After realizing he knew more about TVs than about the meat on his plate, award-winning TV producer and amateur chef Jared Stone purchased an entire grass-fed steer and resolved to make the best use of it that he possibly could. Year of the Cow follows the trials and tribulations of a home cook as he and his family try to form a more meaningful relationship with their food and the environment. From meeting the rancher who raised his cow to learning how to successfully pack a freezer with cow parts, Stone gets to know his steer and examines how previous generations ate, delving into the ways our ancestors prepared meals and the ethnography of cattle. Over the course of hundreds of nose-to-tail meals shared with friends and family, Stone works his way through his cow armed with a pioneering spirit and a good sense of humour. He becomes more mindful of his diet and bravely confronts challenges he never expected, like how to dry beef jerky without making your home smell like a smokehouse, and how to find deliciousness in the less-common cuts of cattle like the tongue and heart, sharing a recipe at the end of each chapter. By examining the food that fuels his life and pondering the ethics of meat eating, Stone finds the areas where his cooking philosophy overlaps with learning to live a life more fully.