Kutas' book, Any good?

[J.P.]

I've heard that Rytek Kutas' Book is supposed to be a 'definitive' sausage and meat book.

Is it really great?

Before I buy it, was thought I'd ask.

Thanks.

[TomSak]

I think it's a very informative read, not only on sausage making but also for curing and smoking. It has an extensive list of recipes as well. Rytec was a Polish immigrant to the United States who learned the art of sausage making from his parents. He took that knowledge and grew it into several successful sausage shops in the U.S.A.. With his time in the U.S.A. the book also includes many �American style� sausages such as Summer Sausage.

[2chucks]

I read it hand have his video. Both are excellent. I would recommend both.

[mosler]

Rytek's book was very important for my learning process too. This was esspecially true for my smoking approach. Good for fresh sausage and general knowledge, invaluable for the smoking info in there.

[sausagejoe]

Kutas second edition (the hard bound copy) is better than the original loose leaf copy. The recipes in the second addition have been refined and put into a more usable format.

[Lance Yeoh]

I'm sourcing for this book right now, gonna cost quite a bit, I really hope it's worth it.

[BBQer]

So far it is the only sausagemaking book I have, so I can't compare it to others, but it sure seems to cover all the details of the craft from equipment to ingredients to method, plus a large collection of recipes.

It came highly recommended from several sources.

Here is the primary source.

[dougal]

I understand that the book is well regarded in North America.

Anyone in the UK got an opinion on it?

[vinner]

Frsnkly, I think it os okay. Only okay. I actually prefer Charcuterie. But, he does have severl hundred recipes. This site and Len Poli's site offer as much and with questions answered to boot.


However, I collect cookbooks, so I have my Kutak.

[Lance Yeoh]

Heard that there's a new edition of Kutas Book coming out, anyone got any updates?

[vagreys]

Heard that there's a new edition of Kutas Book coming out, anyone got any updates?

3rd Edition, revised by Ben Kutas, published January, 2007. Still lists Rytek Kutas as the author. Don't know what the differences are between the Revised (2nd) Edition and the 3rd.

[Lance Yeoh]

Woooohoooooo!!! I've got my Kutas! Thank you Borders.
Finally after waiting for sooooo long I've got it. I just collected it about 1 hour ago. Can't wait to test out some recipes.

[Bad Flynch]

I own several sausage making/meat curing books, have collected materials from university meats courses, have source material from our county/state agriculture offices in more than one state, garnered anything that I can get my hands on for more than 30 years, and I own Rytek Kutas' book.

The Kutas book is well regarded here and is the text for many university meat programs; it leaves little to be desired. It really covers more than all the rest put together, save for the infinite variation in recipes.

It is easy for me to recommend the book to anyone interested.

[Oregonian2]

Just an update for those reading through this thread for the first time (which I did myself recently).

Amazon.com seems to have been shipping the fourth edition since at least early in 2009. Think I read somewhere that a lot of diagrams and photos have been added.

I just ordered my copy a day or two ago after reading the unanimous superlative reviews of the book at Amazon (and yes, I'm in the USA).

I've used my new Grizzly vertical stuffer only once so far (Linguica) and am looking forward to a lot more sausage now that it's so incredibly easy to stuff.

UPDATE: My 4th Edition copy arrived yesterday (came by Amazon's "free shipping", meaning USPS media mail (from Kansas)). I've already passed page 100 reading it. Very easily worth it's cost, IMO anyway.

[Rivermute]

Not really that fond of Kutas myself.. I think that the technique is bang on but over all I find the recipes lacking that artisan quality you want when doing things by hand.. the whole thing has a very generic feel. I too collect books so have it on my shelf but my faves are Stanley Marianski's book, Charcuterie; the craft of salting smoking and curing, Jan Griegson's book on the art of charcuterie, Home Sausage Making and finally Len Poli's site (wish he would publish!)...