CHARCUTERIE and FORCEMEAT

INTRODUCTION
CHARCUTERIE
From the word chair "meat" and cuit "cooked" is the branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products,
such as bacon, ham, sausage, terrines, galantines, ballotines, pâtés, and confit, primarily from pork.
Part of the garde manger chef's repertoire. 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.
FORCEMEAT
Types of Charcuterie
Prosciutto
Probably the most popular option, prized for its silky texture and blast of salty, savory flavor. It comes
from legs of pork, which are dry-cured and then sliced super thin. The super high end stuff is aged for an even
more intense flavor. And just like Champagne, the top quality, most authentic stuff known as Prosciutto di
Parma can only come from a certain region (in this case Parma, a city in northern Italy).
Sopressata
The common form of sopressata is actually a sub-type called sopressa veneta. Back in the day, the stuff
was pressed between planks of wood (hence the name) to flatten it, but producers in the Veneto region of did
away with the practice to create what we're familiar with today. It's traditionally (though not always) made
from pork, which is ground with spices, cased, and then hung to dry for one to three months.
Jamon Iberico
Like prosciutto di parma, this is a highly specialized type of cured pork leg. It's produced in Spain and,
to a lesser extent, Portugal, and can only come from black Iberian pigs who are raised and fed according to
very strict standards to ensure the very best tasting ham. After being fattened on barley and maize, the pigs
roam in pastures and oak groves where they naturally feed on grass, herbs, acorns, and roots.
There are a few grades, and the highest, jamón ibérico de bellota, is made from free-range pigs that
roam oak forests and eat only acorns before being killed. It makes for mind-blowingly good ham, but it's also
incredibly expensive and not easy to find.
Jamon Serrano
Another type of dry-cured ham that's dried and aged for a year or longer. It's still tasty, but this version
is several notches below the top quality Iberico stuff since it's made from a common breed of white pig on a
diet of compound feed. It can still make a dent in your wallet, though, because of the import taxes necessary
to get it stocked in your grocery store all the way from Spain.
Chorizo
A common type of Spanish sausage, made from ground pork, pimentón, and other smoky spices.
There are soft, fresh versions out there, but the ones you'll find from Europe are usually cured or smoked so
that you can just slice and eat.
Capicola
The name, from the Italian capo ("head") and collo ("neck"), refers to where the meat is cut from: pork
muscle that runs from the neck to the ribs. It's salted, cased, and rubbed with hot paprika for spicier versions,
then cures for six months. The resulting charcuterie is tender and fatty, with a good amount of fatty marbling.
Bresaola
Think of this one as a beef version of capicola. Top round beef gets air-dried, salted, and then aged for
two to three months while it firms and deepens in color. It's leaner than most pork charcuterie, though no less
delicious.
Testing Forcemeats
After the forcemeats are prepared, they should be “tested” to determine three key factors:
 Bind
 Flavor
 Consistency
Indicators Of A Broken Forcemeat
Fat appearing on the outside.
Excessive shrinkage.
A broken forcemeat can be saved:
 by adding a panada
 adding more protein
 chilling
 phosphate
PANADAS
Adds to structure and texture. No more than 20% of total volume
 BREAD – crust less white bread and mil
 FLOUR – pate au choux or heavy béchamel with egg yolk
 RICE OR POTATO – well cooked
TYPES OF CHARCUTERIE AND FORCEMEAT
FORCEMEAT STYLES
 Straight
 Country-Style
 Gratin
 5-4-3
 Mousseline (moos-uh-LEEN)
STRAIGHT FORCEMEAT
 Combination of pork and pork fat with a dominant meat in equal parts.
 Eggs/Cream added
 Smoother and more refined.
 Pâtés , terrines, galantines, sausages
 Fill a pâté en croûte (wrapped in pâté dough with herbs spices or lemon zest)
COUNTRY-STYLE FORCEMEAT
 Coarse in texture. They are traditionally made from pork and pork fat, often with a percentage of liver
and other garnish ingredients.
 Panada – a paste of variable composition.
GRATIN FORCEMEAT
 Some portion of the dominant meat is sautéed and cooled before it is ground.
 Gratin = browned (enhance flavor and color)
5-4-3 FORCEMEAT
 Combination of meat, fat, ang seasonings into a very finely textured foremeat.
 5 meat, 4 fat, 3 Ice.
 Frankfurters, blockwurst and knockwurst.
 Binders; non-fat dry milk, sodium caseinate, and phosphates
MOUSSELINE FORCEMEAT
 A very light forcemeat, is based on tender, lean white meats . The inclusion of cream and eggs gives
mousselines their characteristic light texture and consistency.
 Excessively agitated cream will result in a broken emulsion.
 Quenelles, terrines seafood sausage, timbale, farce
FORCEMEAT INGREDIENTS
Meat - Locomotion muscles for flavor, tender muscles for garnish
Meat ingredients

 PORK
– most commonly used in charcuterie. Has neutral flavor and high water retention. Low in cost.
 BEEF
– bull meat is desirable for color and binding power. Moderately expensive.
 VEAL
– very delicate flavor. Very expensive.
 POULTRY
– mild flavor, naturally softer, and lighter texture. Relatively inexpensive.
 GAME
– wild = strong flavor farmed = milder flavor. Very expensive.
 FISH & SHELLFISH

– wide range of flavors and textures. Generally expensive.

INGREDIENTS USD IN FORCEMEAT
 MEAT – the predominant meat is referred to when naming and gives it the essential flavor
 FATS – add moisture and richness
 BINDERS – help maintain texture and emulsification.
 SEASONING - Salts & curing salts (preservatives)
- Marinades, herbs and spices
 GARNISHES
COOKING METHODS
Salting, Smoking and Curing
SALT
 The world's oldest preservative, is therefore one of the main tools in charcuterie.
 It draws moisture out of foods, which makes it more difficult for bacteria to thrive, and it also draws
water out of the bacteria themselves, which kills them.
 The oldest ingredient in meat processing, has antibacterial properties. According to the amount of salt
used, it will be stored at either room temperature or at refrigerated temperature.
SMOKING
 In charcuterie, primarily aims to complete curing which already began with the reduction in water
content through salting, adding antibacterial compounds and also adding flavour. The products are put
in smoke from the slow pyrolysis of wood scrapings heated by electric resistance.
CURING
 Enables dehydration of the product – by reducing the water content, this technique directly acts on the
physicochemical and microbiological properties of the foods.
PREPARING FORCEMEAT
How to make Charcuterie
 Well the most important thing is a place to drying cure.. you will need a spot you can hang the meat for
months on end at a steady temperature and humidity... such as a room in the basement or a converted
beer fridge.... Once you have that set up you can pretty much just jump into whole muscle cures since
all they need is meat, salt and spices.... if you want to make salami you obviously would need the
grinder, stuffer and need nitrates to prevent spoilage / botulism... but other than that it's a job which is
pretty lean on the need for special equipment....
PREPARATION GUIDELINES
 Forcemeat preparations include raw meats, liver, eggs and dairy products. If improperly handled, these
can become potentially hazardous foods due to the temperature creating a good environment for the
growth of microorganisms. To avoid the risk of foodborne illnesses, temperatures must be carefully
controlled and all cutting boards and food contact surfaces must be as sanitary as possible at all times.
 To ensure a proper emulsification, the forcemeat must be kept cold — below 4’C (40’F) — at all times.
Refrigerate all moist ingredients and keep forcemeats in progress in an ice bath. Chilling or freezing the
metal grinder and processor parts help keep the ingredients as cold as possible.
 Cut all foods into convenient sizes that fit into the food processor and grinder openings. Do not
overstuff grinders or overfill food processors. When grinding items twice, always begin with a larger
plate, followed with a medium or small plate. For exceptional smoothness, press the forcemeat through
a sieve after grinding to remove any lumps.