On Cooking: A Textbook of Culinary
Fundamentals
Sixth Edition
Chapter 28
Charcuterie
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Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
28.1 Prepare forcemeats
28.2 Assemble and cook pâtés, terrines and sausages
28.3 Prepare and use aspic jelly
28.4 Employ the proper methods for brining, curing and
smoking meats and fish
28.5 Identify cured pork products
28.6 Prepare and use sauce chaud-froid

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Forcemeats
• A forcemeat is a preparation made from uncooked
ground meats, poultry, fish or shellfish
• It is seasoned and then emulsified with fats
• Used as the primary ingredient to make pâtés, terrines,
galantines and sausages
• Textures vary from smooth and velvety to well-textured
and course

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Fat Emulsification
• To ensure proper emulsification of a forcemeat:
• The ratio of fat to other ingredients must be precise
• Temperatures must be maintained below 41°F (5°C)
• The ingredients must be mixed properly

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Equipment Needed
• Food grinder
• Food processor or food chopper
• Drum sieve
• Standard meat grinder
– Plus various-sized grinding dies

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Forcemeat Ingredients (1 of 2)
• Meats
– Dominant meat is what gives the forcemeat its name
and essential flavor
• Fats
– Add moisture and richness
• Binders
– Panada
▪ Crustless white bread soaked in milk
– Eggs

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Forcemeat Ingredients (2 of 2)
• Seasonings
– Salt, curing salt, marinades and various herbs and
spices
• Garnishes
– Meat, fats, vegetables or other foods added in limited
quantities to provide contrasting flavors, textures and
colors

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Special Seasonings
• Curing salt
– Mixture of salt and sodium nitrite (sel rose in French)
– Controls spoilage and bacteria growth
– Preserves the pink color of the meat
• Pâté spice
– A mixture of spices and herbs that can be premixed
and used as needed

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Preparing Forcemeats
• Preparations include time and temperature control for safety (T
CS) foods
– Temperature controls must be strictly maintained
– All food contact surfaces and cutting boards must be
sanitized
• To ensure proper emulsification, forcemeats must be kept
below 41°Fahrenheit
– Grinder and food processor parts should be chilled or
frozen
• All foods must be cut into small sizes to fit into the grinder
– Do not overstuff grinders or food processors

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Common Forcemeat Preparations
• Country-style
– Simplest to prepare
– Heavily seasoned
• Basic
– Smoother and more refined
– Probably the most versatile of all
• Mousseline
– Light, airy and delicately flavored
• Quenelles
– Small, dumpling-shaped portions of mousseline

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Using Forcemeats
• Forcemeats are basic components in the preparation of terrines,
pâtés, galantines and sausages.
• Terrines
– Baked in an earthenware mold
• Pâtés or pâtés en croûte
– Fine savory meat filling wrapped and baked in a crust
• Galantines
– Forcemeats wrapped in the skin of the animal and poached,
served cold
• Ballotines
– Forcemeats wrapped in the skin of chicken thighs and served
hot

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Aspic Jelly
• Aspic jelly is used in the finishing and presentation of
terrines, pâtés and galantines
• It adds flavor and shine, prevents display food from
drying out
• Made from a strong stock with increased gelatin
– Plain gelatin, gelatinous meats or bones added
– Follow guidelines for gelatin content required

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Types of Terrines
• Liver terrines
• Foie gras terrines
• Vegetable terrines
• Brawns or aspic terrines
• Mousse
• Rillettes
• Confits

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Procedure for Preparing Terrines
Clockwise from upper left: Line a mold with thin slices of
fatback. Fill the terrine with the forcemeat and garnish.
Place the herb-decorated terrine in a water bath. Slice the
finished terrine

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Procedure for Preparing Galantines
• Clockwise from upper left:
Butterfly the breasts and
tenderloins and cover the
skin with a thin layer of meat.
• Arrange the forcemeat and
garnishes in a cylindrical
shape across the center of
the skin.
• Use plastic wrap to tightly
roll the galantine and form a
tight cylinder
• Wrap the galantine with
heavy-duty aluminum foil.

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Sausages
• Sausages are forcemeat stuffed into casings
– Fresh sausages
▪ Fresh ingredients that have not been smoked or cured
– Smoked and cooked sausages
▪ Made with a raw meat products that have been treated
with chemicals, usually the preservative sodium nitrite
– Dried or hard sausages
▪ Made of cured meat and then air-dried under controlled
conditions
▪ May or may not be smoked or cooked

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Sausage Components
• Sausage meats
– Forcemeats with particular characteristics
• Sausage casings
– Natural casings
▪ Portions of hog, sheep or cattle intestines
– Collagen casings
▪ Manufactured from collagen extracted from cattle
hide

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Procedure for Casing Sausage
• Clockwise from upper left:
• Slide the casing over the
nozzle of the sausage stuffer
• Knot and pierce the casing
with a skewer.
• Support and guide the
casing off the end of the
nozzle as the sausage is
extruded from the machine
into the casing.
• Twist the sausage into
uniform links

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Salt Curing and Brining
• Salt curing
– Process of surrounding the food with salt or a mixture
of salt, sugar, nitrite-based curing salts, herbs and
spices
• Brining
– Soaking or injecting foods with a very salty marinade

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Smoking
• Cold smoking
– The process of exposing salt cured or brined foods to
smoke at a temperature of 50°Fahrenheit to 85°Fahrenheit
• Hot Smoking
– The process of exposing foods to smoke at a
temperature of 200°Fahrenheit to 250°Fahrenheit
– After hot smoking, most foods are fully cooked

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Preserved Meat Products
• Pork Products
– Bacon
▪ Canadian bacon
▪ Pancetta
– Ham
▪ Prosciutto, Parma, Jamón, Westphalian ham
• Other cured meats
– Beef
▪ Dried beef, Bresaola, smoked poultry

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Salt Curing Gravlax
• Clockwise from
upper left:
• Coat the salmon
fillet with the salt
cure.
• Wrap the fillets in
plastic wrap.
• Weigh down a pan
placed on top of the
wrapped fish.
• Thinly slice the
cured gravlax.

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Glazing Pâté in Aspic Jelly
Cool the clarified aspic jelly (below left) by slowly stirring it
over an ice bath. Brush or spoon the aspic jelly (below
right) over slices of chilled pate arranged on a cooling
rack. Repeat until the coating reaches the desired
thickness.

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Sauce Chaud-Froid (1 of 2)
• Sauce chaud-froid is a decorative coating used when
presenting cold cooked foods
• Like aspic, should be fairly firm when cold
• Mixture of one part cream and two parts stock
strengthened with gelatin

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Sauce Chaud-Froid (2 of 2)
Chill the sauce chaud froid over and ice bath then coat the
fish with sauce chaud-froid.

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