Charcuterie For Dummies

The world of charcuterie is at your fingertips

Even if you’ve never cooked a slab of bacon in your life, you can prepare sausage and cured meats at home! In Charcuterie for Dummies, you’ll learn everything you could possibly need to get started, from choosing the right gear and finding quality raw ingredients, all the way through taking your parties to the next level with epic charcuterie boards.

Salami, bacon, prosciutto, and good-old-fashioned sausage are all on the menu with Charcuterie for Dummies. Author and meat master Mark LaFay will help you keep things safe and sanitary, equip you with some seriously awesome recipes, and teach you a thing or two about which beers and wines to serve up with your meat. Choose a chapter and get started!

• Get started curing meats at home with the highest quality raw ingredients, equipment, and recipes
• Make everything from sausage and bacon to prosciutto, salami, and more
• Learn how to pair your homemade meats with jams, nuts, cheeses, and pickles for epic charcuterie boards

• Take your new hobby to the next level with more advanced recipes and beverage pairings

Whether you’re a total beginner or coming in with some previous knowledge, Charcuterie for Dummies will unleash your culinary creativity!

Introduction 1

Part 1: Getting Started With Charcuterie 5

Chapter 1: Get the Gear 7

Chapter 2: Working with Potentially Hazardous Food 25

Chapter 3: Quality In, Quality Out 39

Part 2: Making Meat Treats 53

Chapter 4: Fresh and Dry-Cured Whole Muscles 55

Chapter 5: Grinding and Stuffing Sausage 81

Chapter 6: Getting Fresh with Sausages 101

Chapter 7: You Say Salami, I Say Salame 113

Part 3: Entertaining with Charcuterie 137

Chapter 8: Always the Entertainer 139

Chapter 9: Wine and Charcuterie 161

Chapter 10: Beer and Charcuterie 177

Part 4: The Part of Tens 187

Chapter 11: Ten Wines Under $25 to Impress Your Guests 189

Chapter 12: Ten Meats You Must Try 197

Index 209

Mark LaFay is the founder of Old Major Market, a virtual artisanal butcher shop in Indianapolis. He started in 2016 with a vision for a new way of retailing artisanal meats and provisions directly to consumers without a brick and mortar store. LaFay is a serial entrepreneur, butcher, certified sommelier, the Abe Frohman of Indianapolis, and the 2015 and 2017 Indiana State Fair Backyard BBQ Grand Champion.

• Make fresh sausages, bacons, and dry???cured meats
• Assemble a winning charcuterie board with the perfect bites
• Pair charcuterie with beer and wine

A guide to the art of sausage making and curing meats!

Charcuterie is one of humanity's oldest culinary arts, and it's gaining popularity again in our age of homemade everything. Now, the world of charcuterie is at your fingertips, even if you've never cooked a slice of bacon in your life. Charcuterie For Dummies will teach you everything you need to know to get started, from choosing and purchasing all the necessary gear, right up through creating exquisite charcuterie boards with wine and beer pairings that will wow your friends. And of course, you'll learn how to stay sanitary and safe through the whole process.

Inside...

• Choose the right equipment
• Find the best raw ingredients
• Prepare your workspace
• Make sausage, salami, and bacon
• Try your hand at prosciutto
• Build epic charcuterie boards
• Pair beer and wine with your meat
• No prior knowledge needed!