A premium steak can be ruined by the wrong heat, while an inexpensive shoulder can become the best thing on the table. The difference is not luck. It is knowing what the cut needs. Prime Cuts helps home cooks understand what they are buying before they light the grill or heat the pan. William B. Neal connects butcher-counter terminology, muscle structure, tenderness, fat, collagen, temperature, and cooking technique into a practical system for choosing and preparing beef, pork, lamb, goat, game, chicken, turkey, duck, and more. Across ten chapters, readers learn how to read labels, judge marbling and usable yield, match each cut to direct heat, indirect heat, roasting, braising, smoking, barbecue, or slow cooking, and use thermometers, resting, carving, seasoning, brining, and smoke with less guesswork. Dedicated chapters cover the beef carcass, steaks, pork, lamb and game, poultry, live fire, and whole-animal value. Step-by-Step Procedures, Pro Tips, Mistakes to Avoid, Quick Reference tables, Comparison Matrices, and Key Concepts turn the science into decisions that work at the butcher counter and in the kitchen. Recipe applications show how the principles translate into roasts, chops, brisket, ribs, steaks, poultry, stocks, rendered fats, leftovers, and celebration centrepieces. Three practical appendices consolidate food-safety temperatures, cut-to-method matches, and scalable salt, brine, rub, and marinade ratios. This is not a recipe collection that expects one exact piece of equipment or one perfect cut. It is a working reference for making better decisions when names, budgets, serving times, and cooking conditions change.
