Animal fats are being welcomed back into the kitchen! Chefs and home cooks alike are rediscovering how fats create amazing texture — from the flakiest lard pie crust to the crispiest fried chicken — and define the flavor of a dish like authentic clam chowder with salt pork or duck fat French fries.The Fat Kitchen is the comprehensive guide to rendering and using whole animal fats, including lard, tallow, and poultry fat. Cooks will learn the distinctive qualities and best uses of each fat along with methods for curing and storing them. In addition, 100 scrumptious recipes highlight traditional cultural favorites like matzoh ball soup, pasta carbonara, pork tamales, roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, Southern-style collards, confit chicken, New England baked beans, and jelly doughnuts.

Andrea Chesman is the author of The Fat Kitchen as well as many other cookbooks that focus on traditional techniques and fresh-from-the-garden cooking. Her previous books include The Pickled Pantry, Serving Up the Harvest, 101 One-Dish Dinners, and The Backyard Homestead Book of Kitchen Know-How. She teaches and gives cooking demonstrations and classes across the United States. She lives in Ripton, Vermont. Michael Ruhlman is the author of The Elements of Cooking, The Soul of a Chef, and The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America, among others.