Cheers to the Publican, Repast and Present

To the Mad Butcher: Charcuterie and Sausages

Here’s to the MAD BUTCHER:

Who, with Blades that Blur

—through tendon, I’m sure—

Carves the Barnyard’s Fetid Flavor

Into Rare Meats

We Graciously Cook

And Respectfully Savor.

We knew when we opened The Publican that we’d make our own charcuterie. And not just dry-cured salumi but terrines and headcheese and pork pies—all those old-school, old-world classics that utilize every inch of an animal. We had super-lofty goals for what we could produce, and we had all the talent to drive it (namely Brian Huston, Erling Wu-Bower, and Cosmo, who were really passionate about taking on the charcuterie program). So we did what we could in the space that we had. But we were basically doing the impossible—trying to stuff everything that we were sourcing and curing into a very small walk-in. We tried out different locations for our stash—a storage room in an undisclosed location (Erling’s parents’ basement)—but we needed more space. That’s when the idea for the butcher shop, Publican Quality Meats, came about.

Our style of sausage making was sort of born out of a lot of failure. A lot of our sausages were breaking—the fat and meat were separating when you cooked them—and they didn’t have the firm hot-dog snap that we love. Honestly, a lot of times when you order house-made sausage in a restaurant, it’s broken. It might taste good, but it’ll be crumbly and oily. Or when you’re grilling at home, if the sausage is sort of spitting fat at you, that’s a sign that it’s probably broken. So we were losing a big batch of sausage just about every week after Publican Quality Meats opened, which lead Erling to develop our now-signature method: Keep everything super-cold (we partially freeze the meat before we grind it, in addition to the mixing bowl, paddle, and meat-grinder parts), then we paddle the crap out of it with a mixer. It’s like making mayonnaise—you’re creating a bond with the water and fat around the proteins. The same thing applies to sausages. We like to joke that the sausage at The Publican is so tight you could bounce a quarter off it. That nice, taut bind gives the sausage great snap and texture. Don’t get discouraged if yours don’t come out perfect the first couple times. Keep at it. It has taken us years to become mediocre at it.

PUBLICAN CHARCUTERIE PRIMER

COSMO We’ve broken down our charcuterie into four basic categories. You got your sausages (Mettwurst, Morteau, Toulouse, Boudin Noir), your bacons (Publican Bacon and Pancetta), your whole-muscle salamis (Spicy Coppa and Lonza), and your terrines (Pork and Duck Rillettes, Chicken Liver Pâté, Harissa Pâté, Headcheese, and Pork Pies). But first, a tutorial on making cured meats:

To Make Cured Meats, You Need These Five Things

1. Salt

Salt (specially curing salt #1 and curing salt #2, which you can buy in specialty stores and online) is the most important ingredient in curing meat. It not only enhances the flavor of the meat, but it also increases the speed at which the meat dehydrates, which is a good thing because it limits the amount of water available for certain bacteria to grow and spoil the meat. The amount of salt in cured meat affects its texture, flavor, moisture, and ability to slice by reacting with the salt-soluble proteins in the meat.

2. Water

Water or other liquid of some sort (for example, wine) is not necessarily required but can help with the flavor and the ability to mix and emulsify the meat.

3. Nitrate or Nitrite

Nitrates are converted into nitrites during the curing process. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to cure meat because nitrites keep bacteria from growing, especially botulism. They also keep the flavor fresh-tasting and the meat from oxidizing and turning brown. They’re the reason the meat is nice and red when you cut into a salami.

4. Sugar

Sugar is used for flavor and is also what lactic acid feeds off of in fermented sausage (which is a good thing). Sugars converted into lactic acid directly result in the sourness or tang of the salami. You can use granulated sugar, but refined sugars, such as dextrose, are more commonly used, and that’s what we use.

5. Spices

Although spices aren’t necessarily important to the curing process, they’re crucial for the final flavor of the meat. Without spices, cured meat, such as prosciutto or Serrano ham, would taste like the pure animal it came from. When making salami, though, you want to enhance the off-cuts you’re using and produce a unique flavor.

OTHER STUFF YOU’LL NEED

Hog casings (28- to 32-millimeter size)

Beef middles or casings (we use 14-inch pre-tied beef middles that we get from a natural casing company in Wisconsin, see this page)

Stand mixer with a paddle attachment

Meat grinder or stand mixer attachment

Sausage stuffer or stand mixer attachment

Sausage pricker

Sharp boning knife

Butcher’s twine

Cheesecloth

Terrine mold

The Process

1. Selecting the Meat

This is the crucial first step for making great cured meat. If you use poor-quality meat, you end up with a poor-quality product. We use heritage Shlagel, LaPryor, and Becker Lane pork because these high-quality meats have better flavor. This is particularly important when you’re curing the whole muscle (as for prosciutto, coppa, and lonza) because you can’t hide the meat behind a bunch of seasoning—the point is to taste the pure richness of the pork.

2. Mixing

This is when a sound recipe is your friend. You’re combining your ground meat with spices, curing salts, water or wine, sugar, and nitrates.

3. Fermenting

This is the process of putting the meats at a slightly higher-than-desirable temperature and humidity, ideally 65°F to 70°F and 80 to 90 percent relative humidity. Fermenting is important because it helps lower the acidity or pH level of the meat, which makes for a safer product. It also helps kick-start lactic acid formation, which plays a big role in the final flavor.

4. Drying

The final step of the process is drying the meat. Ideally the meat would sit in a temperature and humidity-controlled room (between 52°F and 57°F and 75 to 80 percent relative humidity). In your home, your basement or garage can work, so long as you’re keeping a close eye on a temperature/humidity sensor and there’s no chance of bugs or pests getting into your meat. It usually takes 6 to 8 weeks for a normal-size salami to dry and can be longer with larger products.

mettwurst

This is inspired by a great ring bologna that I get at Brandon Meats and Sausage in Brandon, Wisconsin, on the way to ice fishing every year. Brian Huston and I started tasting ring bolognas and testing recipes. We realized that the best ring bolognas are all about massive amounts of salt and fat.

Makes 5 (1-pound) sausages

1½ tablespoons mustard seeds

½ tablespoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

1 allspice berry

1½ teaspoons celery seeds

1½ teaspoons black peppercorns

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

3 rounded tablespoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon curing salt #1 or 1¼ teaspoons celery salt

1 teaspoon garlic granules

3½ tablespoons dextrose

2½ pounds pork shoulder, cut into 1- to 2-inch cubes

2½ pounds beef chuck

5 (14-inch-long) beef casings

Over medium heat in a small skillet, toast the mustard seeds until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Set aside. Return the skillet to the heat and add the coriander seeds, caraway seeds, allspice, celery seeds, and peppercorns. Transfer the toasted spices, except the mustard seeds, to a spice grinder. In a large bowl, combine the toasted and ground spices with the nutmeg, kosher salt, curing salt #1 or celery salt, garlic granules, and dextrose. Add the meat and toss until it’s well coated. Cover and transfer to the fridge to marinate overnight.

Fit a grinder with the smallest die and grind the meat. Lay the ground meat on a baking sheet and transfer it to the freezer for 1 hour, or until the edges start to freeze and get crispy. If there’s room, put the paddle attachment and mixer bowl in there, too.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Add the meat to the chilled mixer bowl and, using the chilled paddle attachment, mix until fully emulsified, 3 to 4 minutes. Test the mixture to see if it is well mixed: form a golf ball–size round and set it in a small pan. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 3 to 5 minutes, until cooked through. If the ball stays firm, doesn’t crumble, and doesn’t leak any (or very much) fat, then it’s emulsified, and the sausage mixture is ready to stuff into the casings. If the mixture isn’t ready, mix for 1 more minute.

Stuff one-fifth of the sausage into the beef casing. Poke the filled casing with a sausage pricker, and then tie as tightly as you can. Repeat until you have 5 sausages. Hang the sausage links from the top rack in the fridge overnight.

Prepare a smoker, using hickory or applewood chips. Smoke the sausages until they are fully cooked or their internal temperature reaches 155°F on an instant-read meat thermometer. Cool and serve. The sausage will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or vacuum sealed in the freezer for up to 4 months.

morteau

Morteau is a traditional smoked sausage from the Morteau region in eastern France, where they take their sausage very seriously. We learned this the hard way when the French government sent us a “Cease and Desist,” saying we aren’t allowed to call it Morteau if it isn’t made in Morteau. We tried re-naming it Freedom Sausage, but that just didn’t have the same ring to it…Basically, it’s the godfather of andouille sausage.

Makes 15 (6- to 7-inch) links

3 allspice berries

½ teaspoon whole cloves

½ teaspoon ground mace

6 juniper berries

2½ tablespoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon curing salt #1

1 teaspoon dry mustard powder

2½ teaspoons granulated garlic

2½ teaspoons piment d’Espelette

1½ teaspoons onion granules

1½ teaspoons thyme leaves

2½ teaspoons ground cayenne pepper

1 (6-pound) pork shoulder, cut into 1- to 2-inch cubes

1 hank hog casings

Toast and grind the allspice, cloves, mace, and juniper. Combine the toasted spices with the kosher salt, curing salt #1, dry mustard powder, granulated garlic, piment d’Espelette, onion granules, thyme, and cayenne in a large bowl and mix well. Add the pork and coat completely with the seasoning. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge to marinate overnight.

Fit a grinder with the ³∕₁₆-inch die and grind the meat. Lay the ground meat flat on a baking sheet and transfer it to the freezer for 1 hour or until the edges start to freeze and get crispy. If there’s room, put the paddle attachment and mixer bowl in the freezer, too.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Add the meat to the chilled mixer bowl and, using the chilled paddle attachment, mix until fully emulsified, 3 to 4 minutes.

Test the mixture to see if it is well mixed: form a golf ball–size round and set it in a small pan. Place the pan in the oven and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until cooked through. If the ball stays firm, doesn’t crumble, and doesn’t leak any (or very much) fat, then it’s emulsified, and the sausage mixture is ready to stuff into the casings. If the mixture isn’t ready, mix for 1 more minute.

Stuff the sausage into the hog casing, filling 6 to 7 inches. Poke the filled casing with a sausage pricker and then tie as tightly as you can. Repeat until you have 15 sausages. Set the sausages on a baking sheet or platter and let rest in the fridge overnight.

Prepare a smoker, using hickory or applewood chips.

Smoke the sausages until they’re fully cooked or their internal temperature reaches 155°F on an instant-read meat thermometer. Cool and serve. The sausage will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or, vacuum-sealed, up to 1 month in the freezer.

toulouse sausage

This is a white wine–garlic sausage, like a French-style Brat. It’s our fancy hotdog.

Makes 15 (6- to 7-inch) links

3 tablespoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon curing salt #1

2 teaspoons granulated garlic

1 tablespoon thyme leaves

1 (5-pound) pork shoulder, cut into 1- to 2-inch cubes

½ cup white wine, chilled

1 hank hog casings

Combine the kosher salt, curing salt #1, granulated garlic, and thyme in a large bowl and mix well. Add the pork and coat completely with the seasoning ingredients. Cover and transfer to the fridge to marinate overnight.

Fit a grinder with the ³∕₁₆-inch die and grind the meat. Lay the ground meat flat on a sheet pan and transfer to the freezer for 1 hour or until the edges start to freeze and get crispy. If there’s room, put the paddle and bowl from your mixer in the freezer, too.

Add the meat and white wine to the chilled bowl and, using the chilled paddle attachment, mix until fully emulsified, 3 to 4 minutes. Test the mixture to see if it is well mixed: form a golf ball–size round and set it in a small pan. Place the pan in the oven and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until cooked through. If the ball stays firm, doesn’t crumble, and doesn’t leak any (or very much) fat, then it’s emulsified, and the sausage mixture is ready to stuff into the casings. If the mixture isn’t ready, mix for 1 more minute.

Stuff the sausage into hog casing, filling 6 to 7 inches. Poke the filled casing with a sausage pricker and then tie as tightly as you can. Repeat until you have 15 sausages. Set the sausages on a baking sheet or platter and let rest in the fridge overnight.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Line a baking sheet with paper towels and set out a cooling rack. Decrease the heat so the boiling water is 180°F to 190°F on an instant-read thermometer. Poach the first 5 sausages until their internal temperature reaches 155°F on the thermometer. Transfer the poached sausages to the paper towels to drain, and then to the cooling rack to cool. Repeat for the remaining 10 sausages.

The poached sausages will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, in the freezer for up to 1 month, or for as long as 4 months in the freezer if vacuum-sealed. Alternatively, you may skip the poaching step, in which case the sausages will keep for 4 to 5 days in the fridge before you grill or pan-fry them.

boudin noir (blood sausage)

COSMO There are some styles of boudin noir that are composed completely of blood, and then there are those that are mostly meat and just flavored with blood. This one is half and half. It has a nice heat to it and great sort of floral flavor. You can find beef blood at almost any Asian market or you can ask your butcher.

Makes 15 (6- to 7-inch) links

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon curing salt #1

1½ teaspoons granulated garlic

1½ teaspoons coriander seeds

1½ teaspoons anise seeds

1 teaspoon pimentón de la Vera (hot smoked Spanish paprika)

1½ teaspoons piment d’Espelette

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano

1½ teaspoons chopped parsley

1 onion, thinly sliced, sautéed, and cooled

3 tablespoons sherry

3 tablespoons white wine

1¼ pounds pork fatback

4¾ pounds pork shoulder, cut into 1- to 2-inch cubes

3½ cups beef blood

1½ teaspoons buttermilk

1½ teaspoons minced chives

1 hank hog casings

Combine the kosher salt, curing salt #1, granulated garlic, coriander seeds, anise seeds, pimentón, piment d’Espelette, thyme, oregano, parsley, cooked onions, sherry, and white wine in a large bowl and mix well. Add the fat back and pork and coat completely. Cover and transfer to the fridge to marinate overnight.

Fit a grinder with the smallest die and grind the meat. Lay the meat flat on a baking sheet and transfer to the freezer for 1 hour or until the edges start to freeze and get crispy. If there’s room, put the paddle and bowl from your mixer in there, too.

Add the beef blood to a heavy pot over low heat, stirring constantly until the blood starts to thicken, 5 to 10 minutes. It should almost have the look of black whipped cream when it’s ready.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Add the meat, cooked blood, buttermilk, and chives to the chilled bowl and, using the chilled paddle attachment, mix until fully emulsified, 3 to 4 minutes. Test the mixture to see if it is well mixed: form a golf ball–size round and set it in a small pan. Place the pan in the oven and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until cooked through. If the ball stays firm, doesn’t crumble, and doesn’t leak any (or very much) fat, then it’s emulsified and the sausage mixture is ready to stuff into the casings. If the mixture isn’t ready, mix for 1 more minute.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Decrease the heat so the boiling water is 180°F to 190°F on an instant-read thermometer. Poach the sausage until its internal temperature reaches 155°F on the thermometer. Transfer the poached sausages to the paper towels to drain, and then to the cooling rack to cool. Repeat for the remaining 10 sausages.

The poached sausages will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, in the freezer for up to 1 month, or for as long as 4 months in the freezer if vacuum-sealed. Or you can skip the poaching step and the sausages will keep for 4 to 5 days.

publican bacon

Since our goal at The Publican was to do over-the-top oysters, pork, and beer—and because people are crazy about bacon—we decided to do our own ridiculous version. We cure pork bellies in maple syrup, hot smoke them, and then cut them into super-thick slices that are more like blocks. I’m a huge fan of when you have pancakes with bacon or sausage on the side and the syrup gets on the meat—this is just like that, a little salty, a little smoky, and a little sweet. To serve it, we get it as crispy as we can, baste it with a little more maple syrup, and that’s the story. Like any other recipe of ours, it’s about the quality of the ingredients, so start with great pork and great maple syrup.

Makes 5 pounds

5-pound slab pork belly

1 gallon Pork Stock (this page, or store-bought) or water

½ cup B-grade maple syrup plus more for drizzling

1 tablespoon rice bran oil

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Place the pork belly, pork stock or water, and maple syrup in a braising pan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and foil. Braise in the oven for 2½ hours, until the tip of a knife easily slides through the thickest part. Set aside to cool in the liquid, about 1 hour.

When completely cool, cut the slab in half and then cut each half into ¾-inch slices. The bacon is very rich, so cut 1 or 2 slices per person.

Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Sear the slices on both sides, working in batches. Transfer the slices to a serving platter and drizzle each slice with 1 teaspoon of maple syrup.

Leftover bacon slab keeps in the fridge, tightly wrapped, for up to 3 weeks.

pancetta

COSMO Pancetta is often referred to as “Italian bacon.” Unlike bacon, however, it’s not smoked and is much more herbaceous and spicy (from a ton of black pepper).

Makes 5 pounds

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons curing salt #1

¼ cup kosher salt

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns

2 tablespoons juniper berries

4 bay leaves

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

8 sprigs thyme

5 pounds pork belly

2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except the pork and the pepper. Mix well. Rub the mixture evenly over the belly, transfer the pork to an airtight container, and store in the fridge for 7 days. Flip the belly every other day.

Rinse and dry the belly. Rub the lean side of the meat with the black pepper. Roll up the belly into a cylinder as tight as you can so the seasoned side is on the inside. Use butcher’s twine to tie the cylinder as tightly as you can so it keeps its shape. Transfer to the fridge to dry for 2 weeks, hanging from the top rack if possible. Make sure to remove the strings before eating. The pancetta will last for about 1 month in the fridge.

guanciale

COSMO Guanciale (pronounced gwan-chee-AHL-ay) is like bacon, except instead of being made from pork belly, it’s made from pork jowls, which are essentially pure fat. The wine adds a nice tang and fruitiness, combined with Christmas spices, like allspice and cloves, and then some chile for well-rounded heat.

We use guanciale for a lot of things—making other charcuterie, including pâtés and sausages, to add rich meatiness to various dishes (especially beans and pasta), and also as the fat in warm vinaigrettes. It is probably most famous for being a main ingredient in Amatriciana sauce. We can’t tell you how many times someone has come into the butcher shop and completely butchered the word “guanciale,” but we just smile and say, “Yep. Making pasta Amatriciana?”

Makes 5 pounds

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns

½ teaspoon whole cloves

½ teaspoon whole allspice

2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon juniper berries

3½ cups sugar

3½ cups salt

1⅓ cups chopped fresh garlic

2 cups red wine

5 pounds cleaned pork jowls

In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the peppercorns, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, red pepper flakes, and juniper berries until fragrant. Transfer the mixture to a spice grinder and grind them into a coarse powder. We use a mortar and pestle at the restaurant, but a coffee grinder will also work. Transfer the ground spices to a large bowl and stir in the sugar, salt, garlic, and wine. Rub the mixture evenly over the pork.

Transfer the pork to a nonreactive container with a fitted lid and cure in the fridge for 7 days. Flip the guanciale every day, unlike pancetta and bacon, which you turn only every other day.

Rinse the jowls and let them dry on a rack, uncovered, in the fridge overnight. Wrap the jowls in cheesecloth so they are completely covered and tie with butcher’s twine. Hang the meat from the top rack in the fridge for a minimum of 2 weeks before using. The outside should be completely dry. At that point, it’ll keep for 3 months.

spicy coppa salami

COSMO A note before getting started: When making salume of any kind, it’s critical to be exact. That’s why we give the measurements in grams for this recipe and the Lonza (this page) and suggest you invest in a scale if you’re going to make them. Wash your hands, work clean, and be smart because there are many more opportunities for harmful bacteria to grow in salume than in cooked sausage.

We do our salume a little old-school—we ferment them naturally instead of using a starter culture, which can mute the funkiness of the cured meat and lead to a salami that’s a little one-note. We like to think of our products as “barnyardy” in the best possible way. Starter cultures can also affect the texture of a salami, giving it a rubbery mouth-feel.

The process is the same for making both the Spicy Coppa and Lonza; the only thing that differs is the rub. It’s essential for both that you buy the best possible pork you can find that has never been processed or vacuum packed. It should be fresh off the whole animal. And while we let our salume age for about 3 months in a temperature- and humidity-controlled room, we realize that’s most likely not possible for you. We’ve compensated by adding a step: wrapping the meat in cheesecloth before hanging it in your fridge to age. The cheesecloth wrap retains any excess moisture and prevents the outside of the muscle from hardening too quickly before the inside dries out.

Makes 1 (5 to 5½-pound) salami

4.5 ounces kosher salt

1.3 ounces dextrose

1.28 ounces curing salt #2

8 pounds coppa or fat-on pork loin (roughly 2 coppas or pork loins), cut into 1- to 2-inch cubes

SPICY COPPA RUB

130 grams pimentón de la Vera (hot smoked Spanish paprika)

40 grams ground cayenne pepper

40 grams red pepper flakes

30 grams fennel seeds

½ cup water

½ cup distilled white vinegar

Combine the kosher salt, dextrose, and curing salt. Set aside.

Pat the meat as dry as possible with a clean towel. Look for any flaps where bacteria can grow underneath and trim with a sharp knife. Rub the meat as evenly as possible with the salt-dextrose mixture. Let the pork sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. The meat will begin to sweat as the protein reacts to the salt.

To make the rub, combine the pimentón, cayenne, pepper flakes, and fennel in a small bowl. Divide the rub in half; store half in an airtight container. Coat the pork as evenly as possible with the other half of the rub and place the pork in a clean nonreactive container. A large resealable bag works best. Let the pork sit in the fridge for 10 days, flipping the meat every other day.

On the tenth day, remove the pork from the bag, rinse the meat, and pat it dry with paper towels. Recoat the meat again with the remaining rub. Don’t pack it too hard onto the pork; just discard whatever falls off.

Using a large piece of cheesecloth, roll up the coppa as tightly as possible and secure the ends with the butchers’ twine. You want it to keep its compact, straight shape. (Look for a roast-tying tutorial on YouTube for the visual—this technique also comes in handy for pancetta, porchetta, and anything else rolled.)

Hang the salami from the top rack in your fridge and then play the waiting game. It will take about 3 to 4 months to age in your fridge.

The cheesecloth may develop mold on its surface. The mold should either be white, or a little blue-green. Both molds are harmless and actually help the aging process. (Both strains are similar to what’s found in penicillin.) The amount and color of your mold will depend on the environment in your fridge. Red mold is no good and means you need to throw out the meat. If the meat develops a strong, sour odor, that also means it’s no good.

After 4 months test your salami for doneness. There are all kinds of gadgets and gizmos you can buy to help you know when the salami is ready, but we do it the old-world way—we just cut into one side of it. It should be firm on the outside without too much give to it. Old-school Italians like their salami really firm and hard, but we prefer it a little softer and more supple.

When the salami is ready to eat, combine the water and vinegar in a large mixing bowl. Swab the salami with the solution. Pat the salami dry with paper towels and set it on a cooling rack to dry completely. Slice and serve. Once cut into, the salami will keep in the fridge for up to 6 months.

lonza salami

Lonza’s rub is mellow and herbaceous, resulting in a salami that tastes a little like speck (except that it’s not smoked).

Makes 1 (5 to 5½-pound) salami

4.5 ounces kosher salt

1.3 ounces dextrose

1.28 ounces curing salt #2

8 pounds coppa or fat-on pork loin (roughly 2 coppas or pork loins), cut into 1- to 2-inch cubes

LONZA RUB

25 grams fennel seeds

27 grams dried Mexican oregano

14 grams red pepper flakes

8 grams freshly ground black pepper

½ cup water

½ cup distilled white vinegar

Combine the kosher salt, dextrose, and curing salt. Set aside.

Pat the meat as dry as possible with a clean towel. Look for any little flaps where bacteria can grow underneath and trim with a sharp knife. Rub the meat as evenly as possible with the salt-dextrose mixture. Let the pork sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.

To make the rub, combine the fennel, oregano, pepper flakes, and pepper in a small bowl. Coat the pork as evenly as possible with the other half of the rub and place the pork in a clean nonreactive container. A large resealable bag works best. Let the pork sit in the fridge for 10 days, flipping the meat every other day.

On the tenth day, remove the meat from the bag, rinse it, and pat it dry with paper towels.

Using a large piece of cheesecloth, roll the pork as tightly as possible with the cheesecloth. You want it to keep its compact, straight shape. (Look for a roast-tying tutorial on YouTube—it’ll also come in handy for pancetta, porchetta, or anything else rolled.)

Hang the salami from the top rack in your fridge and then play the waiting game. It will take about 3 to 4 months to age in your fridge.

The cheesecloth may develop mold on its surface. The mold should either be white or slightly blue-green. Both molds are harmless and actually help the aging process. (Both strains are similar to what’s found in penicillin.) The amount and color of your mold will depend on the environment in your fridge. Red mold is no good and means you need to throw out the meat. If the meat develops a strong, sour odor, that also means it’s no good.

After 4 months test your salami for doneness. There are all kinds of gadgets and gizmos you can buy to help you know when the salami is ready, but we do it the old-world way—we just cut into one side of it. It should be firm on the outside with not too much give to it. Old-school Italians like their salami really firm and hard, but we prefer it a little softer and more supple.

pork and duck rillettes

It sounds fancy, but rillette is really just an unctuous, flavorful spread made out of long-cooked duck legs and pork shoulder, stewed in their own fat. The original version of this dish comes from Andre Soltner’s The Lutèce Cookbook, which my wife gave to me as a birthday present. We made some Publican tweaks, though, adding whiskey—the Frenchies use Armagnac—and lots of white wine. And instead of giving it a pulverized, homogenous texture, we keep ours really course and chunky. Then we serve it with jam (often peach preserves) or seasonal fruit on great crusty sourdough bread.

Makes about 3 cups

1½ teaspoons salt, plus more as needed

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ teaspoon finely chopped sage leaves

½ teaspoon thyme leaves

½ teaspoon crumbled dried bay leaf

1 pound duck legs

1 pound pork shoulder

½ pound pork belly

2 cups white wine

1 white onion, diced

1 clove garlic

2 teaspoons ground cloves, toasted

1 tablespoon rye whiskey

Macerated Peaches (recipe follows) or fruit preserves

Spence Sourdough (this page) or other good crusty peasant-style bread, toasted

In a small bowl, combine the salt, pepper, sage, thyme, and bay leaves. Season the meat with salt-herb mix. Cover and place in the fridge overnight.

In a Dutch oven, over medium-high heat, brown the duck legs on all sides. Pour off and reserve the fat for adding back later. Remove the legs from the pan and repeat with the pork shoulder and belly.

Return the duck and pork to the Dutch oven, putting the pork in first and the duck legs on top. Add the wine, onion, garlic, and cloves. Cover, bring the liquid to a boil, and then immediately decrease the heat to low and cook at a low bubble for 1 hour.

Check the duck legs for doneness, inserting the tip of a knife into one of the thickest parts. If the meat is becoming tender, cook for 20 more minutes. If the meat is not yet tender, cook for 30 more minutes, or until the meet is falling off the bones.

Transfer the duck legs from the pot to a plate. Carefully pick out all the bones. Return the meat to the pot and add the whiskey. Cook uncovered until all the moisture has cooked off, about 30 minutes.

Mash the pork and duck mixture with the back of a spoon, until it’s still coarse in texture. (We like it coarse, though you can mash it until it’s smoother if you prefer it that way.) The rillettes should be moist and fatty, so all of the reserved fat over the top. Taste and add more salt, if necessary. Err on the side of salty when the mixture is hot because the rillettes mellow in flavor as the mixture cools.

Serve cold or at room temperature with the peaches and sourdough bread.

MACERATED PEACHES

You can use this recipe for any seasonal fruit, and it makes a nice relish that’s a little sweet, a little savory.

Makes 1 or as many as you wish

Peaches, pitted

Extra-virgin olive oil

Lemon

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Honey (optional)

Slice the fruit into bite-size pieces. Toss with a splash of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, salt, and pepper. If the fruit is tart, add a drizzle of honey. Serve immediately.

chicken liver pâté

COSMO We were joking around that we wanted to make a pâté called “patasia” and put a bunch of Asian ingredients in it like sambal, rice wine vinegar, mirin, and fish sauce (a ton of fish sauce). We did it, and while it didn’t taste “Asian” by any stretch, it did taste pretty spectacular. It has been on the menu for four years, and if we took it off, our customers would revolt.

Makes 2 cups

Rice bran oil or other high smoking-point oil such as sunflower, grapeseed, or peanut

1 pound chicken livers, any veins or excess fat removed

½ white onion, sliced

3 cloves garlic, sliced

2 tablespoons Country Rib “Guts” (optional; this page)

½ cup unsalted butter

¾ cup rice wine vinegar

3 tablespoons fish sauce

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons mirin

1 tablespoon sambal

¼ cup heavy cream

¼ teaspoon curing salt #1

1½ teaspoons salt

Add about half the oil to a large sauté pan over high heat, enough so there’s a thin layer coating the entire bottom of the pan. Heat it almost to the point of smoking.

Pat dry the livers with a paper towel and carefully add them to the pan in a single layer. Depending on the size of your pan, you might need to do this in two or more batches. Sear them for 1 to 2 minutes until browned, then flip and sear the other side. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the onions, garlic, Country Rib “Guts,” and 2 tablespoons of the butter to the pan. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the onions and garlic are caramelized and tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, mirin, and sambal. Let the mixture reduce by two-thirds, or until the liquid starts to become slightly thicker and more syrupy, 10 to 12 minutes. Taste the mixture, it should be very tart and sweet. If it’s not, add a touch more mirin and rice wine vinegar.

Add the livers back to the pan and mix well. Cook them just long enough to warm, about 2 minutes. Transfer the whole mixture to a large bowl or nonreactive container. While the livers are still warm—they have to be warm or the pâté will come out grainy and discolored—add half the liver mixture plus 3 tablespoons of the butter, 2 tablespoons of the cream, and ⅛ teaspoon of the curing salt. Using an immersion blender, blend on low speed and slowly work your way up to high. Blend on high for 2 to 3 minutes to make sure the mixture is very smooth. Transfer the pâté to a clean large mixing bowl and repeat with the second half of the liver mixture plus the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter, 2 tablespoons of cream, and ⅛ teaspoon of curing salt.

Whisk together both batches and then push the whole mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a nonreactive container. Season with salt to taste. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap directly onto the surface of the pâté. This will help keep the pâté from oxidizing and discoloring. Refrigerate overnight; serve with crusty bread (especially Hemp Seed Ciabatta, this page) and pickles. The pâté will keep for up to 1 week in the fridge.

harissa pâté

COSMO The night before we opened Publican Quality Meats, we knew we needed one more pâté for the menu. We’d had no sleep and were delirious, so we attempted a version of this, which was a disaster. Eventually we got the balance right between the chicken liver-yness and our spin on harissa, and people loved it. It’s a pâté grand-mère, as opposed to campagna, which is more coarse and offal-based, so it’s a finer grind and smoother consistency.

If you don’t want to make your own spice paste, just sub in ¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons of store-bought harissa.

Makes 1 (10 by 2½ by 3-inch) terrine

SPICE PASTE

3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon ground guajillo chile powder

3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon Korean chile flakes

¼ teaspoon caraway seeds, toasted and ground

⅓ teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground

½ teaspoon pimentón de la Vera (hot smoked Spanish paprika)

1 clove garlic

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Dash of red wine

PANADE

1 cup panko bread crumbs

⅓ cup cream

1 large egg

PÂTÉ

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ white onion, sliced

1 pound pork shoulder, diced into 1-inch cubes

½ pound chicken livers, cleaned

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon granulated garlic

1½ tablespoons salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon curing salt #1

⅓ cup dried apricots, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices

½ pound bacon, thinly sliced

Pickles, for serving

Whole-grain mustard, for serving

Crusty bread, for serving

To make the spice paste: Place chile powder, chile flakes, caraway, cumin, pimentón, garlic, oil, and wine in a blender and blend on high until smooth. Set aside.

To make the panade: Combine the panko, cream, and egg in a medium bowl until it becomes a paste. Set aside.

To make the pâté: Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring constantly, until it becomes tender and translucent, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl or storage container and allow to cool completely. Stir in the pork, chicken livers, granulated garlic, salt, pepper, and curing salt. Refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Fit a meat grinder with the smallest die and grind the meat. Lay the ground meat on a baking sheet and transfer to the freezer for 20 minutes. Repeat and grind a second time.

In a large bowl, combine the mixture with the apricots and panade. Work the mixture vigorously with your hands for about 2 minutes.

Test the mixture to see if it is well mixed: form a quarter–size piece and set it in a small pan. Place the pan in the oven and cook for 5 minutes, or until cooked through. Taste and add salt to the terrine mixture if needed. It should taste slightly salty because the flavor will be muted when served cold.

Decrease the oven temperature to 300°F.

Line a terrine mold with the bacon, making sure the entire inside surface of the mold is covered and that there’s about a 1-inch overhang of bacon on the sides. Spoon the pâté mixture into the mold, pressing it in well to avoid air pockets. Fold the bacon over the top and cover with the lid.

Place the terrine mold into a roasting pan and fill it with hot water until it comes three-quarters of the way up the sides of the mold. Carefully transfer the pan to the oven and cook for about 2½ hours, until the internal temperature reaches between 135°F and 140°F on an instant-read thermometer. Start checking the temperature after 1½ hours, and then every 15 minutes thereafter (because overcooked pâté is gross). Remove the pan from the oven and let the terrine cool in the water, about 45 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, remove the mold from the water. When completely cool, refrigerate overnight.

To serve, run a knife around the inside edge of the mold and then invert to demold the terrine. Wrap the terrine tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the pâté overnight again. Slice the terrine and serve with the pickles, mustard, and bread. The terrine will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week.

FRIENDS OF THE PUBLICAN

Herb Eckhouse, La Quercia Cured Meats

In the early days of my career, I would agree to do events just because I wanted to see different places and things. So when I was invited out to Des Moines, Iowa, in 2002, I was excited to go because I’d heard that they had a pretty incredible farmers’ market there. I was hanging out at a stand with Larry Cleverley, one of the founders of the market and an exceptional grower, and Paul Willis, the guy responsible for bringing sustainable hog farming to the Niman Ranch meat company. Paul was busy grilling up some sausages and other cuts—all super delicious—and he and Larry told me there was someone they wanted me to meet. Larry made a call and left a message—the guy was out for a run. About half an hour later, Herb, this skinny, long-haired, hippy-looking guy in a track suit shows up. (Herb admits to not even taking a shower after getting the call that there was a chef in town who wanted to meet him). He had some sliced prosciutto in a cooler in his Volvo station wagon. So there we all were, standing in this parking garage, eating what was hands-down the best prosciutto—imported or domestic—that I’d ever had. It was really fine, not super salty, and had great nuanced flavors. It totally blew me away. And that’s how I came to buy prosciutto from a guy named Herb in Iowa.

Herb Eckhouse—Harvard grad, Switzerland ski bum, Iowa rancher, agricultural loan banker, commodity crop and vegetable seed marketer, and self-taught cured-meat maker—was heavily influenced by the food cultures of Berkeley (his wife, Kathy, who he met while hitchhiking out West, is from San Francisco) and Italy (he spent about three years working in Parma, the heart of Emilia-Romagna). He came back from Italy, recognized the amazing bounty of Iowa, and thought What great foods are we making from this? Answer: None. And it seemed disrespectful and wrong. He figured he could make something great, and why not make prosciutto? One thing lead to another and he hooked up with the guys from Niman Ranch, who were looking for someone to partner with to cure their hams. (Herb and his company, La Quercia, have never used confinement hogs and always cure meat from animals that have been raised responsibly and humanely.) Along with a used commercial kitchen fridge and a speed rack, Herb gave himself a master’s degree in salting and curing ham.

Now we carry his product in almost every one of our restaurants, but it gets a particular place of honor at The Publican. Just as we showcase our oysters as perfect, unmanipulated product, Herb’s prosciutto is at the very top of the meat-focused section of our menu. And now we’re lucky enough to have our own Publican–La Quercia partnership, which means that any time Herb tries something new—a new hog supplier or a new breed—we get a head start on serving it. As Herb says, it’s all about life, liberty, and the prosciutto happiness.

headcheese

This version of the classic terrine that Brian Huston and I developed, and Melba Ortiz perfected, is like a headcheese taco, seasoned with cilantro and lime. The cilantro and lime help cut the richness of the pig head meat, which we brine, braise, and then bathe in a marinade. Slice it thin—or cube it up—and serve it with mustard and pickles.

Makes 1 (10 by 2½ by 3-inch) terrine

BRINE

1 gallon water

¾ cup kosher salt

¾ cup sugar

1½ teaspoons curing salt #1

1 sprig thyme

1 chile de árbol

1 bay leaf

1 pork head (about 15 pounds), cut into 3 to 4 pieces by your butcher

BRAISE

2 quarts Pork Stock (this page, or store-bought) or Chicken Stock (this page, or store-bought)

1 small bunch thyme

2 bay leaves

2 dried chiles de árbol

BATH

½ bunch cilantro, chopped

1 jalapeño chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced

1 cup minced shallots

1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Zest and juice of 4 limes

Sea salt

To make the brine: Add 8 cups of the water to a large pot over low heat. Throw in the salt, sugar, curing salt #1, thyme, chile de árbol, and bay leaf and cook until the salt and sugar have just dissolved. Remove the pot from the heat and transfer the mixture to a large nonreactive container. Whisk in the remaining 8 cups of water and let the brine cool, about 20 minutes. When the brine is at room temperatre, add the pig head pieces, cover, and transfer the container to the fridge to brine for 5 days.

To do the braise: Preheat the oven to 275°F.

Transfer the head to a large stockpot and discard the brine. Add enough stock to just cover the head pieces and toss in the thyme, bay leaves, and chiles. Bring the pot to a simmer, then cover and transfer to the oven. Cook for 3 hours and then check the head—the meat should be falling off the bone when pulled. Cook for another 30 minutes, if needed. Remove from the oven and set aside until cool to the touch, 30 to 45 minutes.

Remove the head pieces, thyme, bay leaves, and chiles from the braising liquid. Pick all the meat off the bones, being sure to discard any excess fat or glands from the meat. Set aside.

To complete the bath: While the head meat is still slightly warm, combine it in a large bowl with all the bath ingredients and mix well. By now the braising liquid should be cool and the natural gelatin and collagen from the head will have made it thick. Take 1 cup of the liquid and toss with the head meat mixture to coat. It should just be moistened. Transfer the remaining headcheese-cooking liquid to an airtight container and save to use in the Pork Pies (this page). The liquid will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Line a 10 by 2½ by 3-inch terrine mold with plastic wrap, leaving an overhang. Pack the meat mixture into the mold and then fold the overhanging plastic wrap over the meat. Refrigerate overnight.

The next day, the terrine will be firm at room temperature. Using the plastic wrap as a sling, lift the terrine out of the mold and onto a cutting board. Unwrap the terrine, slice while cold, and serve. The terrine will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week.

pork pies

One day Brian Huston and I were talking in our sliver of an office at the restaurant, and he told me that he wanted to add a pork pie to the menu. It made sense—it’s one of those ridiculously hearty, quintessentially European peasant foods. And then, randomly, we came across a video of Fergus Henderson judging a pork pie contest, which made us want to do it even more. He’d tap on the pies, smell them, taste them, and used words to describe them like “honest” and “convincing.” We fell in love with that. Plus the idea of sitting down in a pub with a mixed-meat pie and a pint of beer seemed like the coolest thing ever. So we had to do it. Brian did research by reading some old English cookbooks, and Melba took our initial chubby-fingered efforts and, like a lot of other things, made them better. But the final piece didn’t fall into place until we met a woman at the Green City Market in Chicago. She sold lamb pies that she seasoned with Vulcan’s Fire Salt. It’s just like it sounds: a spicy salt that’s actually the byproduct of making Tabasco. We took the idea and started using it as the main seasoning for our pork pies, which have been on the menu ever since.

Makes 4 pies

FILLING

1¼ pounds pork shoulder

5 ounces pork belly

5 ounces bacon

2 teaspoons sea salt

2 teaspoons Vulcan’s Fire Salt (available online)

1½ teaspoons whole black peppercorns, toasted and ground

¾ teaspoon mace, toasted and ground

1½ tablespoons chopped thyme

3 tablespoons chopped sage

Pinch of ground bay leaf

DOUGH

¼ cup unsalted butter

½ cup rendered pork lard

½ cup water

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 large egg

EGG WASH

1 large egg

3 tablespoons water

6 tablespoons cooking liquid from Headcheese (see this page), warmed until liquid (optional)

Grainy mustard

Cornichons

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

To make the filling: Cut the pork shoulder, belly, and bacon into ⅓-inch cubes. Combine them in a large mixing bowl with the sea salt, Vulcan’s Fire Salt, pepper, mace, thyme, sage, and bay leaf. Continue mixing with your hands for another 5 minutes. (It’s very important that this be mixed well.)

Test the mixture to see if it is well mixed: form a quarter-size piece and set it in a small pan. Place the pan in the oven and cook for 5 minutes, or until cooked through. Taste and add salt to the filling mixture, if needed. It should taste slightly salty since the flavor will be muted when served cold. Separate the filling into 4 equal pieces, form into balls, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

To make the dough: In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, lard, and the ½ cup water. When completely melted, remove the pot from the heat. Set aside.

Add the flour to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Start the mixer on low speed and slowly add the butter-lard mixture. Continue to mix the dough for 3 minutes.

When the dough is no longer warm to the touch, add the egg. Continue mixing for another 2 to 3 minutes. Measure out four 4-ounce balls of dough and leave the leftover dough in the mixer bowl. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each ball to ¼ inch thick and 8 inches in diameter. Set aside. Gather the remaining dough and roll it out to ¼ inch thick and 5 inches in diameter. Using a 4-inch ring cutter, cut 1 circle out of each of the four 5-inch circles of dough. Then use a ½-inch cutter to cut a circle out of the center of each of the 4-inch dough circles. These circles with small holes will become the pie “lids.”

Preheat the oven to 300°F.

Coat four 4-inch springform pans with a thin layer of cooking spray. Gently lay each rolled-out ball of dough in a pan, pushing the dough all the way down into the bottom of the mold and up the sides to extend about ½ inch above the rim. Place a chilled pork ball in each mold and top each one with one of the pie lids. Then, using your thumb and forefinger, crimp together the edges of the bottom crust and lid pieces until the entire pie is completely sealed. Repeat for the other 3 pies.

Make the egg wash: In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and water. Lightly brush the top of each pie with the egg wash. Place the pies on a baking sheet and bake for 3 hours, rotating the pies every hour. Set the pies on a cooling rack and let cool completely. Carefully pour 2 tablespoons of the headcheese-cooking liquid into each of the pork pies through the holes in the lids. Set aside to cool completely. Serve the pork pies cold with the mustard and pickles on the side.