# What is the best charcuterie book



## lesismore (Dec 3, 2014)

I'm trying to get some feedback on the best charcuterie book. Now that I have a smoker I'd like to try my hand at curing some different things. Thanks in advance for any input.


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## DanMcG (Dec 3, 2014)

Hands down the most informative book out there for beginners and pros alike.


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## rgautheir20420 (Dec 3, 2014)

All of the books are great to read, but to be honest, this forum and WD are some of the most knowledgeable places for all type of sausages. I have the Rytek book but if I have a question, I still come here or there to confirm. I do love looking at the cover and all of the pictures though...they sure do make the stuff look amazing.


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## azbohunter (Dec 3, 2014)

rgautheir20420 said:


> All of the books are great to read, but to be honest, this forum and WD are some of the most knowledgeable places for all type of sausages. I have the Rytek book but if I have a question, I still come here or there to confirm. I do love looking at the cover and all of the pictures though...they sure do make the stuff look amazing.


this forum and WD are some of the most knowledgeable places for all type of sausages

*Excuse my ignorance but what is WD? *


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## brican (Dec 3, 2014)

> *Excuse my ignorance but what is WD? *


http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/

My go to forum for sausage and curing (i might be biased 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






) as I find them more than helpful

http://forum.sausagemaking.org/


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## chef jimmyj (Dec 3, 2014)

This book is recognized as one of the best for Charcuterie... 

  

Polcyn is a recognized authority on curing. It goes into curing beyond that of sausage production. It is important to note that you MUST do your homework and educate yourself on the in's and out's of Dry Curing. This includes the process, the chemicals and the environmentally controlled conditions needed to do the job safely. I include this caution because in every book, recipe and website, there are mistakes, differences of opinion and just plain Bad recipes from Clueless People! I suggest you read and learn the info on safe cure chemical amounts in the booklet posted in the link below. There are several guys around here that are knowledgeable and willing to help you...JJ

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FSISDirectives/7620-3.pdf


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## azbohunter (Dec 3, 2014)

Brican said:


> http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/
> 
> My go to forum for sausage and curing (i might be biased
> 
> ...


Thanks for posting the link, looks like a lot of information there!


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## daveomak (Dec 4, 2014)

lesismore said:


> I'm trying to get some feedback on the best charcuterie book. Now that I have a smoker I'd like to try my hand at curing some different things. Thanks in advance for any input.




Which ever book you choose, or recipe from blogs or the net, read up so you are knowledgeable....   Books and the net have misprints...   some are really bad substituting  Tbs. where tsp. should be printed..  etc...   Some have called for cure #2 where cure #1 is appropriate...

Also, I would suggest a grams scale for adding cures to recipes...  maybe 0-250 grams range..  when making small amounts, it's not unusual to add 4 grams of cure #1 to 5# of pork for bacon, skin on, when brining... (108 Ppm max allowed) ..
Then when making recipes for sausage etc. you will have a scale for accurately weighing spices and repeating recipes...


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## chef willie (Dec 4, 2014)

I would have to agree with those 2 links posted. I've made more use out of the sausage making one and you will recognize many names there from here. That is mostly posted in grams so you will need an accurate gram scale. I got a digital combo gram/ounce scale at Costco for about 10 bucks. My suggestion would be to become adept at sausage making then delve into fermented sausages. I myself have a desire to do fermented stuff but am a touch overwhelmed by the process & the fear of killing myself. I understand Marianski has a very good book on the subject 'The Art of Making Fermented Sausages' but I personally have no knowledge of it. My first resource was to exhaust all books on the subject at my Public Library.....free reading & I could cherry pick the info I wanted to keep......Willie


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## rgautheir20420 (Dec 4, 2014)

azbohunter said:


> Thanks for posting the link, looks like a lot of information there!


There ya go 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





. Glad someone jumped in there since I couldn't get back immediately. WD has some amazing people there as does here. But what Dave said is also very important. It's amazing how often there are misprints in the books or even on an online resource, and the misprint always seems to be on a very important (safety) measurement for some reason. I always like to post either a recipe or link to it if I've got a question regarding the safety of the recipe I'm using, so don't be afraid to ask for help. I'm always learning something new it seems when I do. Oh, and a small investment in a decent gram scale will make consistency (and your life) easier when doing this stuff.


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## timberjet (Dec 4, 2014)

I really like len poli's website as well. It is another good reference to check out. One of many.https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...hOTQQUjqgFqlmUSAVg&bvm=bv.80642063,bs.1,d.cGE  A great tool to have saved in your bookmarks is this http://www.diggingdogfarm.com/page2.html from one of the members here. The main thing is to read everything and then read it again. Start with some basic sausage first and record everything you do. Happy sausage making. timber


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## crankybuzzard (Dec 4, 2014)

My sausage bibles!

Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages

Polish Sausages Authentic Recipes and Instructions

Both written by Stanley and Adam Marianski

Here's some pics of the inside cover of both of my copies!













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__ crankybuzzard
__ Dec 4, 2014


















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__ crankybuzzard
__ Dec 4, 2014






I got lucky a couple of times with my recipes and won a book from them. :yahoo:


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## rgautheir20420 (Dec 4, 2014)

CrankyBuzzard said:


> *I got lucky a couple of times with my recipes and won a book from them.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Ummm are the competitions for home sausage making? Cause if there is, I want to know!


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## crankybuzzard (Dec 4, 2014)

rgautheir20420 said:


> Ummm are the competitions for home sausage making? Cause if there is, I want to know!



This was several years ago so I'm not sure if they still do it.  I don't think I'm supposed to post a link to another forum, but it's where a lot of us on here find a LOT of recipes....

The contest was for unique recipes, not for how well one of their recipes came out.  I won for my ABT smoked sausage recipe and for a boudin sausage I did. 

But, back to the subject, these 2 books are really good.


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## daveomak (Dec 4, 2014)

CB, afternoon.....   Holey [email protected]   That's something...  Knowing most all of us make stuff for our personal tastes, or more precisely, SWMBO's taste, and having the "BIG THREE" agree with SWMBO is awesome....   

Forgive me, I tried to give you a compliment without the band playing....

That's a really cool award...   It even has some good recipes in it......     :Beer:


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## crankybuzzard (Dec 4, 2014)

DaveOmak said:


> CB, afternoon.....   Holey [email protected]   That's something...  Knowing most all of us make stuff for our personal tastes, or more precisely, SWMBO's taste, and having the "BIG THREE" agree with SWMBO is awesome....
> 
> Forgive me, I tried to give you a compliment without the band playing....
> 
> That's a really cool award...   It even has some good recipes in it......     :Beer:



Well Dave, actually, SWMBO, doesn't eat much of the sausages I make...  She eats my breakfast sausage regularly, has my version of Swedish potato sausage as long as I have lingonberry sauce for it, and will occasionally eat some of the kielbasa smoked sausage.  Now, bacon, that's a different story!

I'd bet that 90% of what I make is eaten by me and my dad when I go to the farm, or taken to my boys at work as a thank you for the busting of their tails to make things happen. 

Now, the exception to that is this time of year when I make quite a bit of sausage for Christmas gifts for our family.  They will eat all I can make.   Between now and Christmas, I plan to make 20 pounds of snack sticks and around 40 pounds of link sausage.  Also around 6 pounds of bacon for the wife's Memaw, I figure if she made it to 91, she can eat all the bacon she wants!  :biggrin:

Cheers!  :Beer:


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