It’s the holidays and there’s no better way to help ignite holiday cheer at home or the office than a cutting board selection of high-quality charcuterie and cheese. I know if I’m feeling a little depressed or have had a long day at work, a charcuterie board with cheese as an appetizer cheers me up every time. A good dark ale, like 90 Schilling, makes the experience even better.

As meat industry insiders, we should all be well versed in charcuterie. To help with this, I’ll be blogging about charcuterie and cheese for the next few installments and inviting you to share your knowledge and experience of both.

Let’s start with the basics: What is charcuterie? Here’s the Wikipedia definition:

“Charcuterie French: from chair, 'meat', and cuit, 'cooked')
A French term for a branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products, such as bacon, ham, sausage, terrines, galantines, ballotines, pâtés, and confit.
Originally intended as a way to preserve meat before the advent of refrigeration, they are prepared today for their flavors derived from the preservation processes.”

Here in the U.S., we are most likely to see a charcuterie board with Italian-style sections, including salami, pepperoni, prosciutto, capicola, sopressata and other dry cured meats. My all-time favorite charcuterie item is dry cured jamón Ibérico.

No doubt you’ve noticed the increased popularity of thinly sliced, pre-packaged, dry cured meats at your local supermarket, Costco, Sam’s Club and at even at Starbucks and C-stores.

I sold Italian-style dry cured meats for several years for a meat plant based in Massachusetts. As part of my product training I was given a full-day tour of the plant and shown the processing methods. There’s a lot of technical know-how, history, art and science that goes into making each item. It’s not easy to make or cheap to manufacture, but is sure is delicious. It’s worth all the effort that goes into it. If I were trapped on a deserted island with only one food item to choose from, I think I could live for quite some time just eating charcuterie!

Let’s briefly consider just one commonly used item for professional charcuterie boards: my favorite — dry cured ham, and specifically the jamón Ibérico brand of bone-in ham that’s produced in Spain and Portugal. It’s made from pure-bred or cross-bred black Iberian pigs that live primarily in the central and southwestern region of the Iberian Peninsula, which includes both Portugal and Spain. I attended a food show in Paris two years ago and several manufacturers of Iberico hams were sampling their different types of hams. There was almost always a long line of people willing to wait just to get a thin slice. Take a few minutes this week to read more about the way this product is produced and manufactured, and impress your family and friends with some for the holidays.

A big part of the charcuterie experience is the artful display. Great chefs know that presentation is a huge part of the joy of eating, since, as it’s said, ‘We first eat with our eyes.’ An inviting presentation of food always whets the appetite, making everything taste even better! You can spend a lot on a nice wooden board, which will last for years, or you can easily get by with an inexpensive wooden cutting board. Also as a presentation idea, Home Depot currently sells a large piece of faux slate black tile (for less than $4) that looks great as a serving board. I bought two tiles this week for use on Christmas Eve.

Do you make your own dry cured meats? How about charcuterie boards? Share your tips and knowledge with others on this blog or email me at greg@usprotein.com.

Merry Christmas and bon appetit!

The delights of charcuterie and cheese

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