A Meaty Obsession...

...with char·cu·ter·ie.  (shär-koo-teh-ree)

n.1. Sausages, ham, pâtés, and other cooked or processed meat foods.

A restaurant completely devoted to aged/ cured pork products in Northern Italy

 that I had the pleasure of dinning at in 2009.

The fine art of curing, smoking, and aging meats has been an obsession of mine for several years now. On a family vacation to Europe in 2009, we visited Italy's northern province of Friuli- Venezia Giulia. It was there that I experienced, for the first time, true Italian charcuterie.  


Growing up in an Italian household, prosciutto, pepperoni, capacollo, and salami were common inhabitants within our crisper drawer. Regrettably, they were frequently mass-produced BoarsHead™ reproductions sold at the deli counters of local supermarket chains. These reproductions by no means compared to the attentively aged legs of prosciutto or the handcrafted salami that I sampled while in Italy.  No factory farm could produce a porcine as delectable as the free-ranged pigs that scouted the fields of local farms. Likely, no mega-factory could produce a product as deliciously unique as the handcrafted meats prepared by family operations using the same techniques as taught by generations prior. 

Touring my family's basement, complete with hanging salami, in Northern Italy(2009). 

My younger brother second fiddle to the real star- Italian salami(2009).

 These very memories remain at the forefront of my mind as I embark on my second journey to Europe. I hope to indulge in the pâtés and rillettes of France, the hams and cured sausages of Italy, and the black hoofed Iberico ham of Spain.


I find it comical and somewhat ironic that my partner in crime for this European adventure has been a self proclaimed vegetarian since the 3rd grade. Little does she know of my meaty obsession...


to find out more about charcuterie, check out these awesome blogs:
http://mattikaarts.com/blog/category/charcuterie/
http://curedmeats.blogspot.com/