I love pork.
Bacon, dry cured, sausage, you name it I'll devour it. I even have four swine-related tattoos and my niece and nephew call me Uncle Bacon. I'm a lifer at this point.
I started my meat affair about eight years ago when I was a wide-eyed greenling fresh out of culinary school. I had read an old French cookbook which contained a chapter about charcuterie and I was instantly enthralled. I called up my local butcher for a full pig belly and it's been a whirlwind romance from there.
One thing that I've never attempted in my charcuterie training is a prosciutto. It's The Godfather, The Gretzky and The Johnny Cash of charcuterie. The main reason why, and I am not afraid to admit it, is because I am afraid of failing.
In charcuterie you take a piece of meat, salt the crap out it (and add herbs, spices, rainbows and all those nice things), hang it and hope you didn't make a mistake and your climate is perfect.
Sometimes though you can do everything right and the Holy Overseer of All Things Charcuterie will just decide to throw you a curve ball. You will come in one day after nurturing this little meat seed for months and there will be a spot of mould. Not the friendly kind either that helps you protect the meat and is your best buddy throughout this journey. Oh no, not your buddy. It will be siting there, just taunting you for all the hard work you've put in.
So that's why, I guess.
This year I vowed to conquer that fear and seven months ago I ordered a pig. I separated all the primal cuts and was left looking straight at the hind leg. "Well," I said, staring down my formidable opponent, "don't let me down. Doug."
And so the adventures of Doug began. He took a salt nap for weeks and then hung in our curing chamber for six months. Every time I checked him I would hold my breath and prepare for the worst. But the evil mould never came, and last week ago he was ready.
When I tried Doug, I almost teared up. After waiting seven months, I was so proud of all that we had been through and mostly how delicious he was.
So my final thought to you is to chase your dreams and not be afraid of failure, because you may find yourself dining on something delicious like Doug.
