Store Cupboard Inspiration

Whilst Charcuterie features heavily on menus in the form of platters, sharing boards and as pizza toppings, there are many, many uses for these products. With Charcuterie’s roots being in the preservation of meat for use throughout the year, many products originated in areas where they were used to add much needed fat and flavour to more vegetable and grain-based dishes – a true garnish of flavour.

Our products allow chefs to ‘think outside the box’ when it comes to menu construction, adding value and interest to many more classic dishes, whilst inspiring experimentation. With a little creative description, and reconstruction, even the humble ‘toastie’ can be elevated to a luscious, and more lucrative dish. Toasted sourdough, slavered with a thick tomato sauce, a few slices of our Chorizo or Salami, a little cheese, then popped under the grill and served with crisp seasonal salad takes a simple ‘sandwich’ to a much more substantial ‘dish’.

Added to soups and stews, our Semi-Dried Cooking Chorizo eats very well with butterbeans, smoked paprika and roasted peppers, or fried as a Tapa – finely diced, fried chorizo is also wonderful as a garnish for Patates Bravas, becoming a meal in itself, and of course many of our products are ideal to ‘pimp’ your burgers – even Pastrami is famously used in burger stacks in parts of the USA!

How about adding value to a Mezze board with a few slices of our Lamb, Pork and Lemon Merguez Salami?

Our cured Semi-Dried Fennel Sausage is excellent when crumbled and combined with a creamy sauce and pasta, or slow cooked with fennel, lentils and white wine. It is also the perfect addition to a traditional Cassoulet recipe, replacing the Toulouse Sausages.

Our N’Duja is one of our most versatile products and can be used on Pizzas, as a base for soups and sauces, a filling for ravioli, warmed and spread on toast before topping with mashed avocado and a soft poached egg, or pan fried, and used to enhance many vegetable side dishes. Try frying a little with onion, adding some fragrant dry white wine and throwing in some shell-on mussels – plenty of chopped parsley, some good bread and you have the perfect first course or lunch menu addition.

All our products work very well in salad dishes and will carry a changing salad special across the whole year – our game selections being perfect for the autumn and winter months, whilst our Italian and Spanish inspired products conjure up images of Mediterranean summers. Our Air Dried Smoked Duck Breast, thinly sliced, is amazing in a Périgordine Salad, with walnuts, diced fried Trealy Pancetta, sourdough croutons and a punchy walnut oil dressing.

Try pepping up meatballs, croquettes and tarts with a little diced chorizo or salami, adding our Pressed Guanciale to pasta sauces, or some finely chopped herb-infused Lardo to homemade bread.

For fine dining, use our Bresaola in Beef Wellington, our Monmouthshire Air-Dried Ham in Saltimbocca or our Boudin Noir as a stuffing for pork belly or chicken breast. Our Boudin Noir also pairs perfectly with scallops, especially alongside a seasonal puree of celeriac, peas or artichoke.

With Charcuterie, there are no rules, just plenty of flavour and an infinite number of options.