‘In the Charcuterie’ gives a tour of the artisan butcher shop
Charcuterie is one of the buzzwords of the day in the food world. Every restaurant seems to be making its own dried sausages and cured meats. Unlikely as it may seem, there have even been best-selling cookbooks on how to make them at home (not all that hard, really, as long as you’ve got plenty of temperature- and humidity-controlled space and a lot of patience).
One of the best known of the new charcutiers is the San Francisco Bay Area’s Fatted Calf, which started out selling at farmers markets and now has permanent, and very busy, locations in Napa’s Oxbow Market and in San Francisco.
So it’s probably only reasonable that founders Taylor Boetticher and Toponia Miller called their new cookbook “In the Charcuterie,” despite the fact that the title sells the book short.
“In the Charcuterie” is much more than a guide to hams and salumi. The authors would have been more accurate if they had called it “In the Butchery.” Because in reality, “In the Charcuterie” is nothing less than a thorough overview of our growing infatuation with good meat. There are guides to choosing cuts, to parsing the differences among the heritage breeds and to DIY butchery large and small.
And, of course, there’s lots of good information on how to cook meat. Want to roast a chicken? It’s here. Pancettawrapped pork tenderloin? That looks good. And there are big cuts that are perfect for cool weather — I’ve already cued up the (Tuscan braised beef shank) on my red wine playlist for some rainy Sunday.
But where the book really shines, and at least partially justifies the title, is on the kinds of quick-cooked charcuterie items that are easily approachable by any reasonably ambitious home cook: pates, terrines, confits and meat pickles.
Making (cured pork cheek) is well and good for the serious hobbyists, but I’m already clearing space in my refrigerator for a big pot of duck rillettes.