Roberts - Salted and cured: savoring the culture, heritage, and flavor of Americas preserved meats

PRAISE FOR SALTED AND CURED

Even without recipes, this is a most delicious read! Jeff Roberts is not only passionate about salumi today, but he is also a skillful writer who deftly brings together the complex threads of his subject. Woven among the players, the history, animal welfare issues, and so much more are some great stories. I relished them all.

Deborah Madison , author of Vegetable Literacy and In My Kitchen

Salted and Cured is a story of immigrants in America. Not only did different immigrant communities arrive with their own butchery and curing traditions, but they adapted their techniques to their new corners of America. Whether youre a gastronaut or a delicatessen denizen, Jeff Roberts is your man! He is your best guide to the people and places where youll find cured meats that resist the industrial meat system that deadens our taste buds, robs places of flavor and wealth, and condemns animals to the horrors of confinement.

Richard McCarthy , executive director, Slow Food USA

It is surprising how much intelligence, sensitivity, practicality, resilience, and love for the community and the land are captured in traditional products such as charcuterie. Within these pages, we are fortunate to come to understand how a product born out of necessity has become a symbol of identity, one that tells the stories of countless people and peoples .

Carlo Petrini , founder, Slow Food

Charcuterie is truly the preservation of time and place. Roberts focuses on the modern American artisans of meat through a global lens that honors the fabric of history that is woven with cultural food traditions. This book will forever change your perspective of the landscape of American cured meats.

Adam Danforth , author of Butchering Beef and Butchering Poultry, Rabbit, Lamb, Goat, and Pork

Not too long ago, salting a ham and hanging it to dry was considered a simple act of economy and faith. Today, it is in many ways a revolutionary act, one that flies in the face of our industrial food production system. In this fascinating and richly reported book, Roberts introduces us to the renegade butchers, farmers, chefs, and charcutiers of America who wave their hams like freedom flags, who spread the salt gospel through their communities and across the nation, and who quietly tend to the fermented funk of their salamis like monks in prayer, all in the name of change.

Camas Davis , founder, Portland Meat Collective

While guiding us through the history of preserved meats, culminating in todays neo-artisan food movements, Salted and Cured never lets us forget that we need art and scienceand probably a little loveto create truly transcendent food. Jeffrey Roberts has created a testament to a craft, once a necessity, that survived commodification and is blossoming again. Get yourself some handmade meat snacks and prepare to dive in.

Gordon Edgar , author of Cheddar

Salted and Cured , Jeff Robertss lively tour of the world of American preserved meats, is an informative and entertaining overview of new traditions rooted in deep history. The tale begins with a brief history of pigs and meat preservation, brings the pig and its enthusiasts to the United States, and then reveals, region by region, the evolution of the art and craft of cured meats in the United States, from the Atlantic, across the Midwest, to the Mountain States and the Pacific. At its best, our culture takes the old and delicious and generates innovative, bold, and delectable formats. Salted and Cured brings to life the story and world of salumi. Much to read and learn, much to eat and enjoy!

Kathy and Herb Eckhouse , La Quercia Cured Meats

I love this book! It is a chronicle of Americas unique relationship with pork. Jeff Roberts weaves together the stories of so many local and regional producers inspired by so many varied traditions that what emerges from the pages is a picture that is uniquely American. A great read for anyone interested in drilling down into the meat of both our emerging cuisine and our varied heritage.

Mateo Kehler , cofounder, Jasper Hill Farm

Always the educator, Jeff gives us a gift with Salted and Cured . He clarifies the mystery of why we love cured and fermented foods by digging into the culture and history of salumi.

Emilio Mignucci , vice president, Di Bruno Bros.

Copyright 2017 by Jeffrey P. Roberts.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form by any means without permission in writing from the publisher.

Project Manager: Angela Boyle

Developmental Editor: Michael Metivier

Copy Editor: Eileen M. Clawson

Proofreader: Rachel Shields

Indexer: Peggy Holloway

Designer: Melissa Jacobson

Printed in the United States of America.

First printing March 2017.

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Our Commitment to Green Publishing

Chelsea Green sees publishing as a tool for cultural change and ecological stewardship. We strive to align our book manufacturing practices with our editorial mission and to reduce the impact of our business enterprise in the environment. We print our books and catalogs on chlorine-free recycled paper, using vegetable-based inks whenever possible. This book may cost slightly more because it was printed on paper that contains recycled fiber, and we hope youll agree that its worth it. Chelsea Green is a member of the Green Press Initiative ( www.greenpressinitiative.org ), a nonprofit coalition of publishers, manufacturers, and authors working to protect the worlds endangered forests and conserve natural resources. Salted and Cured was printed on paper supplied by Thomson-Shore that contains 100% postconsumer recycled fiber.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Roberts, Jeffrey P.

Title: Salted and cured : savoring the culture, heritage, and flavor of Americas preserved meats / Jeffrey Roberts.

Description: White River Junction, Vermont : Chelsea Green Publishing, [2017] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016052766| ISBN 9781603586603 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781603586610 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: MeatPreservation. | MeatPreservationUnited States. | MeatUnited States History. | Dried meatUnited StatesHistory.

Classification: LCC TX612.M4 R625 2017 | DDC 641.4/9dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016052766

Chelsea Green Publishing

85 North Main Street, Suite 120

White River Junction, VT 05001

(802) 295-6300

www.chelseagreen.com

Dedicated to my grandparentsMaria (Mary) and Pietro (Peter) Veleno, and Jeannette and Jacob Rothenberg

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am indebted to dozens of chefs, charcutiers, and salumieri who talked at length about their craft, sometimes roads less traveled, and perspectives on fermentation and dry-cured meats. In addition to the list of people interviewed, I thank Caroline Abels, Janet Fletcher, Lisa Harris, Corin Hirsch, Josiah Lockhart, Chris McDonald, Corrie Quinn, and Eric Zander for taking time to read and comment on the initial proposal. My good friends and colleagues Illtud Bob Dunsford, Kevin ODonnell, Mirco Marconi, and Bob Perry offered timely feedback, while Tom Slayton jogged memories of the Boars Head Carol. Thank you as well to the photographers and the many businesses that generously provided wonderful images. To developmental editor Michael Metivier, editor Ben Watson, copy editor Eileen Clawson, proofreader Rachel Shields, and publisher Margo Baldwin, who have traveled now with me through cheese and cured meat, thank you for all the support and patience.