Monday 4th February, 2013 was the day we at Waterloo Cottage Farm had been waiting for. Charcuterie expert Mark Frederic Berry gave us his opinion on our coppa and air dried ham. We had been air drying these two cuts of pork in our maturing room since April 2012. You can take all the care in the world, but there are so many things that can go wrong in His fi nal test was sniffi ng a horse bone needle that had been stuck deep in the meat muscle. That is as technical as it got, quite amazing! However, when we all took a turn ‘sniffi ng’ we could really smell the sweet almost fl owery fl avour of the ham. This is the best test and only real way to make sure that the ham is keeping well. Mark commented: Mark worked with us to show us how to make the most out of our slow grown, free range larger pigs by embracing the fat. If we use a pig for selling in the shop as fresh pork it needs to be a smaller animal with less fat covering; however, for charcuterie and bacon making the fat is really important in maintaining the shape of the joints and help with the fi nal taste. We have spent the last two years trying to get a balance between the flavour of the fat and the customers need to see lean meat on their plates, and now we feel we have achieved that. Marc’s years in the business have left him advising customers to... ‘leave the fat on the meat till it gets to your plate and then leave it on your plate if you don’t want to eat it. That way you do not lose the fl avour and moistness’ Inspired by the success of the matured hams and Mark’s advice on other types of charcuterie we have developed our own salami and pâtés to add to our charcuterie range and we would like to share them with you. Over the Easter Weekend you will be able to: Taste our new charcuterie range of air dried ham, coppa, salami and pâtés. Make your own sausages and take them home for supper. Book yourself a one-hour appointment between Friday 29th March - Monday 1st April from 10-3pm, cost is £20 per person and you take home We are now open: Weekdays 8am-6pm
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