CHARCUTERIE / LARDER
Definition & terms
2 Production, classification, processing
2.1 Sausages
2.2 Forcemeats
2.3 Marinades, cures, brines
3 Knowledge of cold meat platter
4 Types & uses of chaud froid
5 Preparing aspic gelly
6 Ham Bacon & Gammon
6.1 Difference
6.2 Processing
6.3 Uses
1 SAUSAGES
The origin of this popular form of meat food is difficult to trace. It was over two thousand years ago that the Romans enjoyed this delicacy and various forms were known as Tomacina, Circelli, etc. The word ‘sausage’ can trace its ancestry to the Latin salsus (salted) which might suggest that the original type was prepared from cured meats, which could be preserved for a longer time. The ancient town of Salamis provided a place, association for salami and its fame evidently spread, as we now have many types of; Italian, French and German Salami, usually with a prefix indicating the locality of origin.
Crepinettes are flat sausages made from fresh pork and wrapped in caul. Sausages can be considered under three main sections, though there will be, of course, some overlapping between the sections.
Composition
Sausages consist of forcemeat prepared with minced pork, poultry, veal and lamb.
Casings
The intestines of sheep, hog and cattle according to the required diameter. The natural casings are available but require a great deal of labour to be processed satisfactorily.
Cellulosic or artificial intestines are made of edible or inedible cellulosic material. They are available in all sizes and are adapted to specific uses. The casings can stand boiling temperature and they are porous and let the smoke go through.
Fresh Sausages
As they are a perishable product, speed in production and distribution is essential. Pork, beef and veal meat is used. Some of the sausages have cereals added to the meat and seasoning, e.g. chipolates, bokwurst.
Cooked Sausages
Beef, veal, ham, tongue and pork are used to prepare sausages. Sometimes a binder is used. The minced meat is cooked and then stuffed into casings. Liver sausages, black pudding, Frankfurters, etc.
Dry Sausages
Pork is used, which is an important constituent. The Food Regulations necessitated the pork to be heated to a temperature not lower than 140°F or refrigerated not below 48°F as a precaution. Dry curing is done after pickling and then smoked. The dry sausages are salami, mortadella.
Ingredients
Standard quality ingredients should be used, with proper seasoning and binder. Fresh beef and pork have greater binding qualities than the frozen variety. Good quality meat should be used, pork fat is added, if necessary. The internal fats have a higher melting point. The fats should be absorbed by the binder or the excess oil will collect under the skin of the sausage and be detrimental not only to the appearance but also to the taste.
A product containing no lactose or milk fat but containing 85% protein was found and it is known as gervita. By using gervita in sausage, the fat contained therein is in a stable form and the loss on cooking is reduced. Another important aspect is that it swells and minimizes shrinkage. The meat used must be finely minced.
Binders
Such as bread, rusk, rice flour, farina (potato flour) are used in small quantities.
Flavouring and seasoning ingredients used are cayenne pepper powder, paprika, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, pistachio nuts, mustard powder, sage, thyme, etc. Salt, vinegar, saltpetre, herbs act as preservatives. The mixing of the ingredients should be thorough to get good results.
Sausages casings are obtained from the intestines of sheep, cattle and pigs, which are carefully cleaned. Cellulose and synthetic casings are being widely used. Different diameter casings are available for the sausages.
The mixture is pumped into the casings. The sizes, different ingredients and processing give different names to the sausages.
TYPES OF SAUSAGES
Frankfurt Sausages
It is a German speciality and is most often used to accompany sauerkraut. They are served hot as hors-d’oeuvres with grated radish. They are made from a forcemeat composed of lean pork, trimmed of all fat, minced with bacon. Saltpetre is added to give a slightly pink colour. They are smoked, which gives them the typical yellowish outside colour. German Frankfurters are thus called if they come from Frankfurt or its immediate surroundings.
Chipolata Sausages
They are long twisted sausages made in very small sized casings. These are divided into small sausages and can be grilled, sautéed in butter or poached in white wine. They are made of pork meat and rusk is the binder with pepper, salt, pimento, nutmeg, thyme and cayenne pepper. When cut, it is slightly pinkish in colour and is served with roast turkey and Rognons sauté turbigo dishes.
Strasbourg Sausages
These sausages are made like smoked Frankfurt sausages.
They are mainly used for garnishing sauerkraut.
Mortadella
It is a larger oval shaped type of sausage of Italian origin. The Mortadella of Bologna has the highest reputation. Mortadella is also made in France. This is a smooth sausage prepared with pork and beef with pork fat, garlic, pistachios, cardamom, cloves, salt, pepper, etc. It is filled in beef bladders and smoked.
Salamis
They are smoked and usually served sliced. They are medium sized sausages of beef and pork with garlic and salt, peppercorns, etc. The texture varies from coarse to very finely cut meat.
The most renowned is the Bologna.
The different salamis are:
Belgian salami: It consists of beef and pork in a distinctive white casing, without garlic.
Italian salami: It consists of pork and beef with rice like speckles of fat. It is well-seasoned with wine and garlic.
Danish salami: It is made up of pork and veal, bright pink in appearance with a distinctive salty flavour and slight garlic flavouring.
Black Pudding: One of the earliest cooked sausages consisting of blood, oatmeal, onions, pepper, rice flour, pimentos, salt, mustard powder, etc. They are black in colour.
2 FORCEMEAT
Pork is used as a basic ingredient for forcemeat stuffing. Pork is minced, ground, chopped or diced into what is called “forcemeat”. Every forcemeat has a binding such as rice, potatoes, panada or fat which holds meat. It is used for the preparation of many speciality items and is also used as stuffings or garnishes for meat, eggs, fish, poultry, game or vegetables.
The composition of forcemeat is made up of 40% dominant flavour meat, i.e. chicken, meat, lambs; 30% pork meat – it gives flavour and moisture; 30% pork fat imparts tenderness, binds and contributes to flavour.
To these mixture herbs, spices, nuts and seasoning are added.
The forcemeat is used to prepare terrines, pates, sausages, galantines.
The general American definition of forcemeat is ground or pureed flesh (meat, poultry or fish) which is combined with fat and seasonings and then bound by the process of emulsification or the addition of other binders. The French term for forcemeat, farce, can indicate a stuffing of either meat or non-meat type. This being the case, a farce may be made of bread or vegetables.
Types of Forcemeat
There are five primary types of forcemeat, each having its own distinctive ingredients and preparation.
1) Campagne or Country-Style Forcemeat
2) Straight Method Forcemeat
3) Gratin-Style Forcemeat4) Mousseline-Style Forcemeat
5) 5/4/3 Emulsion Forcemeat: Frankfurter
Forcemeat Production
The basis of successful forcemeat preparation begins, as with all products, with proper preparation. Carefully select the ingredients which are to be used and assemble them before beginning. This will save time and effort later. It is important to choose the right pieces of equipment and to prepare them properly for production. The two primary pieces of processing equipment needed are the grinder and some type of food processor. The preparation of forcemeat can be broken into three main steps: fabrication and grinding; molding, forming and stuffing; and cooking.
3. MARINADES
The final flavoring agent is the marinade, a seasoned liquid in which a product is soaked for the purpose of either flavoring, or tenderizing, or both. There are three primary kinds of marinade and three primary types of marinades. The primary kinds of marinade are cooked, raw and instant. The three primary types are oil, acid and flavor.
COOKED marinade is first prepared over heat, then cooled before the product is added.
RAW marinade is a mixture used without being cooked, thereby requiring longer exposure of the product and is used to change the texture of the product.
INSTANT marinade is primarily used for flavoring a product and is formulated for a relatively short marination time.
OIL-BASED marinades are used to preserve moisture in a product.
ACID BASED marinades are used to help tenderize a product. They are normally based on vinegars, wines, lemon juice or other acid type liquids.
FLAVOR marinades are herbs, spices and vegetables. The purpose is to flavor the product by extended exposure.
4. CHAUD-FROID
Chaud-froid translated means “hot-cold”. The name refers to the fact that this sauce is applied hot and served cold. The high gelatin content of the sauce makes it possible to apply it to an item while still warm and flowing. As the cooling sauce gels, it adheres to the product. It gives a smooth, pristine surface, and seals the item from the air.
Chaud-froid sauce is used for coating a variety of items, including galantines; terrines; cold timbales; whole or individual joints of poultry, meat, or game; whole or fillets of fish, and eggs. The reasons for using chaud-froid sauce are:
Protection of an item from the air while sitting on a buffet.
The sauces act as a background or canvas on which to decorate. Plus the chaud-froid is an adornment in itself.
The sauce can complement the flavor of the coated item.
There are a wide variety of additions made to caud-froid sauces, depending on the intended end used. The result is a broad range of colors and flavors, all called by the name chaud-froid.
Types - chaud-froid
The most common method of categorizing chaud-froid sauces is color. What they all have in common is a high content of aspic jelly. The approach to chaud-froid sauces can vary, the two primary methods being the classical and contemporary.
Classical Method
Classical recipes call for a base of velouté or béchamel. This is reduced with stock suitable for the item with which it will be used. To this reduction a suitable aspic jelly and cream are added. This method is often used today.
Contemporary Method
A modern variation of the sauce given below is prepared without a roux-based sauce. The result is chaud-froid sauce which has a less starchy mouth feel. The method is also faster. However, in all cases, attention must be given to developing the flavor of the sauce.
5 ASPIC JELLY
An aspic jelly of the French term aspic gelee, is a flavorful, gelatinous stock which has been carefully clarified. Aspic is a prepared dish in which slices or dices of poultry, meat, game, fish, seafood or fruit are molded in a clarified in a meat, fish or fruit jelly. To reduce the confusion, we will use these definitions.
As we stated, aspic jelly is a flavorful, gelatinous stock, which has been clarified. Any well-made stock, prepared with large amounts of bones, will gel when chilled, however, without the quality of being clarified; the jelly is not aspic jelly. At this point it is merely a savory jelly or fruit jelly, as the case may be. Although the savory and fruit jellies have uses in the kitchen, they cannot be used for preparations calling for aspic jelly.
In the broadcast scene, it is color which classifies the savory aspic jellies. Amber is used with beef and game. Light amber tone is used with veal, poultry and pork. White (fish) has almost no amber tone and is used with fish and seafood.
PREPARATION
Classical Method
The classical method of preparing aspic is making a stock with the addition of more collagen-rich products. In particular these include pork skin and calves feet. The classical methods have two major stages in the production of Aspic and Jelly. First comes preparation of special stock, followed by a classification. This kind of Aspic Jelly depends solely on the gelinte present in the bone for gelling.
Quick Method
The quick method for making savory aspic jelly is the adding of commercial gelatin to be prepared by consommé. It’s very practical for kitchens that use a limited amount of aspic jelly, but have consommé on hand on a regular basis. The flavor and clarity of this type of aspic jelly will depend on the quality of consommé used. Besides being quicker, there is also less chance of scorching when clarifying a consommé, compared to clarifying a jelly.
For a quick amber savory jelly:
Prepare a good quality brown stock, using bones of the type of meat with which aspic jelly will be used.
Clarify as you do for consommé.
Chill a small portion of the clarified stock.
Distribute and rehydrate the desired amount of gelatin in the cooled portion of the stock.
Stir the bloom gelatin into the remaining warm stock.
Chill a small amount in the remaining stock.
For a quick white aspic jelly follow the same procedure, except using fish consommé.
6. HAM
Ham, in the simplest terms, is the hind of leg of a pig. Because of the popularity of cured pork, the term has become synonymous in many instances with the cured and often smoked preparations of the leg. Salt is always the main curing agent. However, today nitrites, both sodium- and potassium-based , play an important role in control of clostridium botulinum and color retention in cooked hams.
Once cured, hams may or may not be smoked, depending on the variety. There are both cooked and uncooked types of hams. Hams in the 12-14 pound range are considered the most tender.
Varieties of Ham
Fresh Ham
Country Ham
Kentucky Ham
Pennsylvania Ham
Smithfield Ham
Sugar Cured
Virginia Ham
Williamsburg Ham
Boiled Ham
Canned Ham
Bayonne Ham
Prosciutto
Culatello
Prague Ham
Presunto Ham
Serrano Ham
Westphalian Ham
York Ham
Capacolla Ham
Picnic Ham
BACON
Bacon is the term used to describe a cured and usually smoked meat product made from the belly of pigs. The production of bacon is much the same as the one given above for ham.
Varieties of Bacon
Sliced Bacon
Slab Bacon
Country-cured Bacon
Canadian Bacon
Pea Meal Bacon
Schinkenspeck (Ham-Bacon)
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