These traditional, artisan methods that celebrate time as an ingredient will help you unlock the ancient knowledge that transforms fresh meat and fish into classic cured products and introduce techniques such as air drying that dismisses the notion of ‘use by and sell by’ as well as intensifying flavour.

Experience

Our expert tutor Steven Lamb (bio below) will guide you through the techniques of dry and wet curing (brining). We’ll start with a brief chat on where curing sits in the pantheon of culinary arts and focus on the special ingredient of salt as the curing agent. We’ll move on to some basic knife skills and then focus on applying the various methods mentioned above to create some wonderful products – some with a typical Spanish theme and others just celebrating fantastic ingredients. As time forms an integral part of the curing process there will be examples of pre-made products for tasting which will also act as a guide in terms of how products change throughout the process.

This is the perfect workshop to fine tune existing skills or develop new ones whether you want to make single products or create platters and mezzes of outstanding charcuterie.

Program of the day

9.30am – 10.00am arrival
Tea / coffee and homemade taster

10.00 - 11.30 Morning session 1
Introducing the art of curing and where it fits culturally in the culinary world. Next there will be a session of simple processing of recognisable pork joints, breaking them down to the best cuts for curing. Everybody will make their own bacon from pork belly in this session before breaking for coffee.

12.00 - 1.30 Morning session 2

In our second session we will mince pork shoulder to create cooking chorizo or butifarra. Then we will round the session off with an opportunity to use chicken and discover the benefit of using a wet cure.

1.30pm – 2.30pm Lunch

Settle down to a rustic lunch of a selection of charcuterie, local cheese, homemade pickles and Town Mill sourdough with a glass of wine or beer.

Skills Covered
After a dual-session morning attending our Curing Workshop you will have the skills and confidence to do basic butchery as well as applying the methods of dry and wet curing to make an array of classic, authentic products. You will also have first-hand knowledge of what the best equipment and sundries to use and where to source it. Each attendee will leave with their produce and a booklet of methods and recipes to help support their onward learning journey.

Typical Products Made
Typically, we will make bacon or lomo, and chorizo or butifarra (garlic sausage).

Anyone attending this workshop will be tapping into the culturally significant ancient knowledge that allowed our ancestors to utilise fire and eventually preserve gluts of food for times when there was little to eat. These methods open the citadel to all those sweet, savoury smoky and spicy flavours that elevate flavours to a whole new level.

To book your classes or talk to us, please call 01297 445757

or contact us here.

To book your classes or talk to us, please call 01297 445757

or contact us here.