Salumi: The Craft of Italian Dry Curing

by Michael Ruhlman, Brian Polcyn

Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn inspired a revival of artisanal sausage making and bacon curing with their surprise hit, Charcuterie. Now they delve deep into the Italian side of the craft with Salumi, a book that explores and simplifies the recipes and techniques of dry curing meats. As the sources and methods of making our food have become a national discussion, an increasing number of cooks and professional chefs long to learn fundamental methods of preparing meats in the traditional way. Ruhlman and Polcyn give recipes for the eight basic products in Italy's pork salumi repertoire: guanciale, coppa, spalla, lardo, lonza, pancetta, prosciutto, and salami, and they even show us how to butcher a hog in the Italian and American ways. This book provides a thorough understanding of salumi, with 100 recipes and illustrations of the art of ancient methods made modern and new.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction, Culinary, Reference

288 pages, Hardcover

First published August 27, 2012

About the author

Michael Ruhlman (born 1963 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American writer. He is the author of 11 books, and is best known for his work about and in collaboration with American chefs, as well as other works of non-fiction.

Ruhlman grew up in Cleveland and was educated at University School (a private boys' day school in Cleveland) and at Duke University, graduating from the latter in 1985. He worked a series of odd jobs (including briefly at the New York Times) and traveled before returning to his hometown in 1991 to work for a local magazine.

While working at the magazine, Ruhlman wrote an article about his old high school and its new headmaster, which he expanded into his first book, Boys Themselves: A Return to Single-Sex Education (1996).

For his second book, The Making of a Chef (1997), Ruhlman enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America, completing the course, to produce a first-person account -- of the techniques, personalities, and mindsets -- of culinary education at the prestigious chef's school. The success of this book produced two follow-ups, The Soul of a Chef (2000) and The Reach of a Chef (2006).

Reviews

[E. Kahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this together with Charcuterie, by the same authors. This review will cover both books.

Charcuterie covers sausagemaking while Salumi is about dry curing whole cuts of meat. Both books focus heavily on the Italian styles.

The books contain a great deal of information regarding their topic (the word charcuterie encompasses sausages, cured meats and other foods such as pates and terrines). Unfortunately, some of this information is incomplete, misleading or simply wrong. For a full discussion of errors, search the usual food-related forums.

The books themselves are very nice, with beautiful photographs. In my opinion, this betrays the principal weakness in the books: They can't decide if they're cookbooks or coffee table food porn. The text reflects this, with little essays and anecdotes about the authors' childhoods, travels etc. interspersed with the recipes and techniques. This is per the standard of foodie books, but frustrating for the reader who wishes the authors covered more ground and properly tested and proofread their recipes.

On the plus side, the books are informative (when they're correct...) and the many line drawings and diagrams included are useful for learning Italian-style pork butchering.

If you're interested in making Italian-style cured meats and can tolerate the silly filler, these are probably the books to read. Just remember to check online for corrections...

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

If ever I develop a stronger stomach and am able to chop an animal into the many fascinating parts this books describes, that will be the day that I will be able to cure my own prosciutto and salami.

The drawing and descriptions are very detailed and I believe this book could inspire someone as queasy as myself, to delve in the fascinating world of La Charcuterie!

[Henry Rincon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very few valued things to mention because recipes are not reliable at all and its treatment of deep issues is weak. Maybe I would rescue the way the hog is handled to achieve the 8 parts of italian salumi.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yup, definitely sure I don't want to cure my own meats.

[Vladimir Semenov · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of the book is repeating the previous charcuterie book, but of particular note are the parts on breaking apart a hog - two different ways, and some notable side dishes.

[Donald Mosier]

OK, I am a little bit weird. I do actually READ cookbooks. But this is more than a cookbook. It is as much a text on methods and history of dry curing food. I honestly do not know if I will ever try it myself. But it does help me appreciate why this stuff tastes the way it does, why it is so hard to find, and why it costs so much.

Worth a read if you are interested in this sort of thing. I am actually following it up by a perusal ofCharcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing by the same authors.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I have the time to make my own salumi, I will follow this book step-by-step. Excellent diagrams and explanations. Made me very hungry for salami (with wine & cheese), an Italian hoagie, and a charcuterie plate. I'm still hungry for it.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yup, embarking on a new cooking adventure for 2015. This is a great starter book but also delves into serious curing including molds. Very good detail for both novice and experienced salumi makers.

[Larry]

Another well done book. I have done the salumi's and they are good. Starting the whole muscle stuff next.