With the ever-increasing price of meat, especially the prime cuts, plump chops, rump etc, it’s good to know that there are more economical parts of the animal available –  bellies, cheeks, liver, hearts and shanks. In her book, Odd Bits: How to Cook the Rest of the Animal, Jennifer McLagan, introduces the reader to a wide variety of cheaper options to the more expensive cuts.

Jennifer is well versed in nose-to-tail eating, having already written two award-winning books, Bones and Fat, on the subject. In Odd Bits, she literally takes us on a food tour of the lesser-known parts of the animal, from delicious brawns or head cheeses, to pigs’ ears, cheeks, tongue, tripe, trotters and tail. And for the more adventurous, there are even mouthwatering recipes on the more obscure parts, from cockscombs, brains and sweetbreads, to spleens and testicles.

Apart from creative recipes, the book also goes into detail about how to prepare the various cuts of meat for cooking, as well as a rich background on the history of eating many of these more unusual cuts of meat.

As a strong believer in honouring the entire animal after slaughter, at Wickedfood Earth we welcome a book of this magnitude. We will certainly use this book as a source of reference when putting together cooking classes on sustainability at Wickedfood Country Cooking School.

Interested in buying this book? Visit – Red Pepper Books– The South African online bookshop, is able to offer you great prices on any book you are looking for, and they deliver to your door. Pay only R375 for this book (Recommended Retail Price = R440.00)  Red Pepper Books is offering Wickedfood Cooking School an EXTRA 10% off this book. Simply type in the promotional code WICKEDFOOD on the shipping page of the checkout process and your purchase will be reduced by a further 10%, a total saving of R65.