Pure Charcuterie: The Craft and Poetry of Curing Meats at Home

(Paperback)

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Salt, sausage, smoke -- the artistry of curing your own meats.

Cured meat products arose from the need for preservation in a time when cooking and refrigeration were not always available. Today, charcuterie is an embodiment of art in the kitchen, combining precision, balance, patience, and creativity; an economy of ingredients, as poetry is an economy of words. The confluence of these elements, along with the purest of ingredients, can enable anyone to craft cured meats in their home.Pure Charcuterieis a practical and artistic look at the techniques for curing meat at home both as a creative hands-on craft and as a fantastic and sustainable way to preserve highly valuable food. This accessible, beautiful, visual guide walks the reader through the process of making charcuterie, including:

• Sourcing ingredients
  
• Clear explanations of charcuterie technique
  
• Creative recipes balancing tradition and invention
  
• Smoking meats and building your own smoker
  

The analogies drawn between art and food, along with creative and accessible photographic discussions of charcuterie technique, make this book an essential primer on the basics of charcuterie: the mystery, the science, the art, and the technique. Ideal for home cooks working in small spaces,Pure Charcuterieis a must-have for experienced and new cooks alikeand any home artisan.

Meredith Leighhas worked as a farmer, butcher, chef, teacher, nonprofit executive director, and writer, all in pursuit of sustainable food. She is also the author ofThe Ethical Meat Handbook: Complete Home Butchery, Charcuterie, and Cooking for the Conscious Omnivore.

Reviews

Some cookbooks live on the coffee table. Others live in the kitchen, their stained pages a pragmatic guide to what's for dinner. Farmer, chef, teacher, mother, activist, and writer Meredith Leigh has penned a profound how-to that's equally at home in the larder or on the nightstand beside collections of verse by Tracy K. Smith and William Matthews. - Jason Tesauro, Esquire.com

Author Bio

Over the past 15 years, Meredith Leigh has worked as a farmer, butcher, chef, teacher, non-profit executive director, and writer, all in pursuit of sustainable food. She has developed a farmer co-op, founded and catalyzed non-profit ventures, grown vegetables, flowers, and meats, owned and managed a retail butcher shop and restaurant, and more. She is the author of The Ethical Meat Handbook: A Complete Guide to Home Butchery, Charcuterie, and Cooking for the Conscious Omnivore.