Charcuterie Board
Charcuterie Board
This works as a great starter for 2 or for a large group, and actually, there’s no cooking involved here! What you need to do for this is some good shopping. Go to your favourite deli or gourmet store where you’ll be able to purchase some good salamis and hams. Best if they cut them to order, like at Fallon & Byrne in Dublin where you can now by Iberico hams. Here they have three types of Jamon iberico on a jamonera, well worth shelling out for a couple of slices of this stuff, made from the famous acorn eating Black Iberian Pig.Mind you, you don’t have to go as far away as Spain to source the best dried or cured meats. Here in Ireland, while it’s not one of our great traditions, there are a number of butchers and rare pig breeders mastering the art of curing and drying meats. On the top of my list are James McGeogh from Oughterard in Co Galway for his exquisite air dried lamb, beef and pork; Fingal Fergusson from Gubeen Farm Products in Scull in Cork for his salamis; and Jack McCarthy from Kanturk in Cork for his North Cork Pancetta and his Irish Whiskey Dry Cured Bacon.If you can get your hands on any or indeed some of all of the above, you are on your way to producing a fine Charcuterie Board.Lay these meats out on a wooden board to set in the middle of the table between the two of you or if you want to be a bit clever about it you can use smaller boards and give one to each person.There are a few essential yummees which need to be served with a good Charcuterie board, and while not everyone will agree with my list, here goes. You’ll need some great homemade (or at least the very best you can buy) chutney, the best of olive oil, honey in the comb, capers or caperberries, pickled cucumber, and great bread. I’d be so happy with this, that I wouldn’t even need a main course. If you are serving this as a lunch, and indeed in the summer you well can, add a few good cheeses and some fruit to the board, and perhaps some roasted vegetables or fresh figs…Now, for the booze, I like this with Prosecco or a chilled class of crystal-clear Fino Sherry, where the earthy almonds blends superbly with the sweetness of the Iberico….No documents found.
