THE TECHNIQUES

Having gone this far it would be remiss of me not to include some charcuterie techniques which are beneficial if not essential to preparation of the products once they have been butchered and prior to final steps in the production towards artisan charcuterie.

You have come a long way, do not give up on me now.

Hanging strings

Once the meat has been prepared it will then be cured and either smoked or air dried. In either of the two latter possibilities, it is usually convenient to hang the meat such that it is not touching other surfaces. The reason for this is perhaps obvious but let me explain, nonetheless. Once the meat has been salt cured it then needs to air dry to complete the preservation process. However, if the raw, albeit salt cured meat, is not fully exposed to air but touching another surface, then it will not air dry evenly. More importantly the surface of the raw meat which is touching another surface will be prone to bug infestation. In other words, notwithstanding the raw meat has been salt cured if it is not completely exposed to air those parts of it which are not will spoil. They will spoil very quickly indeed. It follows that if the meat is placed on a rack, then it will not air dry properly, if it is placed on a flat surface that it will not air dry properly, if it is touching even a small part surface area on another surface then it will not air dry properly. All these surfaces which are not exposed to the air will be prone to bug festivities and spoilage. There is a simple solution. Hang the meat from strings so that it is not touching any other surface including other pieces of meat.

This is an easy thing to achieve I hear you say. Maybe, maybe not. I started this journey by making a hole in the piece of meat, usually belly bacon, with a knife. Sometimes a metal skewer was deployed. The intention was that once the hole was made that a string would somehow be passed through it. Numerous close calls and self-inflicted mutilations ensued. Some involved alcohol, some did not. I make no admissions. In any event none of these attempts were very effective.

Years passed and ultimately I used a woodworking or leather crafting tool called an awl. This is a type of skewer with an arrow type blade at the end with a hole in the centre, the skewer has a wooden handle at the other end. It worked quite well. But was limited by its lack of length in terms of the skewer.

Years passed again and I came across butchery tool which is used to pass string through various thicknesses of meat for the purposes of tying the meat. This is essentially a much larger version of a awl and is variously described as a butchers needle or a larding needle. This tool makes it safe, quick and easy to put string through a piece of meat for the purposes of either tying the meat or making loops from which to hang the meat. The needle is pushed through the meat, then the string is placed through the hole in the end of the needle, the needle is brought back through the meat carrying the string with it. The two ends of the string of joint and miraculously, a loop is created from which to hang the meat. The same methodology creates a starting point from which to securely trust a piece of meat which, for example, needs to be rolled very tightly.

Guanciale

The cheek of the pig can be cured and air dried.It is used by our Italian cousins to make carbonara sauce for pasta. It is called guanciale. It is easy to prepare.

Make a cut from the base of the ear to the corner of the jaw.

Peel back the cheek from the bone

Keep as much of the cheek muscle on the cheek as possible

Keep cutting until the cheek is separated from the head

Repeat with the other side

You will now have two separated cheeks