Charcuterie at Highmark Blue Cross Blue ShieldFoodService Director Magazine
Charcuterie: Mastering the art of preserving food, charcuterie is the practice of creating pork products, such as sausage, salami and prosciutto, encompassing a vast range of preparations, involving salting, cooking, smoking and drying. A number of Parkhurst Dining Services accounts have been employing charcuterie-style methods, such as making bacon, pancetta, curing hams, sausage and other items.
“Bacon has probably been the most commonly used [pork] due to its simplicity,” says Tim Fetter, executive chef for Parkhurst Dining Services at Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield in Pittsburgh. “All you have to do is rub pork belly or pork jowls with kosher salt, brown sugar and tinted curing mix or Himalayan sea salt. We refrigerate it and flip it over every day for seven to 10 days, then smoke it and it’s done. It is nice to be able to do authentic, unprocessed, artisan-style items and still be able to serve them to our guests at a reasonable price.”
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