Introduction: The reason for this food, this book : why we still love and need hand-preserved foods in the age of the refrigerator, the frozen dinner, Domino's pizza and the 24-hour grocery store Recipes for salt-cured food : salt : how the most powerful tool in your kitchen transforms the humble into the sublime Recipes for smoked food : smoke : the exotic seasoning Sausage : the power and the glory : animal fat, salt, and the pig come together in one of the oldest, divine-yet-humble, culinary creations known to humankind Recipes for dry-cured food : the artist and the sausage : techniques and recipes for individualistic, idiosyncratic and temperamental dry-cured meats Pâtés and terrines : the cinderella meat loaf The confit technique : fat : the perfect cooking environment Recipes to accompany charcuterie : sauces and condiments : not optional
