Year of the Cow
Featured in Bon Appetit's "20 Food Books to Read This Summer," Los Angeles Magazine's "Summer Reading List for Foodies," Grub Street's "10 New Food Books to Read This Summer," and Food Tank's 2015 Recommended Fall Reading List.
Also available as an audiobook from Audible.com.
“A high-octane, thinking-man’s account of one guy’s quest to find meaning in life by cooking a grass-fed steer. The food descriptions and recipes could tempt even a vegan to order steak. You’ll never look at feedlot meat the same way.”
“A lively, informative, sometimes-intimate tale from his family’s adventure eating a freezer full of beef over two years of culinary and lifestyle changes…. The author braises his book in his family’s values [and] Stone’s revealing set pieces are warm, winning and welcome. Readers will feel like guests in their home, privy to private fears and joys as well as gastronomic triumphs and catastrophes.”
“A winsome, endearing, and revealing story, Stone’s nose-to-tail experience with a whole beef in his kitchen makes the daunting seem like can-do fun.... Epiphanies occur in unexpected places, but each one expresses the connections, responsibilities, and opportunities all of us share with food and the land. A truly enjoyable read.”
“This book tells how one cow purchased from a thoughtful farmer and then lovingly prepared and eaten by an exuberant amateur chef and his young family transformed their lives and could transform yours (even if you never buy a cow). Year of the Cow will help new legions of eaters discover how their food choices impact their health and why it’s so important to understand where the food on their tables comes from and how it was produced. Anyone only slightly interested in such things won’t be disappointed. Stone’s tale of transformation is spiced with good humor, telling anecdotes, and a highly engaging narrative. Share it with those you care about.”
“‘Year of the Cow’ achieves a kind of literary umami, the savory ‘fifth taste’ celebrated in Japan — a book that is more than the sum of its primals.”
This is the story of a man, a cow, and a question: What am I eating?
After realizing he knew more about the television on his wall than the food on his plate, award-winning TV producer and amateur chef Jared Stone buys 420 pounds of beef directly from a rancher and embarks on a hilarious and inspiring culinary adventure. With the help of an incredibly supportive wife and a cadre of highly amused friends, Jared offers a glimpse at one man’s family as they try to learn about their food and ask themselves what’s really for dinner.
Year of the Cow follows the trials and tribulations of a home cook as he begins to form a deeper relationship with food and the environment. From meeting the rancher who raised his cow to learning how to successfully pack a freezer with cow parts, Stone gets to know his bovine and delves into our diets and eating habits, examining the ethnography of cattle, how previous generations ate, why environmentalists and real food aficionados are mad for grass-fed beef, why certain cuts of beef tend to end up on our plates (while boldly experimenting with the ones that don’t), and much more.
Over the course of dozens of nose-to-tail meals, Jared cooks his way through his cow armed with a pioneering spirit and a good sense of humor. He becomes more mindful of his diet, makes changes to his lifestyle, and bravely confronts challenges he never expected—like how to dry beef jerky without attracting the neighborhood wildlife to the backyard, and how to find deliciousness in the less-common cuts of meat like the tongue and heart—sharing a recipe at the end of each chapter.
By examining the food that fuels his life and pondering why we eat the way we do, Jared and his family slowly discover to how live a life more fully—and experience a world of culinary adventures along the way.
Available wherever books are sold and as audiobook from Audible.com.
