Beef Is Better With Biggles

I ate possibly the worst grilled beef brochettes ever today. There was no smoky char. The meat was tough, dry and tasteless. And it had me thinking of Tara Austen Weaver's autobiographical journey into the world of meat, The Butcher and the Vegetarian.

Though it reads like a novel, The Butcher and the Vegetarian is actually the true story of Weaver's long, slow descent into the everyday world of the carnivore, a place of fascination and disgust, far removed from her vegetarian upbringing.

Following doctor's orders to eat more protein, Weaver takes on this "prescription" like a research project, visiting ranches and slaughterhouses, getting to know the butchers who sell meat and the cooks who prepare it, like Biggles, the the man who created the food blog, Meathenge.  

"Try the roast." He urges me toward the large piece of meat I selected at the butcher counter. The garlic has practically melted into the meat as it cooked slowly off to the side of the grill. As Biggles slices it, I see that it's pink on the inside, slightly marbled but with a fine grain. I taste a slice. It is smooth and full of the flavor of beef. The garlic and rosemary remain in the background, a mere canvas for the meat. 

Just reading about Weaver's afternoon with Biggles, drinking beer at noon and grilling no less than six different types and cuts of meat--bacon, chicken, porchetta, lamb steaks, skirt steaks and the beef roast--all cooked to a turn, left my mouth watering. Weaver, that day, was smitten too. I know if she had tasted my beef brochette today, she never would have gone on to write her book. Thank you, Biggles!

The Butcher and the Vegetarian, Tara Austen Weaver, Rodale, 2010

--Tracy Schneider

Comments

[Family LifeBoat on March 20, 2011 at 01:45 PM]

We have a real butcher near us and he told us once he gets a lot of vegans coming for gifts for their friends.