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4 Kinds Of Pork Charcuterie You Can Make At Home

Dan Clapson - Thursday, February 7, 2013

Who doesn’t love good quality charcuterie as a dinner-precursor when you’re out at restaurant? Well, next time you’re having some friends over for dinner, why not try whipping up a homemade charcuterie board. Pickles and preserves are easy enough, so try venturing a little further and curing some pork to make some of these aged meat classics.

You don’t have to be a full-blown chef at home to successfully pull off this cooking venture for the first time. All you need is a splash of ambition and the virtue of patience! Patience is key to curing meats and we all have enough of that, right? 😉

Here are 4 different ways you can utilize cuts of pork to make charcuterie in your own home!

1. Pancetta

This cured pork belly is like a sweeter (and unsmoked) bacon. It’s perfect in carbonara, great with sautéed greens or with scrambled eggs in the morning. Out of all of the types of cured meats here, it’s probably the easiest. So, why not start your foray into the world of charcuterie with this recipe for pancetta.

2. Prosciutto

Ah, prosciutto! This melt-in-your-mouth cut of pork, coming from the leg, has long been a sought-after slice of heaven. Amazing when wrapped around grilled asparagus, with fresh figs, or in a simple sandwich with some pesto and soft mozzarella. Yes, it’s hard to go wrong with prosciutto. Here’s a how-to for whipping up some prosciutto at home, make this your next do-it-yourself edible project!

3. Mortadella

Arguably a ‘fancy’ bologna, mortadella is a tender meat cooked in a similar style to sausage, then sliced. Calgary’s CHARCUT dishes out some beautiful pig’s head mortadella, studded with pistachios. Serve at home with some crackers and grainy mustard and you’ll definitely have some happy guests! Here’s how you can make some of your own mortadella.

4. Coppa

Utilizing some pork shoulder and some simple curing will leave you with coppa, a salty slice of pork that’s similar in taste to prosciutto, but with a bit more bite to it. Out of all of the types of pork charcuterie mentioned here, it’s almost as easy to cure as the pancetta, so why not give it a shot with these simple instructions?