cover image Home Charcuterie: How to Make Your Own Bacon, Sausages, Salami and Other Cured Meats

Home Charcuterie: How to Make Your Own Bacon, Sausages, Salami and Other Cured Meats

Paul Thomas. Lorenz, $30 (240p) ISBN 978-0-75483-325-3

British cheesemaker Thomas (Home-Made Cheese) delivers a thorough and easy-to-follow manual of deli delights with a nose-to-tail sensibility. A chapter covering charcuterie basics explores the various types of casings—be they beef, hog, sheep, or cellulose—discusses mincers and grinders, and advises on proper food hygiene to avoid harmful bacteria and parasitic worms. Thomas offers recipes for eight different types of salami, including a spicy salami piccante with chili flakes and garlic added to a mix of ground pork that, once stuffed, takes less than two weeks to mature. A chapter of pâtés finds the author reveling in the joys of haggis (though the lamb lungs included in the traditional Scottish recipe are prohibited in the U.S.). More accessible projects include pastrami and the British equivalent of corned beef, known as salt beef. Bringing home the bacon means choosing between dry-cured and brined varieties, while savory pudding fans can make a black pudding with fresh pig’s blood, or a tamer white pudding that forgoes the hemoglobin. All recipes come with precise, step-by-step instructions paired with color photos to ensure clarity. Established techniques and hearty ingredients lead to delicious results in this restorative guidebook. (Aug.)