Charcuterie is a French term derived from chair ‘flesh’ and cuite ‘cooked’ – it is a specific branch of cookery devoted to a range of prepared meat products, including bacon, hams, sausage, terrines, galantines, ballotines, pâtés, and confit.
This ancient process was originally intended as a way of preserving meat long before anyone thought of refrigeration. Today, however, Charcuterie makes us think of a huge range of delicious meats that have been smoked, cured, braised in fat, chopped up, and sliced… caveman cuisine at its best.
Like many I’m sure when you think of Charcuterie there’s a really strong chance that you might just go all misty eyed at the thought of delectable tasty European treats… but you really need to stop… take stock and consider our own long heritage of smoking, drying and salting…
It takes a top quality skilled artisan to create amazing products, only the very best quality meat should be used and above all a great deal of time is needed to create top notch preserved perfection…
Which is why the Forest Side team lead by Paul Leonard have spent an age creating a unique range of hams, sausages, salamis, prosciutto and pastrami.
The team have taken the time to learn from the very best, in the process discovering just the right mix of herbs and spices to use in creating their special selection of tasty treats for the table…
