Mark LaFay - Charcuterie For Dummies

Part 2is where you will learn how to make different types of charcuterie. There will be a smattering of whole-muscle, cured meats (think coppa, pancetta, and prosciutto), as well as fresh bacons, sausages, and dry-cured, fermented sausages (salami). You will learn basic methods of processing that will serve as a foundation from which you will be able to build and showcase your creativity. You will also learn how to use modern technology to test your products to ensure safety.

Part 3of this book will spark your fires of creativity to help you give your best when entertaining with charcuterie. You will learn how to source all sorts of great ingredients to build an epic charcuterie board. You will also get a glimpse at how to incorporate different flavors like sauces, nuts, jams, crackers, breads, and pickled products to build a diverse board where your guests can build all sorts of perfect bites. This section will wrap up with a primer on beer and wine so that you can provide pairings that will take your party to the next level.

And last but not least, the Part of Tens covers ten fantastic wines under $25 to impress your friends when entertaining and ten charcuterie meats you absolutely must try if you get the chance.

Making charcuterie and eating it are equally awesome. Charcuterie For Dummies is intended to help you do both.

We all know what happens when you assume. The goal for Charcuterie For Dummies is to make the topic of charcuterie accessible to those who have no prior knowledge of the topic, regardless of whether they are interested in the fabrication of meat or simply entertaining. You heard that right: You do not need any prior knowledge of charcuterie to be able to use this book. In fact, if you have experience in making sausages, bacons, or dry-cured meats, you may find that your experience level exceeds the scope of this book.

As you read this book, you’ll see icons in the margins that indicate material of interest (or not, as the case may be). This section briefly describes each of these icons.

Tips are nice because they help you save time or perform some task without a lot of extra work. The tips in this book are timesaving techniques, or pointers to resources that you should check out.

At the risk of sounding like an alarmist, anything marked with a warning is something you should pay close attention to. Proceed with caution if you must proceed at all.

If you don’t get anything else out of a particular chapter or section, remember the material marked by this icon. This text will remind you of meaningful content that you should file away. It might also remind you of something that was already covered and that is useful again.

This book also comes with a free online Cheat Sheet full of tips related to making and entertaining with charcuterie. Go to www.dummies.com and search for “Charcuterie For Dummies Cheat Sheet.”

Its go-time! The world of charcuterie is at your fingertips; you just have to turn the page and get started. Pick a pace you’re comfortable with and just dive in. The first chapter is dedicated to gear. If you already have the gear, or don’t need help finding, using, or caring for it, then skip to the next chapter. Make sure you don’t skip over the chapter on sanitation and safe handling, though. Give it at least one pass and then reference it whenever you have doubts. Other than that, pop around and have fun.

I laid out the book so that you can start anywhere and not necessarily have to read it in a linear fashion. Regardless of how you tackle the topic, Charcuterie For Dummies will get you going on your way toward meaty mastery.

Part 1

IN THIS PART …

Identify the gear you need.

Learn hygiene and sanitation skills to stay safe.

Get familiar with the risks of using animal proteins.

Source quality ingredients for making quality products.

Season and preserve with salt and nitrates.

Chapter 1

IN THIS CHAPTER

Learning what gear you need

Navigating where to buy gear

Using and caring for your gear

Staying safe with your gear

In any craft, an artisan has a specific set of tools to help get the job done. Having the right tools for the job makes it much easier to execute successfully. For example, you can use any number of blunt objects to knock a nail into a board, but the right tool for that job is a hammer. Hammers make nailing much easier. Taking it step further, a nail gun would make nailing even easier than using a hammer. Regardless of how big, bad, and awesome your tools are, the correct tool is essential for doing a job well.

Successfully making sausages, bacon, cured meats, or any other type of charcuterie, requires very specific tools and equipment. Using the right equipment not only simplifies the process of crafting meats, but also helps you make products that are safe to eat. In this chapter, I identify the various tools that you need to execute the processes in this book. Of course, the right tool is just the starting point; you also need to know how to use that tool. Proper use of your tools is critical to achieving great results. In this chapter, you learn how to find the right tools, use those tools, care for them, and stay safe with them.

Meat grinders are specialized machines designed for the sole purpose of breaking pieces of meat and fat into smaller pieces by forcing them through a metal plate containing several small holes. Not all meat grinders are equal, and several factors differentiate them, including the following:

Power source (electric or manual)

Speed of grinding

Volume of grinding

Size of the grinder

Construction of the grinder

All grinders can be broken down into the same core parts, and understanding what each part does will help you decide which grinder is right for you. These parts are shown in Figure 1-1 and include the following:

Body and hopper. The body and hopper is generally one solid piece and houses all of the moving parts (excluding the motor).

Worm (auger). The worm is inserted into the motor through the body. This is the screw-like part that draws meat down the hopper and through the body toward the knife.

Knife. The knife is a cutting implement with four blades and looks like a propeller on a plane. The knife fits onto the end of the worm and spins at the same rate. As the meat passes down the body via the worm, it is first cut by the knife as it is forced through the plate.