Charcuterie class in Chinese countryside

by Vincent Lebourgeois | Oct 22, 2022 | Masterclass, Charcuterie, Methods and process

Chill out and charcuterie…

Sommaire

Cuisine is also encounters.

Thanks to a common friend, I was lucky to meet Louis.
This french entrepreneur after several running different businesses in the hectic city of Shanghai had started a new project with his is a very different surroundings : a guest house at 4 hours from Shanghai, in Zhejiang province.

Offered activities : reconnect with nature, games for children, authentic cuisine… being hosted in very cosy and charming cottages.

The minute that you arrive, the sound of the river flowing under the bridge leading you to the house gets you in the atmosphere. Pricking up your ears, birds sing, grasshopers stridulate… A bit like if Nature was extending the hand.

Discover “Fais un vœu”

Walk around this haven of peace!

Visit

Louis offers during stays grilled food, and wished to develop his skills and make his own sausages.
Chinese do sausages, but consistency and taste are very different.
There are several guesthouses in the area, and being the single french of the village, may as well develop this advantage.

At its maximum number of guests, the barbecue at the end of the stay feeds 30 people!
You get it : for an authentic taste and keep margin, make your own sausages is a good approach.
We were introduced with this intention, and had arranged everything to have a proper “cooking class”.
On schedule : Sausages, rillettes, grilled pork ribs… all this in a professional kitchen. The best setup to prepare all these delicacies.

As the barbecure is the last dinner closing the stay for guests, it is important to stamp minds with unique flavors.
Customer base being 95% chinese, at the end of a stay in chinese countryside eating local food… it’s best to use flavours from chinese cuisine.
Here is my strategy : Sausages with a dominance of Sichuan peppers (I will write an article someday about this magical spice…)
I put together all spices on this base.

I went there with my apron and mixes of spices to share my experience.

The sequence of operation :

Day 1

Cut and shred the meat.
Validation of seasonings (better sure before producing several kilos !)
- For this, weight your spices for a small quantity for testing (200/300 gr for example)
Preparation of mixes (shredded meat with seasonings)
- In a creative momentum, we had even created a new mix of spices we has on hand!
Seasoning and start of sous vide curing of pork ribs for 12 hours (a recipe will be published soon!)

Day 2

Stuffing of sausages
Remove the ribs from the water, wait for barbecue
Preparation and cooking of rillettes (a recipe will be published soon!)
Savouring of our delicacies!

Day 3

Remove the rillettes from the water then mixing.
Put into terrines and sterilize the remaining quantity.

A revitalizing retreat

This stay far from big cities was very revitalizing. Being warmly welcomed by great people in a peaceful place with good food, and a big kitchen to work in… what else?