Take these three precautions with all home charcuterie, so you don’t serve up trichinosis with your pancetta.

Keep it cold
Refrigerating the meat, and even the meat grinder and any other utensils used in the recipe, not only helps fend off bacteria but also makes grinding your ingredients easier.

Master the environment
Air-dried sausages need the proper environment to ensure a safe cure. Sixty percent humidity and 60°F ambient temperature are the best possible conditions. Basements and dark cupboards and closets often meet these standards, but check first.

Sync your salt
The right ratio of salt to meat is essential for pulling out moisture, killing bacteria, and improving flavor. Improvise with other flavoring agents (herbs, chili powders, citrus), but don’t mess with the salt. Follow the recipe for once!

The Cure

Master the art of hand-crafted meats

By Matt Goulding, Photos by Kang Kim

LEVEL 3
Pancetta
Pancetta is Italy’s aromatic, spice-rubbed answer to our prosaic bacon. Rolled tightly into a perfect pinwheel, it makes for a fine example of effortless charcuterie. Fold a few cooked chunks into a tomato sauce laced with chili flakes for a traditional spaghetti all’ amatriciana, or simply sauté a few slices and make an Italian-style PLT.


YOU’LL NEED
    1 5 lb slab pork belly, skin removed
    4 Tbsp coursely ground black pepper
    4 cloves garlic, minced
    2 teaspoons pink salt
    ¼ cup kosher salt
    2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
    2 Tbsp juniper berries crushed with the    bottom of a sauté pan
    4 crumbled bay leaves,
    1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
    4 or 5 sprigs fresh thyme
    Butcher’s string


HOW TO MAKE IT
[1]  Trim the pork belly, squaring off the edges.

[2]  Combine half of the black pepper with the remaining ingredients in a bowl. Rub the mix all over the belly to coat uniformly.

[3]  Place the belly in a 2-gallon ziplock bag and refrigerate for 7 days. Every other day, rub the belly to redistribute the seasoning, and flip it over.

[4]  After 7 days, check the belly for firmness. If it feels firm at its thickest point, it’s cured. If it still feels squishy, refrigerate it on the cure for 1 to 2 days.

[5]  Remove the belly from the container, rinse it thoroughly under cold water, and pat dry. Sprinkle the meat side with the remaining cracked pepper. Starting from a long side, roll up the belly tightly and tie it firmly with butcher’s string at 1- to 2-inch intervals; air pockets are your enemy here.

[6]  Hang by the string in a cool, humid place for 2 weeks. The ideal conditions: 50° to 60°F with 60 percent humidity. A cool, humid basement works fine, too—no sun. If the pancetta hardens, it’s drying out and should be wrapped and refrigerated. The pancetta should be firm but pliable, not hard. Makes 4 pounds


LEVEL 4
Chicken Sausage with Basil and Tomatoes
This simple recipe yields an incredibly tasty, nuanced sausage that balances the richness of pork fat with the acidic tang of vinegar and red wine. Polcyn says you can cook this one indoors—whole or removed from the casing and crumbled into pasta sauces—but his favorite way to eat it is straight from the grill and tucked into a soft roll.


YOU’LL NEED   
    3½ lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cubed
    1½ lb pork back fat, cubed, then diced into 1-inch pieces
    1½ oz kosher salt
    1 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
    1½ tsp minced garlic
    4 Tbsp tightly packed chopped fresh basil
    ½ cup fresh diced Roma tomatoes
    ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes
    ¼ cup red wine vinegar, chilled
    ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
    ¼ cup dry red wine, chilled
    10 feet of hog casings, soaked in tepid water for 30 minutes and  rinsed


HOW TO MAKE IT
[1]  Combine the chicken thighs, pork fat, salt, pepper, garlic, basil, and tomatoes, and toss together until evenly mixed. Chill until ready to grind.

[2]  Grind the mixture through the small die into a bowl set in ice.

[3]  Using a paddle attachment of a standing mixer (or a sturdy spoon), mix on low speed (or stir) for 1 minute. Add the
vinegar, oil, and wine. Increase the speed to medium, and mix for 1 minute more, or until the liquid is incorporated and the sausage has a uniform, sticky appearance.

[4]  Fry a bite-sized portion, taste, and season to taste.

[5]  Stuff the mix into the casings and twist into 6-inch links. Freeze until ready to cook it. Makes 20 links


LEVEL 5
Spanish Chorizo
This smoky, piquant sausage is the pride of Iberia. And for good reason: It’s delicious. Because it’s dried, it takes more patience but no real extra effort. To start, “Don’t buy grocery-store pork. It’s the other white meat—all the fat has been bred out of it,” says Polcyn. “Heritage pork has intramuscular fat. It’ll change your world.” (Find it at an Italian gourmet market or at nimanranch.com.)


YOU’LL NEED
    5 lb boneless pork shoulder butt, diced
    2 oz kosher salt
    1 tsp Insta Cure No. 2
    1 Tbsp dextrose
    ¼ cup Bactoferm
    F-RM-52 (live starter culture)
    ¼ cup distilled water
    2 Tbsp smoked    
    hot Spanish paprika (pimentón)
    2 Tbsp ancho chili powder
    1½ tsp cayenne pepper
    2 Tbsp minced garlic
    10 feet of hog casings, soaked in tepid water for 30 minutes and rinsed


HOW TO MAKE IT
[1]  Combine the pork with the salt, Insta Cure No. 2, and dextrose. Grind through the large die into the bowl of a standing mixer set in ice.

[2]  Dissolve the Bactoferm in the distilled water and add it, along with the remaining ingredients, to the pork. With the paddle attachment, mix on low speed for about 1 minute to incorporate all the ingredients.

[3]  Stuff the sausage into the hog casings and use string to tie them into 12-inch loops. Using a sterile pin or needle, prick the casings all over to remove air pockets and facilitate drying.

[4]  Hang the sausage (ideally at 60°F with 60 to 70 percent humidity) for 18 to 20 days, until it feels completely firm throughout and/or it’s lost 30 percent of its weight. Makes 3 pounds