The Art of Charcuterie [Hardcover]

The Culinary Institute of America (Author), John Kowalski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 7, 2010

A comprehensive, professional-level guide to the making of sausages and cured meats

The art of charcuterie has been practiced since the fifteenth century, but in recent years interest has escalated in this artisanal specialty. Pâtés, cured meats, terrines, and gourmet sausages are staples at upscale restaurants as well as cocktail and dinner parties. Modern charcutiers have introduced new and exciting techniques and flavors for delicious (and even healthy) charcuterie. Written by John Kowalski and the experts at the CIA, The Art of Charcuterie covers every aspect of this rediscovered culinary art: curing and brining, smoking, terrines, pâtés, sausages, herbs and seasonings, sauces and relishes, and kitchen sanitation.

• Features thorough explanations of tools of the trade, kitchen equipment, and ingredients
• Includes technical and nutritional explanations of all the meats used in the charcuterie kitchen and how to best prepare them
• Heavily illustrated with 200 full-color photographs, including techniques and finished items

The Art of Charcuterie is the ultimate companion for professionals and dedicated home cooks who want to master both traditional and contemporary techniques.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'...an excellent starting point for learning about preserved meat...It is most impressive!' (CulinariaLibris.com, February 2011).

From the Back Cover

The art of charcuterie has been practiced for thousands of years across the world, but in recent years, interest has escalated in this artisanal specialty. Pâtés, cured meats, terrines, and gourmet sausages are increasingly popular at top-flight restaurants, and modern techniques and flavors give exciting new dimension to delicious (and even healthy) charcuterie.

The Art of Charcuterie offers a comprehensive education in this rediscovered culinary art form, covering equipment, ingredients, sanitation, and, of course, techniques and processes. Combining an astounding depth and breadth of knowledge and experience with an accessible approach, this beautifully illustrated book features full-color photography and technical drawings that display both finished products and the techniques used to produce them. The Art of Charcuterie shows you how to properly cure, brine, and smoke meats and how to make terrines, sausages, and pâtés. It also includes a wealth of sauces and relishes to complement them.

From the experts at The Culinary Institute of America, this is the ultimate companion for professionals and dedicated home cooks who want to master both traditional and contemporary techniques. The Art of Charcuterie covers centuries of culinary history and best practices.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (December 7, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470197412
• ISBN-13: 978-0470197417
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 1.3 x 10.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #188,141 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

104 of 107 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Mostly Filler December 10, 2010

By Chris Hennes

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book attempts to position itself as a reference for both the home cook and the professional, and unfortunately fails to serve either market. At first glance, the book appears to be a slick, well-designed volume typical of the CIA's other books. Upon closer inspection, however, it appears that the polish is only skin deep. In fact, it appears that a large portion of the material is purely filler, serving no real purpose and providing no useful information. The book goes so far as to include seven pages of content attempting to describe the flavors of various herbs and spices. I can't imagine that anyone in this book's target audience needs a paragraph describing the flavor of basil, nor are any of the passages specific to charcuterie: it appears to be a copy-and-paste job from some other reference. There are numerous tables in the book that serve no purpose: an "herb and spice chart," a sugar temperature chart for making candies, page after page of metric-to-imperial conversion charts (all recipes in the book are given in both, as usual for the CIA series), etc. It has all the appearance of material added to boost the page count.

The book contains a large amount of food safety information, some useful and some not. The extensive listing and description of the various possible bacterial infections is interesting in an academic sense, but contains little practical information other than "prevent cross-contamination," "cook everything to death," and "chill quickly." It spends pages on trichnosis, although it is now exceedingly rare in the US and easily mitigated against. And there, at the very end, is a single paragraph on "harmful molds in sausages," an area crucial to understanding the production of dry-cured items.... It contains no actual useful information, simply instructing you to use a mold inhibitor to prevent its growth. The remainder of the chapter is a copy-and-paste job from every other Food Production Safety 101 textbook on the planet. I would hope that at a culinary school a course like that would be a prerequisite for entry into a charcuterie class: no need for it here.

The chapter on forcemeats is large and well-illustrated, but covers exactly the same material as Garde Manger: The Art and Craft of the Cold Kitchen (Culinary Institute of America) (the CIA seems to have a real fascination with terrines... 50 pages worth seems excessive to me when that material is almost completely duplicated from another book in the series). The chapter on sausages (70 pages) contains some useful checklists for sausage production, and a nice discussion of the various types of casing. The recipes included are uninspiring, however, and there is virtually no coverage of dry- and semi-dry sausages: a few recipes and a few cursory comments, but no useful, practical advice, despite their prominent placement on the cover. If you are interested in dry-cured sausage this book provides virtually no useful information. They finish up with a quite extensive chapter on condiments, which seems to be a standard in charcuterie books.

If you are new to charcuterie (either as a professional or a home cook) I strongly recommend purchasing Ruhlman and Polcyn's Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing: it provides and excellent foundation, and while not as "slick" as the present volume, is far more readable, and properly emphasizes things like temperature control when mixing, and a realistic view of food safety and cooking temperatures. If your interest is in terrines, I'd then add the CIA's Garde Manger: The Art and Craft of the Cold Kitchen (Culinary Institute of America) (which I should note also contains quite a bit of charcuterie information which overlaps with Art of Charcuterie). If your interest is in dry-curing, I recommend Marianski's The Art of Making Fermented Sausages---it is not very well written, but it contains a goldmine of information in excellent detail: exactly what Art of Charcuterie is missing. Finally, there are a number of books that include more interesting recipe ideas than either this volume or Ruhlman and Polcyn's book (which focuses on classics): Polish Sausages, Authentic Recipes And Instructions, Bruce Aidells's Complete Sausage Book : Recipes from America's Premium Sausage Maker, and Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing.

The upshot is obviously that this book presents nothing new, nor does it present anything particularly well.

Pros
----
* Useful checklists in the production sections
* Good production values

Cons
----
* Poor presentation and organization of the material
* Uninspiring, uninspired recipe collection
* Missing critical details in many aspects of production
* Not well-written
* Mostly filler (insert sodium tripolyphosphate joke here) Read more ›

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars all casing... December 9, 2010

By Lil' Fresser

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

When you order a hardcover 400 page book with a list price of $65 you expect it to be definitive, or close to it. This book falls far short.

I feel the book is shallowly written. Yes, there quite a number of recipes for each chapter/topic , but they fail to explain themselves as to the how and whys? If for example if rice is used as binder in a sausage I want to know why it was used in that particular recipe and not others, or what cuts of meat can work for that recipe other than the ones listed.

Because the author is a teacher I expect him to do that, teach. To give over, not recipes and tidbits of information, but an in depth understanding so if someone wanted to make a charizo using beef instead of pork, or oil instead of fat, they could using basic understanding

I couldn't figure out who he was targeting, not the home hobbiest or the professional in the field. He doesn't speak in a friendly tone guiding you through the steps - more written like a text book - and a shallow one at that. It seems like he put his classes into a book, covering topics, not a as a friend who wants you to make a fantastic product.

I'm sorry my review is so harsh perhaps others will really enjoy the book. This is just one man's take.

I had high hopes - but sadly disappointed.

I would very much reccomend these three books that all together give you a pretty good idea of the topic:

For a real in depth read:Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages

For a cute book that tells you about 75% of what you have to know:com/Charcuterie-Craft-Salting-Smoking-Curing/dp/0393058298">Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing

This one is written by scientific home cook (a man after my own heart) he has a very easy way about his writing I like it, he writes to you about what works and what doesn't, Ive bought his book and contacted him him questions, very kind to respond and gave many suggestions.Mastering the Craft of Making Sausage

Good Luck! Read more ›

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Information for Professionals December 17, 2010

By AbeFromanSausageKing

Format:Hardcover

I disagree with the other reviewers that the author fails to give in-depth information into the subject of charcuterie. As a professional in the industry, I found the instruction on techniques, sanitation, and handling very valuable. The information definitely goes beyond surface-level to delve into some of the science behind the techniques. The recipes that I have tried (gravlax and blood sausage) worked perfectly and sold well. I also disagree with other reviewers that terrines are outdated (and I look forward to trying the terrine of foie gras and butternut squash from this book). The cold kitchen is an important segment of the restaurant industry, and this book is a great resource for any professional looking to expand their charcuterie repertoire.

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive, sophisiticated January 9, 2013

By Rustypipe

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This wonerful book is about the best on the high-end home to semi-professional levvel for those interested in charcuterie. Yields are apprporiate for home use, methods are scaled to high end home appliances and tools. There is a great deal of attention paid to smoked and cured foods, condiments, sauces, pates and terrines as well as the forcemeats and sausages one would expect.
There are many updated recipes reflecting current culinary trends, as well as the more traditional favorites.
Includes both recipe and subject indices, glossary, and several very well laid out tables
Very highly and enthusiastically recommended!

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The art of Charcuterie January 31, 2012

By Samnegs

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Great book for anyone interested in charcuterie! the recipes are easy to follow, translates well for a professional kitchen. a must have!