Masters of Meat: New Royalty Crowned
Before stainless steel refrigerators, before refrigerators at all, before ice boxes–in other words, a long time ago–someone figured out that meat could be preserved by drying, salting, smoking and sealing it in fat. The result was charcuterie: sausage, pâté, terrine, confit, and ham-making. Most of these are made from pork, possibly because swine were common throughout Europe at its conception.
What started as a utilitarian practice that often involved the use of odd, unattractive or otherwise problematic cuts of meat, has evolved–as culinary practices often do–into something more elegant, both on the palate and visually.
That abbreviated bit of culinary history brings me to the Charcuterie Masters competition at the Flushing Town Hall, where amateurs and pros came to share what they'd produced with the public and to compete for awards.
As soon as the doors to the town hall opened, the unmistakable aromas of charcuterie hit: a blend of smoke and spices with pleasant overtones of fat and herbs, and a tiny spike of vinegar. Two floors of the venue were packed with visitors trying to sample all they possibly could, from North Carolina barbecue to French-style blood sausage, Portuguese-esque Alentejan presunto (think prosciutto) to smoked Alpaca; pork terrine and smoked prime rib of beef. All these treats for the carnivore were tempered by coleslaw, beer, cheeses, and cider.
Queens was represented well with Casa del Chef’s coleslaw with red and green cabbage, crispy carrots and potato foam, M. Wells Steakhouse blood sausage, Reuben sandwiches of smoked beef prime rib– all paired perfectly with Finback Brewery’s IPAs. John Brown's Smokehouse took home the People's Choice Award for its smoked prime rib, though Mark Elia of Hudson Valley Sausage Company won the grand prize.
