The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating by Fergus Henderson

  • Chicken stock

    from The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating The Whole Beast by Fergus Henderson

    • Categories: Stocks
    • Ingredients: chicken carcass; onions; fennel; carrots; celery; leeks; mushrooms; bay leaves; parsley; black peppercorns; chicken wings
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Notes about this book

  • Eat Your Books

    Read Chef Talk's review with a sample recipe for Brawn (headcheese).

  • FoodSleuth on January 26, 2015

    A MIRACLE - Hangover Cure on p. 193 is not listed in index ... a hangover cure using 2 parts Frenet Branca & 1 part Creme de Menthe over ice. "Be careful: this is so effective you can find yourself turning to its miraculous powers with increasing regularity. Do not let the cure become the cause."

  • clare_b74 on July 27, 2010

    Indexed version of UK "Nose to Tail" ;)

Notes about Recipes in this book

  • How to eat radishes at their peak

    • FoodSleuth on January 26, 2015

      How to Eat RADISHES at their Peak (20) - The Classic Way with coarse sea salt, good unsalted butter and Vinaigrette (p 161)

    • Dannausc on January 21, 2018

      I like the radish leaves with the vinaigrette, but I prefer the radishes as is — without salt and butter.

  • Deep-fried lamb's brains

    • Franci on November 30, 2011

      Vic prefers sweetbread texture. Thinking of slicing each lobe in three pieces to have more crisp to soft ratio.

  • Brined pork belly, roasted

    • meginyeg on December 19, 2024

      This was only ok. Wouldn't make again.

  • Lamb and barley stew

    • Dannausc on January 21, 2018

      I cut the veggies into bite-size pieces. I used farro instead of barley, because that’s what I had on hand. I used 8 shallots instead of 16 because they were fairly large and 16 seemed excessive. It was a nice simple dish. I wanted more flavor so I ate mine with lemon juice, sriracha, and soy sauce.

    • meginyeg on November 23, 2023

      I used farro instead of barley. I cut the veggies into chunks and used less shallots than called for. I made dumplings at the end. All in all it was ok. Not insanely flavourful but we all enjoyed it and it was simple and easy to make.

  • Boiled chicken, leeks, and aioli

    • Dannausc on January 21, 2018

      Good, simple dish

  • Rabbit and garlic

    • meginyeg on June 15, 2022

      This was good. Not amazing though. Probably won't make again.

  • Rabbit wrapped in fennel and bacon

    • Dannausc on January 28, 2018

      I couldn’t find dried fennel fronds, so I used fresh fennel stems and thinly sliced fennel bulb. I used lamb stock instead of chicken stock, as that’s what I had on hand. It turned out pretty good and kept the rabbit nice and moist. 20 slices of bacon was a little much. A dozen would have been plenty.

    • meginyeg on May 09, 2022

      This was good. I added Fennel seeds to the broth. I just laid the bacon top of the rabbit. And I covered the pan with foil. It was simple, easy and tasty.

  • Vinaigrette

    • Dannausc on January 21, 2018

      Super easy but a little heavy on the oil.

  • Aioli

    • Dannausc on January 21, 2018

      Really garlicky!

  • Treacle tart

    • Silverscreensuppers on February 18, 2019

      There is something very screwy with the quantities in this recipe. This made a MASSIVE amount of pastry (2.5 kilos) of which I only used about a kilo for the size of tart tin in the recipe. I made half the amount of filling and that was about right. I have a feeling there are different versions of this book as mine doesn’t have ginger in the ingredients. Bakers beware!! Mine is 2004 edition.

  • Welsh rarebit

    • ndschmidt on April 14, 2026

      Perfect rarebit. Served on buttermilk English muffins.

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  • ISBN 10 0060585366
  • ISBN 13 9780060585365
  • Published Mar 01 2004
  • Format Paperback
  • Page Count 224
  • Language English
  • Countries United States
  • Publisher Ecco

Publishers Text

The Whole Beast is a truly unique cookbook. In it Fergus Henderson outlines his firm belief in eating the finest ingredients, simply cooked and presented, with salads such as Mussels and Cucumber with Dill and revivifying soups such as Chicken Broth with Wild Garlic.

More crucially, here are the recipes that have marked him out as one of the most innovative yet traditional chefs, recipes which hark back to a strong rural tradition of delicious thrift, and which literally represent Henderson's motto, Nose to Tail Eating, be they Pig's Trotter Stuffed with Potato; Rabbit Wrapped in Fennel Twigs and Bacon; or his signature dish of Roast Bone Marrow and Parsley Salad. For those of a less carnivorous bent there are also splendid dishes such as Deviled Crab; Smoked Haddock, Mustard, and Saffron; Green Beans, Shallots, Garlic, and Anchovies; and to keep the sweetest tooth happy there are gloriously satisfying puddings, notably the St. John Eccles Cake and a very nearly perfect Chocolate Ice Cream.

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