Pig Perfect Pork & Charcuterie

Pork in France is a meat apart. In an open market, the pork butchers will outnumber all the other meat butchers combined. A country meal, indeed any meal, is almost unimaginable without the pig. Just look at the assiette de charcuterie listed on so many bistro menus: a good one includes slivers of cured country ham, a slice of cooked ham (jambon de Paris), a few slices of cooked garlic sausage (saucisson à l’ail) and dried sausage (saucisson sec), and a sliver of Pâté de Campagne, all of which originate with a pig. As for sausages, I have covered a few in “Strings of Sausages”, but there are many, many more. Fresh ones are not hard to make at home. My particular favorite is Boudin Blanc, a smooth, white sausage that is both light and satisfyingly rich. (Boudin noir, blood sausage, is another matter, an expert’s job.)