader through a history of human consumption of pig products, focusing on the aging and preservation of whole hams. He tells the story as he travels to different parts of the world, experiencing how different cultures have embraced ham. Through this exploration of history and world culture, he critiques the monoculture, factory farming that plagues meat production in the United States - all the while offering great ham recipes.
March 15, 2011
As a great ham-lover, I was really looking forward to this, particularly given the glowing comments from Thomas Keller and Mario Batali. I found the writing flat and the research lacking. There were some interesting points made, but in the end, I was frustrated that Kaminsky didn't do more with the material he had, which had a lot of potential.
Full review here:
http://desperadopenguin.blogspot.com/...
Full review here:
http://desperadopenguin.blogspot.com/...
February 13, 2008
Knowledge, care, time, and a little magic. That's what makes the best wine, the best cheese, the best bread. It makes the best ham, too. And if you're going to eat pig, it might as well be free-range black Iberian hog, acorn-fed, salt-cured, smoked, and aged . . . "consumed as if it were a Eucharistic wafer."
Glad I'm a carnivore.
Recipes included!
Glad I'm a carnivore.
Recipes included!
August 20, 2008
One man's journey to discover the secrets of the perfect ham. He travels Europe and N America finding answers to breed selection, feeding practices and curing techniques. This is a travel book with great stories about the people and places he encounters.
June 11, 2013
I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I had previously read Culinary Intelligence by the same author. He writes very well and if you love good food and reading about food this book is quite recommendable.
July 29, 2013
Hog lovers, this is the book for you. A quest for the best in pork with a few recommendations for hams, barbecue, and how to raise 'em. Also an interesting side trip with thoughts on why the Old Testament forbade God's chosen people to eat pork.
July 21, 2009
Good stories about one of my favorites topics: pork! Easy reading!
Want to read
February 22, 2010Obsessed with pork what to feed them how they taste
March 15, 2011
A solid foodie micro-history, but didn't really deliver on the recipes. My complete review is at http://colreads.blogspot.com/2011/03/...
Read
July 27, 2011I enjoyed it but it kind of dragged on after a while
August 4, 2012
What a great read - Kaminsky informs and entertains
March 3, 2008
It lead me to my true love, Iberian ham
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews