The ‘In’ Word for 2008 is ‘Charcuterie’

I’ve decided. The “hip” new “in” word in haute cuisine for 2008 is “charcuterie”. And as with most things in life it’s all Daniel Boulud’s fault. Or to his credit.

Now mind you, charcuterie is an almost ancient art and has been around forever, that said, what is it exactly? According to Wikipedia ….

Charcuterie (from either the French chair cuite, cooked meat, or the French cuiseur de chair, cooker of meat) is the branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products such as sausage and confit, primarily from pork. […] All cured meat Hams, whether smoked, air-cured, salted, or treated by chemical means, are charcuterie products. Sausage making is also part of charcuterie. The main techniques of charcuterie include the standard kitchen repertoire of poaching and baking, as well as salting or dry curing, brining, air drying, and smoking with and without heat. [….] The Food Lover’s Companion, however, says that “it refers to the products, particularly (but not limited to) pork specialties such as pâtés, rillettes, galantines, crépinettes, etc

Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn wrote a book about 2.5 years ago called, Charcuterie The Craft Of Salting, Smoking, And Curing and in a bookseller’s description of it says they “expand the definition to include anything preseved or prepared ahead such as Mediterranean olive and vegetable rillettes, duck confit, and pickles and sauerkraut.”

Ed Levine in his review of Bar Boulud said:

[…] the best charcuterie Americans have ever seen and tasted on these shores. The Compote de Joue de Bœuf shredded slow-braised beef cheek, with onion confit and pistachio, is an earthy slice of perfection. The Tagine D’agneau, a terrine of slow cooked spiced leg of lamb, with eggplant and sweet potato, is even more complex and delicious. The housemade jambon de Paris is the French ham I never thought I would be able to taste in New York.

[….] But are Americans ready for this kind of food? Now whether New Yorkers and Americans will embrace terrines and pates, inch-high slabs of pressed, chunked, and shredded meat and organ meat mixed with herbs, spices, vegetables, and potatoes, is indeed a question waiting to be answered. For Boulud, who grew up eating and learning to make charcuterie in Lyons, this is his soul food.