Fundamentals of Charcuterie - The Final Cure!

Turkey Pastrami

It's amazing how fast the month of June has gone by. I shouldn't be surprised, as I took a charcuterie class at Saint Paul College. It was held Monday through Thursday, from 6:00p - 9:00p, for the first 4 weeks of June.

Part of the final week included a couple of projects for each team. These included a preparation for pork belly. Each team was also given a "Black Box" of ingredients.

Seafood Sausage

Our team used the pork belly in two preparations. For the first preparation, we cut the belly into 1 x 3 inch pieces, placed it in an oven proof pan, tucked black peppercorns, thyme sprigs and bay leaves in around the pork, and covered it with warm duck fat. Then it was cooked, covered for about 2 1/2 hours at 275 degrees. After it was cooked, it rested under refrigeration overnight. The next day, I deep fried it in canola oil and served it with a grainy mustard and a dollop of orange marmalade. It was absolutely delicious!

Our "Black Box" of ingredients included a veal tenderloin, a rabbit and sweetbreads. We cured the tenderloin and rabbit, then cooked the rabbit the same way as we cooked the pork belly, in duck fat.
Rabbit and Veal Terrine, Pickled Summer Squash, a Bretonne-Style Terrine

We layered a terrine mold with the remaining bacon. Then, using the other ingredients, we fabricated a layered terrine. It also included dried figs and apricots that had been reconstituted in Sauternes. For a first attempt using rabbit and sweetbreads, it turned out quite good I think.

Overall, the class was a tremendous experience. I would recommend anyone who has an interest in charcuterie to sign up for the class next year, as Chef Sartin is planning on offering it again.

The school is also kicking around the idea of offering a couple of week-long classes with topics including Pasta Making and Fabricating Pastries and Sweet Breads. I'll be the first to sign up for one or both of these classes next summer as I had such a great experience.

Smoked Pheasant Crostini

This fall, the restaurant associated with the culinary school will be open again to the public. Running this restaurant offers students a hands-on experience in both the back and front of the house. Chef Sartin will let me know when the restaurant opens and the hours of operation. I'll pass on the information via my blog as soon as I get it.

Charcuterie Class - Stuffin' Casings

We finished week 3 of our Charcuterie class at Saint Paul College. It's being taught by Chef Nathan Sartain. This week, we ventured into the realm of salt-packed sheep casings. This product needs to be soaked in water and rinsed inside and out before it can be utilized.

If I thought that hog casings were easy to breach, stuffing sheep casings took some getting used to, as they are even more delicate. For all the teams, it was full steam ahead making sausages.

Some of the many varieties that we fabricated included a Lamb Merguez for which I made a harissa condiment which was added to it. Our team also finished the Moroccan Pheasant and dried Apricot sausage, and made some Squash Pickles. In addition to this, we smoked off our Portuguese Linguica.

We started curing a rabbit and veal tenderloin for making a terrine next week. These were two of three products that we were given to construct an "item" as part of our final. My partner and I decided that the final "item" would be a Confit of Rabbit and Veal Terrine. We were also given a slab of pork belly which we will also confit, then sear and serve with possibly a rabbit demi glaze.

Other teams last week made a Char Siu Lop Chong. The Lop Chong is a BBQ Style Pork Sausage which is smoked for 30 minutes. They also made a breakfast sausage and Tuscano, Toulouse, and Spanish Longaniza sausages. We enjoyed the Black Forest Ham, the Spicy Italian Sausages with grilled bell peppers and onions, and a Cajun Gumbo with the Andouille that was finished last week.

Sadly, there is only one more week of this class. I have learned so much and now have a stockpile of recipes to try this fall and winter.

Charcuterie Class - Smokin' Knackwurst

It's the end of Week 2 of the Charcuterie Class that I’m taking at Saint Paul College, Saint Paul MN. We spent the week honing the skills that Chef Sartain demonstrated in Week 1. I for one need more practice stuffing sausage casings. Who knew there were so many nuances to get meat into a semi permeable membrane?

For instance, I would have never thought to lube the plunger of the sausage stuffer with food release spray to prevent friction. Friction causes heat which is our enemy at this stage of the game. Then there’s packing the meat filling into the reservoir in such a way as to prevent air pockets. You’ve got to get the casings on the stuffing tube, again without air pockets, and then get the meat into the casing without a “blow out” and without creating more air pockets. If air pockets do occur, you’ll get what is called “fat-capping”. This is where droplets of fat pool together just under the casing, resulting in poor mouth feel. And, it’s all about mouth feel and eye appeal!

This week, our team ground up more than 20 pounds of boneless leg of lamb. We used a portion to make a Lamb and Rosemary Sausage with fresh Garlic and Grana Padano. We also made Mortadella, an Italian sausage with pistachios and black peppercorns. We grilled some Kielbasa and overhauled our Bresaola. We prepped half a dozen or so pheasant breasts for making a Moroccan Pheasant Sausage. We’ll confit the legs in duck fat for a terrine next week.

Some of the items the other teams have processed included a Mexican Chorizo, spicy Italian Sausage, Knackwursts (which we smoked), English Bangers, Alsatian Sausage, and Wisconsin-Style Bratwursts.

Team Four is working on Boudin Blanc, a fine–textured white sausage originally eaten at Christmas in the Champagne region of France. The moist sausage is traditionally a fine mixture of meat, eggs, starch, spices and milk or cream. We’re using rice in our application during class.

Next week, we’ll be working on Linguica, a Portuguese sausage with Paprika, garlic and port, amongst other aromatics. We've also got, among other items, a Duck Liver Mousse and Proscuitto, Foie Gras Terrine, Pate de Campagne Parisienne and Sopressatta di Calabria to make next week.

Fundamentals of Charcuterie - Makin' Bacon

The Professional Pastry Association, of which I am a member, recently held a Wine and Dessert Pairing class at the Saint Paul College, Saint Paul, MN. Tucked in the seminar brochure was a handout listing the summer classes being offered in the culinary school at the college.

I really enjoy making patés and terrines and I definitely enjoy sausage, so the class that caught my eye was entitled "Fundamentals of Charcuterie." I wanted to see if I could replicate in any way the flavor of the sausages that I enjoyed when tasting those smoky links at a market in I'lsle sur la Sorgue. This town is in the south of France and one that we visited during our most recent trip across the pond.

This delightful town lies at the foot of the Vaucluse plateau in the plains of Comtat Venaissin. We were there on market day (okay we were actually there twice -- once on our way to Avignon and then on our way back to Paris). Anyway, I digress.

The charcuterie class at the college started June 1. It is being taught by Chef Nathan Sartain. We meet four nights a week, three hours a night, for four weeks. Chef Sartain has been stuffing and smoking sausages for about 13 years and after having finish our first week, I know the class is in capable hands.

Our first evening was spent learning about dry cures and wet cures (brining) and believe it or not, how amino acids and peptides interact with salt and sugar. We also learned about the need to record the weight of the protein prior to dry curing and then weighing it again near the end of the estimated curing time. The finished weight determines if the product has been properly cured and ready to enjoy.

We started curing pork belly for bacon, crafting Bresaola, Finnocchiona (Tuscan-Style Salami), Gruanciale, Pancetta and Tasso. We'll use the Tasso to make Jambalaya a little later in the series. We also started a Bologna and Capocollo Cotto.

If the next three weeks are anything like this first week has been, the class will be a great success. Oh, and I hope to blog on the Dessert and Wine Pairing class that I took recently some time in the future.

Canning Season is about to Start!

I've been frantically eating the pepper relish, apple butter, and sweet and dill pickles that we put up last year to make room for these year's harvest. We've just about finished the tomato sauce and paste as well. They were great to have in the freezer to spread on pizza dough and for making spaghetti sauce. The peaches we blanched and froze have been delicious in the peach tarts I've made. I've been experimenting with a couple of recipes, making various custards and adding fresh cheese to the mix.

Here's a recent article from the New York Times to get your imagination going with all the things that can go into a sterilized jar.