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CHAPTER 1

Picnic Guide to the Charcutier's Shop

Every small town in France, at any rate in the more prosperous districts such as Touraine, Burgundy or the Île de France, is likely to have more than one charcuterie. Probably one, and one only, will be worth going to. It will be on the place or in the main street, its windows crowded with a variety of good things, its marble slabs and its tiled floors clean and inviting, with a brisk white-coated wife in attendance (the charcutier himself leads a pale, mainly nocturnal existence, at the back, transforming pork into his delicacies).

The other charcuteries will be mediocre, even a little grey, with fewer lines, tucked away in a side street. Only the master in each town can afford the good position, and match up to the standard which many of the townspeople demand. He is likely to have as neighbours, more or less, the one good pâtisserie (pastry-cook) and the best boulangerie (baker), with its many varieties of bread.

The charcutier will sell olives, anchovies, condiments, and a few proprietary goods (e.g. saucissons sees, salami of one kind and another). He will sell various salads of his own making, and a few confections of rabbit (e.g. pâté de lapin), chicken or beef. But transmutations of the pig are his mainstay.

Occasionally the butcher (boucker) is charcutier as well, particularly in smaller places, and, as you would expect, his range of charcuterie is fairly restricted — sausages, black puddings, a simple pâté or two, and some rillettes.

Many of the charcutier's products can be eaten cold, with salads (which are sold in cartons by weight), or bread. Below are listed his standard items, for quick use in the day's picnic shopping (with page reference to the recipes). It must be understood that items vary according to season and province.

READY TO EAT

Rillettes. Potted belly of pork, sometimes with the addition of goose or rabbit. A major delicacy of Touraine and Anjou; but not infrequently made in factories (tins of very good rillettes may be bought in some grocer's shops), as well as by the charcutier himself.

Rillons. Small pieces of browned belly of pork. These sometimes have an unappetizing look, altogether belied by their taste. They are among the finest products of charcuterie.

Petit Salé. Belly of pork and spare ribs salted and boiled, sold in larger pieces than rillons, delicately pink and white.

Galantine de Porc. Nearer to brawn than to galantine, made of the head-meat and scraps of the pig.

Fromage de Tête Brawn, often bread-crumbed on the outside.

Hure. Brawn, once again, but often presented with a half-inch layer of jelly on the outside.

Pâté de Campagne. Pâté made from the lean and fat meat of the pig, veal, ham, etc. Ingredients vary locally and according to season and taste.

Pâté de Foie de Porc. Pâté made from the lean and fat meat of the pig, with the addition of pig's liver.

Pâté de Lapin. Pâté made from rabbit and pork.

Pâté de Gibier. Pâté made from pork and game, which may be specified, e.g. pâté de lièvre, hare pâté. (Other pâtés are given.

Jambon (ham), including mild cures such as jambon de Paris, jambon de York (i.e. ham cured in the mild York style, but often a tinned and insipid travesty), and the delicious smoked hams, many of which are eaten raw, in very thin slices, like the famous jambon de Bayonne. Many regions make their own not so famous jambons crus; always enquire.

Jambonneau. Picnic ham, mildly cured, from the hock. Charmingly presented as small breadcrumbed cones, with a neat piece of bone sticking out of the top, like a stem. Sold by the half, or quarter, if you do not want a whole one. Much cheaper than jambon de Paris or jambon cru.

Porc Rôti. Roast pork, most usually the loin, boned and rolled, and very lightly salted.

Saucissons Secs. Salami of various kinds, regional, national and international, and other dried or smoked sausages including saucisson à l' ail (garlic sausage), andouille (large, black-skinned, tripe sausage), the slightly smaller chorizos or saucisses d' Espagne (red-pepper sausage). The charcuterie will usually stock frankfurters, and the very similar saucisses de Strasbourg, of good quality.

Museau de Bœuf en Salade. Boiled ox-muzzle, sliced thinly and dressed with plenty of parsley and chives, and vinaigrette.

CHARCUTERIE WHICH REQUIRES WARMING OR COOKING

Quiche Lorraine. Bacon, egg and cream flan — many variations, and sizes, according to region.

Oreilles de Porc. Pig's ears, cooked, in jelly. Tasty, though seldom eaten in England. In France the crisp cartilage is eaten as well as the meat, and they are usually served grilled, with a coating of egg and breadcrumbs, though you need do no more than warm them through.

Pieds de Porc. Pig's trotters, often split in half and breadcrumbed. Sold by the piece. Fry in butter, or brush with melted butter and grill.

Queues de Porc. Pigs' tails, cooked, and finished with a coating of breadcrumbs. Fry in butter, or brush with melted butter and grill.

SAUCISSES. Sausages for cooking divide into:

Saucisses de Porc. Small pork sausages, sold, as in England, in chipolata and larger sizes. By French law they are 100 per cent meat, and do not contain preservatives.

Andouillettes. Small tripe sausages, of bland and mild flavour, making an excellent picnic lunch. They may be contained in very knobbly lengths of gut, for which they are none the less delicious. Usually grilled when served on their own. Sometimes wrapped in stiff white paper, sometimes pressed into four-sided shapes and neatly glazed with a mixture of pork and veal lard. As they are expensive, buy one or two according to the size of the family, break them up in the pan when they are cooked, and add beaten eggs, one to two per person, to make an omelette.

Boudins Blancs. White puddings, though more sausage-like and less puddingy than their counterparts in England. Of delicate flavour, containing (from the best charcuteries) a proportion of chicken with the pork. The most expensive of all the sausages.

Boudins Noirs. Black puddings. Spicier and tastier and with more character than the factory-made black puddings of England. Whether presented sausage-style, or in an immense coil, the cheapest of all the sausages. Delicious with fried apples.

Saucisson-Cervelas. Saveloy, or larger sausage for poaching in nearly-boiling water. Eat with potato salad, improved with some chopped raw onion, and mustard.

Saucisses de Francfort. Usually a proprietary brand, sold in plastic wrappings. Five minutes in nearly-boiling water. Eat with potato salad, etc, like the cervelas sausage above.

Saucisses de Strasbourg. See above entry.

Crépinettes. Small flattish cakes of sausage-meat, encased in veiny, white caul fat (crépine). Fry or grill.

Chair à Saucisse). All-pork sausage-meat, on a tray, in a mound. Sold, as in England, by weight, and used for stuffings and home-made pâtés.

Saucisse en Brioche. A large pork sausage, up to a pound in weight, encased in brioche, and sold by the slice. It has been described as an extra fine toad-in-the-hole; an extra fine sausage-roll would be a better description. Eat warm.

Friandises. Small sausages enveloped in puff-pastry, in other words, sausage-rolls. Best eaten warm.

Pâtés Chauds. Mixtures of meat cooked in short-crust pastry, pasty or turn-over style. Best eaten warm. Occasionally hot pies are baked on a large shallow plate, and sold by the slice, which will be weighed to determine the price; see Gâteau à la Berrichonne.

Tripes. Tripe is sold in various forms apart from tripe sausages (andouillettes and andouilles, above). Often it is sold in hunks from a jellied slab, starred with carrot rings; sometimes in pots and cartons. Needs warming through, and is intended to be improved, according to taste, by the addition of wine, hard liquor, tomatoes and parsley.

Lard is, confusingly, the French for bacon (tranche de lard is a rasher of bacon). Saindoux is the name given to what we call lard. Bacon is not much sold in France, though it is always available; housewives there use fresh pork fat cut in strips or belly of pork in cooking, where we might use fat bacon — see pâtés, and the casserole of shin of beef.

CUTS OF FRESH PORK AND OFFAL

The charcutier also sells uncooked fresh pork and offal, including:

échine. Spare ribs, bladebone

gorge. Neck, and part of Hand - Hand of pork, shoulder

épaule. Shoulder - Hand of pork, shoulder

poitrine. Belly of pork

lard de poitrine. Fat belly of pork

côtes. Fore loin

carré. Fore loin in a piece

côte. Single chop

longe or filet. Hind loin and part of fillet

noisettes. Small round cuts from the fillet

jambon. Leg of pork

jambonneau. Hock, and hand

tête de porc. Pig's head

pieds de porc. Pig's trotters

queues de porc. Pigs' tails

abats de porc. Pig's offal

cervelle de porc. Pig's brain

rognons de porc. Pig's kidneys

foie de porc. Pig's liver

BREADS AND WINE

Since charcuterie and bread go together in picnic meals, here are some of the types of bread to ask for (all sold by weight, and priced by weight). The boulanger will always divide anything larger than a ficelle.

DAILY BREAD

ficelles (meaning string). Thin sticks of bread

baguettes (meaning rod, wand). Longer, thicker sticks of bread

pains (meaning bread). The commonest of the long loaves

paingruau (meaning fine-wheat bread). Bread of the finest flour

pain au lait (meaning milk bread). Large and small rolls

pain de mie (meaning crumb loaf). Shaped like small English

tin-baked loaves, but much lighter in texture. Used for croque-monsieur, stuffings, toast, etc.

FANCY BREAD

croissants (meaning crescent). Made from high-fat dough

brioches. Large and small fluted buns, made from high-fat dough, mixed with eggs

pain brioché. Brioche dough baked in a loaf-tin

pain mousseline (meaning muslin bread). Brioche loaf, shaped like a chef's hat

KEEPING BREAD

gros pain (meaning large bread). Often enormous ovals of coarser, but delicious, bread. Improves with keeping a day or two

pain complet (meaning whole bread). Wholemeal loaf

pain de seigle. Rye bread

couronnes. Circles (crowns) of bread

WINE

Wine, vin ordinaire, rouge, rosé or blanc, is sold (like special waters, which should, incidentally, be varied every four or five days for children) by the litre. A charge above the price of wine (ordinaire and château-bottled) or water is made for the bottle, unless you are exchanging an empty one. Ask if there is a bouchon plastique (plastic cork, or rather stopper) beneath the foil cap. If there isn't, the grocer can usually provide you with one.

PICNIC STOVES

Small portable butagaz or camping-gaz stoves are obviously ideal. The cylinders are much more easily exchanged or bought in France than in this country.

Less expensively you can use small stoves (from camping stores and Woolworths), filled with solid fuel or methylated spirits (alcool à bruler; not coloured in France, so mark the bottle), or a primus (the French for paraffin is, confusingly, pétrole — not always obtainable, particularly in summer time). The shop for paraffin and methylated spirits is the droguerie, not the ironmonger's (quincaillerie); the droguerie is usually recognizable by displays of paint and plastic household goods.

Charcuterie Equipment

There are in fact very few charcuterie and pork recipes that can't be carried out with normal kitchen equipment — apart from sausages. Without a sausage-making attachment to an electric blender, no one would ever attempt to make sausages more than once out of curiosity. But many butchers are perfectly willing to put your own mixture into skins for you, provided you choose a slack time, so even that difficulty can be got round.

On the other hand, the joy of any trade is in part due to the constant use of loved and tried tools and equipment. I wonder if I would make rillettes or pâté so often, if I hadn't collected an assortment of the appropriate pots in France to store them in. Rillettes in a jam jar, or pâté in a glass oven dish, are perfectly feasible propositions, but not nearly such appetizing ones. Junk shops in this country can usually provide old Strasbourg pâté pots, of cream to gold earthenware and a lion's head each side as lugs. For 2s. in a Newport street market I once bought a huge oval French gratin dish in yellow and brown ware. From Abergavenny on the same journey, a deep loaf-tin-shaped pot, in cream earthenware, for 6d., has gone into the oven a thousand times with pâté, or held brawn as it sets in the cool larder. But for brawn I really prefer pint mugs from an old pub sale, they are evenly cylindrical so that a tin of soup wrapped in silver foil acts as a weight, fitting beautifully into the mug.

The brawn unmoulds in a firm roll, ready to be pushed over the warm toasted crumbs before being sliced and served.

Even without sale bargains, you will not find it expensive to buy traditional French dishes and terrines at Elizabeth David's shop at 46 Bourne Street, London S.W.1, provided you stick to stoneware. Cheaper and softer earthenware is not economical as it chips easily. If you are considering a lifetime's wear, invest in vitrified cast-iron pans produced in splendid colours by Le Creuset; they are available at Elizabeth David's shop too, and throughout the country at good kitchenware suppliers.

But charcuterie does not require expensive equipment — though an electric mixer is undeniably a great help, particularly if it has a sausage-making attachment. Here is a list of other things I would hate to be without in my dealings with the pig. Most of them, but not all, are strictly practical.

Sharp knives, in several sizes, the first requirement of any kitchen. Do not be tempted by stainless steel, which is more difficult to keep properly sharpened. Nowadays French carbon steel knives are cheaply available from better household stores in this country — one famous make is Sabatier. Protect the points with corks or keep knives on a magnetic holder, and use Scotch brite to keep the blades clean.

Iron frying pan. Unless the frying process is to be concluded with the addition of wine, use a heavy inexpensive French wrought iron pan; they are cheaper than English ones even in this country. Catering supply stores often stock them, and at Elizabeth David Ltd, you will find them in many sizes (46 Bourne Street, S.W.1).

I use the lid of a black iron Dutch oven, which lives permanently in the warmth above an Esse stove, and has the additional safeguard of an inside coating of tasteless vegetable oil. This averts rusting. As iron turns a wine sauce black (harmless but unappetizing), enamelled cast-iron ware frying pans or French Équipinox pans are a useful, though far costlier, addition to the kitchen.

Fish kettle may sound illogical, but its strainer tray enables large quantities of boudins blancs and black puddings to be poached with the minimum risk of their bursting. A good, if smaller, substitute is a cheap collapsible metal chip basket or lettuce shaker, and a large saucepan into which it fits easily.

Larding needle, with its delicately graduated point is better for testing meat as it cooks than a metal skewer. Larding is a satisfactory by-occupation of charcuterie.

Strainer trays and bowls. The old-fashioned kind of meat dish provides a good flat straining surface, particularly if a galantine is to cool under a weight. Wide French shallow bowls, really for draining cheese, are practical for small things like rillons.

Casseroles and baking dishes need no suggestions from me. I prefer stoneware, or vitrified cast-iron produced by Le Creuset and many other European firms, but glass ovenware and earthenware are quite suitable for charcuterie even if they are not so tough.

Chopping block, of reliable flatness and generous size.

Hachoir or Mezzaluna for chopping meat, better than mincing. Better still, if more expensive, a 'Moulinette 68' machine.

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Excerpted from "Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery"
by .
Copyright © 2001 Sophie Grigson.
Excerpted by permission of Grub Street.
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