When you’re putting together a charcuterie board, it’s really down to how you want to present it, whether you use a wooden board or something else. Of course, when you go online, all these charcuterie pictures are on wooden boards, but there are a lot of alternatives out there. Some even have interesting properties like slate, So I hope to …
Equipment to make Make Delicious Bacon
There are so many options when it comes to equipment for making your own delicious bacon. When I first started planning this write-up, it got a bit scary writing down all the different equipment that you could use- there are so many options! But hopefully, it helps whether you are smoking/cooking the bacon and then cutting it into nice thick …
Can Prosciutto Be Eaten Raw? (Different Types)
Prosciutto and whether it can be eaten raw is up to you; it’s either consumed without cooking or with it. But there are many hundreds of varieties. Mainly, two types dominate the world, ‘Crudo‘ & ‘Cotto‘. Now, most Prosciutto is Crudo Prosciutto. However, I would call them fully salt-cured and ‘dried’ not raw. Prosciutto is kind of like the King …
Things I Use for Dry Curing
This type of equipment is if you already have a DIY curing chamber or an area where you do the drying. If you are in the realm of building something, check out this post. This list is all about the equipment I think makes it easier and the things I love to use. It is not exhaustive, but just some …
Does Salt Pork Need to be Refrigerated? (and Other Tips)
Refrigerating salt pork depends on your salt pork; it’s sometimes hard to figure out how it was made, so I will dive into what I have learned about that, too. The safest bet you can have for whether or not you should keep it in the fridge, of course, is to look at the expiry or best-before date. Ideally, it …
Does Salt Pork Taste Like Bacon? (And More Salty Goodness)
Salt pork has some similarities to bacon, and there are cross-overs for how it’s made and tastes. It is an intense pork flavor without the smoke aspect. Frying or stewing salt pork also leads to a different taste. Salt pork tastes a small amount like bacon. Bacon is salty, sweet, and smokey. There are a few important differences, mainly the …
Meat Curing Tips for Beginners – Dry Curing, Cold Smoking
I was thinking the other day about the best tips I could give for meat curing to a beginner. Dry-cured meats and cold smoking have been my passion for a few decades, it’s quite the obsession! Quick Meat Curing Tips Off the top of my head, I can whack up some dry-cured, cold-smoked bacon. This info will be around the …
Complete Guide to Equilibrium Curing Meat
This equilibrium curing guide will cover everything I’ve learned and know in the past ten years of using it for making cured meats at home. The ‘secret sauce’! It isn’t much of a secret these days – but I want to expand on it. I wished that this guide had existed when I started; it would have made things a …
Wood Types for a Charcuterie Board (Styles & Pictures)
I’m going to talk about different wooden boards for charcuterie and many things I have learned about making/eating charcuterie. I use a multitude of styles to bring out the best in food. Best Woods for a Charcuterie Board There are some woods to avoid and many variations, as I’m sure you know. Don’t worry; here is a guide about what …
What Should Charcuterie Boards be Made of?
Charcuterie boards are made of hardwoods that enhance the display of cured meats, preserved vegetables, cheeses, and other common components. These hardwood charcuterie boards are often made of acacia, hard maple, teak, olive & cherry. Charcuterie boards should be made of hardwood, which enhances the presentation of dry-cured meats, preserved vegetables, and cheeses. This is a very traditional view, I …
What Does a Traditional Charcuterie Board Have On it? (French & Italian)
A traditional charcuterie board is based on either French or Italian traditions. The core of the tradition is Quality Dry-Cured Meat, pates, and cheese. What a Traditional Charcuterie Platter Includes: When it comes to charcuterie (did you know if charcuterie is gluten-free, I wrote about this in detail), platters, cured meat like salami, and prosciutto are generally the cornerstones of …
Insight into Antipasto, Antipasti and Antipasta
I have had hundreds of variations of these appetizer platters, and I’ve enjoyed variations of them across all regions of Italy. Antipasto is singular and refers to one portion. Antipasti is plural and refers to multiple portions. Antipasta is a misinterpretation of the Italian language and has no official meaning. Since antipasti and antipasto are associated with cured meats and …
The Most Useful Dry Curing Meat Curing Books I Have Read
Here is a helpful rundown of the best books I have found on meat curing, dry curing, and smoking food; these are books I have re-read and used as references throughout this site, the best of the best! Best Most Useful Meat Curing Books These ‘go-to books‘ are very useful for someone trying to learn dry curing and smoking; they’re …
Is Charcuterie Raw Meat? (or is it Cooked?)
In the modern sense, Charcuterie hasn’t got much to do with raw meat, although sometimes it can look quite raw; it’s probably dried. Charcuterie is not raw meat; dry-cured charcuterie meat is salt-cured and dried. Other types of charcuterie are cooked, such as ham, rillettes, and pates. Since dry-cured charcuterie is not cooked but dried, it is often confused with …
Humidifiers Useful for Meat Curing (Chambers, Dry Curing)
Most of the time, humidifiers can be the most important part of the curing chamber. When you’re looking at this type of component, you are probably also thinking about the size of the chamber. There is always the option of using a duct to transfer the moisture or even a DIY pipe or exhaust attached. I’ve had 6 DIY dry …
Temperature Controllers for a Meat Curing Fridge Cabinet Conversion
The best temperature controller depends firstly on what type of fridge you use to cure meat and whether you want an easy plug-and-play option. Plug & Play Temperature Controller for Meat Curing Hard Wire Temperature Controller for Meat Curing Now I’ll go into WHY -these products. Many years ago, I started looking at all the options for my first curing …
Cured Meat & Nitrates (Research Summary)
I am not here to debate whether or not nitrates should be used, it’s up to you to decide. All I can do is say what I do and what I’ve learned. There is a food scientist blogger who put together a very decent science-based post on nitrates/nitrites and cured/processed meats, it’s worth a read. Here is a link to a recent …
Gift Ideas for Meat Curing & Smoking
Here are my top picks for novel suppliers to try, useful tools, and books for information or inspiration that are worth giving to someone or giving to yourself! I’ve tested many different tools and equipment over the years, and I thought it would be useful to share some of the all-time most helpful and practical equipment I have used, tested, …
How To Equilibrium Cure or Brine Bacon (Calculator & Tool)
Discovering how to equilibrium cure or brine bacon was a bit of a revelation. It means I had control over the level of saltiness that you taste (rather than guessing with the old covering the bacon with salt method). I’ve been making my own bacon for about twenty-odd years. I’ve tried dry curing and wet brining with a whole different …
How Does a Pellet Smoker Tube Work? (Smoking Guide)
How a pellet tube smoker is simple, there are quite a few different ways that you can use it, which I want to go over. I’ve had a lot of fun playing around with pellet tube smoking both cold smoking and hot smoking on various different types of smokers for 20 years. I looked around for the right type of …
How to Cure Meat for Long-Term Storage (Various Methods)
I’ve used, taught, and come across many different techniques on how to cure meat for long-term preservation and storage. This website is about dry curing and smoking meat, I’ve delved into learning and practicing preserved long-term storage versions in case I didn’t have any refrigeration. These are simple techniques for salting and curing meat that have been used for preservation …
How Does Charcuterie Work? (Dry Cured Meats & Preserving)
So how does this thing called charcuterie work? This is something that gets asked often around here. What are the main reasons why it’s different from fresh meat, or bacon. You’ve come to the right place. I’ve been passionate about charcuterie for decades, and it still fascinates me, so I will give you a quick answer and then dive into …
What Does Charcuterie Taste Like? (Cured & Smoked Meats)
The tastes of charcuterie vary greatly; I will describe all categories I have eaten, researched, judged, taught, and made at home. Traditional salumi or charcuterie, like cold smoked meats and dry cured meats, have a high level of ‘umami,’ a balanced ‘savory’ flavor. Many cured types of meat, such as prosciutto and pancetta, use salt to preserve; they are cut …
Is Charcuterie Processed Meat? (Dry Cured Meat)
Charcuterie and processed meat are quite poorly defined because most of them have been deemed different by different organizations and people. Charcuterie can be dry-cured meat such as dry-cured salami and whole muscle. Like genoa salami, prosciutto, and pancetta. It’s also traditionally ham, rillettes, pates, and offal-based cooked meats from a French charcuterie perspective. It involves a process but may …
How Much Curing Salt Per Pound of Meat? (Tool & Calculator)
This calculator below is all about equilibrium curing either with a dry or wet cure. Meat Curing Calculator Tool Method Equilibrium Dry Curing or Equilibrium Wet Brining Meat Weight lb kg g Pink curing salt % Salt % Water % % Calculations Pink Curing Salt 1.59 g or 0.056 oz (optional depending on preference or recipe) Sea Salt 15.88 g …
Online Charcuterie Course – Crafting Dry-Cured Meat
This post is going to give you an overview of my online charcuterie course and aspects of what’s covered. The methodology is summarized into one program with tools, recipes, and ‘cheatsheets’ for at-home charcuterie (including my secret ‘not so secret’ garlic & juniper bacon. Combining traditional and modern techniques, there is nothing like this online, so it’s incredibly exciting to …
At-Home Temperature and Humidity for Dry Curing Fridge
Since curing meat in a curing chamber is a craft, temperature, and humidity do not have to be exact, but more so I found through experience, within a range. When I started off and built my first meat-curing chamber over 15 years ago, I did a lot of research and read quite a lot of books to make sure I …
Ideas and Inspiration for a Charcuterie Board
Different Accompanients, dips & spreads are a great way to enhance any charcuterie board. I want to create a helpful resource that covers inspiration, classic pairings, and suggestions for many styles and types. Key Points: Umami and savory flavors are always sought after when making a charcuterie board, so I have a few tips to bring to the next level. …
Refrigeration Guidelines for Charcuterie, Salami, and Cured Meats
Below, you’ll find a table summarizing each cured meat and details on how to store it. Here are the general tips. Storage Tips: Cured meat is a big category, and what you need to keep in the fridge depends on whether it’s cured meat or charcuterie. I love charcuterie (link to charcuterie/dry cured meats category list on this site) and …
Popularity and History of Charcuterie
Key Points Classical French charcuterie is a mixture of cured meats highlighting preservation or flavor enhancement. Based often on meat. Modern charcuterie has a broad definition covering many types of platters with meat, non-meat, sweet treats, and condiments. The contemporary interpretation has been morphed by many content providers and commercial operators. I’ve studied, created, researched, and worked around charcuterie for …
How to Make Charcuterie at Home (Ideas with Overview)
It’s a fascinating world when you start making charcuterie at home; there are many ways how to go about it, and, of course, it depends on what you want to have a go with. Charcuterie Projects Difficulty and Duration Pate /Rillettes 2/10 2-4 hours Vegetable Preserves/Flavoring 2/10 15-60 mins Cold Smoke Vegetables 3/10 30-60 mins Hot Smoked Fish, Meat 4/10 …
Different Salami and Do You Cook Them? ( Uncured, Genoa & Beef Salami)
I’ve made every variation of salami, and some are ready to eat; however, this happens after the salami is dried. Any salami you buy should be ready to eat. Ready-to-eat salami is found all over the world, but there are some variations that I thought need to be clarified. It seems a few marketing/packaging people have confused quite a few …
The Delicious World of Cured Meat: Can Cured Meat be Keto
Cured meat has many forms, and keto is a diet that has some cross-over, it needs some explaining, however. I’ve been involved in keto as a lifestyle and personally tried many of the other diets and lifestyle programs. Summary Since I have a deeper understanding of cured meats than most folks, here is, hopefully, some helpful information that elaborates since …
What is Dry Cured Meat? Dry Cured Bacon, Ham, Sausage
One of my passions is dry curing meat it an old craft that can create amazing results, I get asked a lot about what is dry curing meat, many people think it has something to do with smoked meat. Sometimes, it does get smoked, but most of the time, it doesn’t, depending on the recipe and outcomes one desires. Definition: …
How to Cure Wild Game Meat (Know How, Pictures & Tips)
When I first started curing wild game meat a few decades ago, I based my ideas on the techniques used for lean, dry curing, and Italian recipes. The results were fantastic! At the end of the day, meat is meat, and wild meat is generally leaner. Curing the meat allows a whole other level of appreciation from what you harvest …
How To Cure Meat to Make Jerky & Biltong (with Pictures)
Jerky and biltong are similar in some ways, whilst also being different. I want to highlight how I do both methods in detail. I don’t often buy much red meat; I use a lot of venison and other red meats, which I harvest and cure to make cured meats, and I definitely love making jerky and biltong. I’ve made dozens …
Getting to Know the Main Ingredients for Curing Meat
The main ingredients for curing meats vary between the styles and methods, but one ingredient is always sea salt. I love all the different styles I have discovered for cured meat and use rivals in them at home. I’ve savored many years making recipes and using the craft of cold smoking, hot smoking, low & slow to dry curing meats. …
Steps on How to Cure Meat with Salt (with Pictures)
There are a handful of methods to cure meat with salt, I’ve studied and tried many of them. Curing meat has so many different variations; the meat curing world is infinitely much larger than Italian classic salami or salumi. This post is an overview to explain each step and how I use salt to cure meat in different ways. When …
What is Salt Pork (How to Make it & Use it) – with Pictures
Salt pork is a form of cured meat, initially used for long-term preservation before refrigeration. Key Points: Salt pork was very popular in the sailor and prairie days. I love to make and use it because it’s easy and tasty. It’s a simple recipe that you can do at home with just sea salt. You can definitely give it some …
How to Dry Cure Meat at Home Guide
Curing meat at home can be done in 2 main ways. After learning these techniques for 25 years, I will share the most helpful and comprehensive method. This isn’t the same as following a cooking recipe since you use preservation techniques. It is more than just following a recipe; it’s also a process you want to describe in great detail. …