Best Charcuterie text?

Looking to read up on this but there are a LOT of books out there. I've been burned by Amazon reviews before so I thought, "Hey the mess hall is full of folks who know a lot" so I am asking here for titles of good books on the subject.


What would be your go to Charcuterie book?

I would also be interested in traditional american meat curing as well.

There are many decent ones, but the book I keep returning to is:

http://www.sausagemaker.com/Great-Sausage-Recipes-and-Meat-Curing-p/26-1010.htm

Micheal Ruhlman has a great book out, especially if you are a beginner. I also own Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages. More than Charcuterie as the name implies. It is some heavy lifting but if you are interested in the science involved it is great.

Charcuterie by Ruhlman isn't bad but a lot of the recipes are the same as or very similar to the CIA text book (Garde Manger) I own both. The fourth and fifth editions are decent for sure! I snagged one for $5.

I went to a different culinary school and we still used the CIA text book....

Charcuterie is a broad topic. Pick a broad book then go narrower fro there.

Bar Tartine has so.e fun stuff in it. It goes beyond curing meat but still garde manger esque....

I'll second the suggestion for a CIA Garde Manger text. It covers the basics really well, both with preservation theory and formulas. And nice photos too. Then there are more specialty books for the various charcuterie products. But I'd start with the CIA text.

Thanks folks. I'll look into these.

Sorry I know this is a really old thread @natenaaron but Dry-Curing Pork by Hector Kent is also a nice entry level read.

Thanks