Home cooking for the adventurous.

This definitive 342-page resource for the modern meat lover, with 125 recipes and fully-illustrated step-by-step instructions for making brined, smoked, cured, skewered, braised, rolled, tied, and stuffed meats at home, comes from the founders of The Fatted Calf, a craft charcuterie shop in San Francisco. It includes a guide to sourcing, butchering, and cooking with the finest cuts, and more than 250 full-color photographs, this instructive and inspiring tome is a comprehensive resource for anyone fascinated by the art of preserving meat.

Other essentials from the Fatted Calf include a ball (3" x 3") of 100% cotton, 16-ply butcher's twine and a set of spices to help you master your own charcuterie at home. The spices include:

• al'Diavolo: A custom organic blend for cooking over fire, this dry rub is best when blended with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and citrus zest. Includes black pepper, coriander, chili flake, mustard seed, oregano, spanish paprika, and cayenne.
• Herbes de Provence: Inspired by the south of France, this mixture is excellent in marinades, as a rub for grilled and roasted meats, and as a seasoning blend for sausage and salami. Includes bay leaves, rosemary, thyme leaves, oregano leaves, and lavender buds.
• Quatre épices: Despite its name, which means "four spices" in French, this blend never seems to keep a close count on the number of its ingredients. Used extensively in pate, forcemeat, and sausage making, it can also be used as an all purpose seasoning when a dish just needs a little kick. Includes black pepper, white pepper, coriander, cloves, and dried ginger.