Cover Image: Beef It Up!

Beef It Up!

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Member Reviews

The perfect gift for the meat lover in your life. This book sets the scene with all the information you could need about the different types and cuts of beef and how you can identify them and the best ways to prepare them . Following this there is a whole array of recipes using the various cuts of beef.

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More than 50 recipes. This book begins with very comprehensive coverage on cuts of beef, shopping for beef, storage and handling, cooking methods, salt as the key seasoning, and kitchen tools.. It's written for a US audience, so cuts differ, but the majority of the extremely useful information applies to a UK audience too.

Recipes are appealing, though non- traditional. The pasta Bolognese recipe includes cream for example.

Very useful for a beginner, and perhaps with nuggets of wisdom and ideas for a more experienced cook too.

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What a great cookbook for anyone beginning to cook or those looking for more ideas to add to their repertoire. Eating a variety of foods is good for one’s health and beef is a part of that diet.
This cookbook offers a tremendous variety of recipes. Numerous recipes of all kinds including Southwest Steak Salad (I love beef on my salads) and Spicy Hand Pies. Then there are several sauce recipes that I can hardly wait to try. So no matter what mood you’re in, (Peanut-Beef Pad Thai anyone?), there’s a recipe for that.

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This book is going to cause me problems with my carnivore husband . I read him the list of recipes (he does not cook at all ) and he visibly drooled ! His opinion is that 'it's about time someone wrote a book with real food in, not stuff with weird ingredients', I have promised to make one recipe from this book a week and he will not let me forget. Well set out a good guide to buying beef with real traditional (and some nontraditional) recipes. Great for the meat eater. Happy husband.

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Despite the somewhat questionable title, this is actually a pretty good cookbook, assuming that you indeed eat meat and specifically like beef. I will admit that I never usually stick to a recipe completely (this is why baking is not for me) but there’s a lot to like about this collection of cooking inspiration. There’s a lot of classics that I’d forgotten about along with one or two newer things that I can’t say are for me, but certainly are interesting.

What I was very impressed by is the amount of information about beef and cooking different cuts that you get before even going near the recipes, along with some explanations about seasoning and general garnishes.

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This is a comprehensive, single subject cookery book, as the title suggests, with a lot of information about cuts of beef and how to select and get the beast from them. In terms of information, it’s helpful but my ‘beef’ with it is more about the recipe element.

If you are an inexperienced cook, looking for an introduction to different ways in which beef can be used, then I can imagine it being really helpful. However, if like me you are someone who cooks a lot and has lots of different recipe books, the ones I here are perhaps a little basic and rely too much on condiments as shortcuts to flavour eg ketchup, rather than a more complex build. This is fine when you’re in a rush or new to cooking but not as a general rule as there is an awful lot of sugar added to dishes in different forms.

I did try a couple of the recipes in order to ensure a fair review, such as the meatballs in sweet and sour sauce and they worked perfectly.

Easy to follow recipes.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Storey Publishing for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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What beautiful book - from the narrative, to the pictures then to the recipes themselves. I'll certainly be trying a few. Also refreshing to see a book about mat as opposed to vegan, etc. A breath of fresh air.!

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What a wonderful resource for all things beef! This well-written and researched book takes you from knowing what to look for in a good cut of beef to knowing which cut to use in your cooking to how to prepare many mouthwatering dishes. There is a lot of information that is well presented, easy to understand, and accompanied by beautiful photos and some terrific artwork as well. Really well done book ... pun intended!

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This lovely cookbook is set to release next year thanks to Netgalley I had the chance to read it early in exchange for an unbiased review.
Let's start by saying this book is absolutely great and I can't wait for the physical release to add it to my collection.
The recipes are easy to follow along, I loved the introduction to the different cuts of meat. I'm not huge on eating beef because I often don't know what to do with it. But this is informative and very easy to follow. The illustrations and photos are lovely!

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Thank you to @netgalley and publisher for this free eARC.
In one word this cookbook is - AMAZING!!!
From the first pages it is great - it leads you from the basics like what do you call each part of the meat, how to store it, how to cook it, etc...
The recipes are really good and they are explained very well. I can't wait to try them.
My praise for this cookbook.

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This is a nice cookbook. The recipes look easy to make and the photos are mouthwatering. I was expecting more steaks and beef recipes. There are some beef salads, burgers, soups, and a few steaks. I received a free digital copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

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This is a great cookbook if you have a ton of beef in your freezer and you aren't sure what to make out of it.

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I don't know about you but I get in a rut planning and cooking meals. This book if full of all kinds of new beef recipes to jazz up your weekday meals.
The cookbook starts with some informative features. There are pictures that show you the difference between Prime, Choice and Select cuts of meat. That was very helpful. There's charts of the different cuts of meat and how they are used along with optimal cooking methods. And the most mystifying chart of all; degrees of doneness as well as internal temperature.
Now to the food! There are recipes for everything from appetizers to full meals. Included in the recipes are how to cook in an air fryer if possible and freezing options. Soups look wonderful from cheeseburger to Italian meatball to beef and barley. Something for everyone. Then the main attractions, Shepherd's pie mac and cheese an interesting twist of two classics. Then the other classics of meatloaf, pot roast, and fajitas.

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Beef It Up! by Jessica Formicola is more than just your average cookbook, it features a lot of information about cuts of beef, how to cook it, defrosting and much more. The recipes a look really tasty and easy to follow. There is also a converter at the end of the book for anyone outside the US which is massively helpful.

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Oh my god! This book is perfect!!!!I loved this book!!!

I love how informative this book is - I learnt a lot about the different cuts of beef, and how best to cook them/season them as well as all the delicious recipes!
The photography is stunning! The recipes are gorgeous!
I hold nothing against vegans or vegetarians, but this book is such a celebration of meat - it's so nice to see when it seems a lot of people are very anti-meat these days.
So inspiring, so informative, and so gorgeous!

Loved this!

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We eat a lot of beef in my home; it’s everyone’s favorite. We try to get creative and try new things, but often fall into a routine. Let’s be honest, it is not the cheapest option for a meal. I feel empowered and encourage after reading Beef it Up! by Jessica Formicola. She does a great job of explaining how to cook beef and all the various cuts. She shows how simple and easy many of the dishes are and takes out the intimidation factor based on her own shared experiences. The recipes are mouthwatering and the photos due a stunning job of capturing the culinary delights waiting to be placed on your own dinner table.
I will make sure a copy of this takes up permanent residence in my kitchen library.
I received an advanced copy from the publisher via NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own, freely given.

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I expected a cookbook to inspire me with new beef-focused recipes. Instead, this book is a much more informative experience. There are not just recipes for new beef dishes, many of which are delicious, but also advice on which cut of beef to use and how to cook the perfect steak.

This is a must have for any meat-eating kitchen.

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This is much more than a book about beefy recipes, it's an educational experience. Tons of information about the various cuts of beef, how to cook.properly and of course tons of recipes ranging from humble hand lies to the fanciest steaks. A great addition to any kitchen!

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This is a book I’ve been waiting for. Not just a cookbook. This is a useful guide to beef. What cuts to use and how best to cook. Certainly a staple cookbook.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to see an arc

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Delish.. some of these sound amazing. i have book marked a few to make for a bbq this weekend. I cannot wait to see how i fair!

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