Charcuterie : Pâtés, Terrines, Savory Pies, Ferrandi

Charcuterie : Pâtés, Terrines, Savory Pies, Recipes and Techniques from the famous Ferrandi School of Culinary Arts which opened in Paris in 1920. With stunning photography by Rina Nurra is a delicious compendium of culinary delights.

This complete cooking course on charcuterie, written by the world-renowned culinary school’s experienced teaching team of chefs, features everything you need to know to create delicious terrines, pâtés, pies, and other charcuterie dishes. It includes 35 techniques explained in more than 200 step-by-step instructions, to prepare sausages, debone and fillet fish, or decorate a pâté en croûte, and 70 recipes organized by category: pies, tarts, and pâtés en croûte; pâtés and terrines; rillettes and pulled meats and fish; stuffed dishes; and cooked charcuterie.

Replete with 350 illustrations, this comprehensive cookbook explains the history and fundamentals of French charcuterie―an age-old craft―provides key terms and their definitions, and includes detailed diagrams of meat cuts in the US, UK, and France.

Base recipes for pastry, broths, and stuffings as well as condiments such as chutney or pickled vegetables are featured, alongside techniques for cutting and cleaning ingredients and assembling and decorating dishes. From country pâté to eggplant and miso terrine, Scotch eggs to spicy cabbage and herb sausages, salmon and spinach terrine to Beef Wellington, or Serrano ham croquettes to blood sausage empanadas, the easy-to-follow recipes include traditional versions as well as innovative, modern reinterpretations, including plant-based and meatless variations.

There’s an excellent introduction to all the components of pies and pates, terrines and tarts etc from what adding salt does, to the origins of charcuterie in France. There’s also a section on equipment, cutting and preparing ingredients – everything you need to know to prepare the recipes at home. I loved the chapter on decorating pies – guaranteed to up the wow factor when you make them yourself. There are photos accompanying every section.

Recipes are very clearly written, and photos show what every stage should look like from preparing jellied broth to making pork rillettes. And there are really helpful notes.

Some of the recipes take time and are not a quick and easy fix but this is real French cuisine at its best – and nothing as delicious as these recipes should be rushed. Making the recipes is part of the adventure, and with very clear instructions, they are doable – and eating them is the icing on the cake! Some recipes are simpler, like the vegetarian carrot rillettes which I can tell you from personal experience is superb and not hard to prepare.

Published by Flammarion, Charcuterie: Pâtés, Terrines, Savory Pies: Recipes and Techniques from the Ferrandi School of Culinary Arts is available from all good book shops online and in the high street.