Culinary Cure-All

Feeling good with Portland charcuterie

1) Toro Bravo Fuet

The Portland restaurant’s fuet, a thin, Spanish-style cured pork sausage originally from the Catalan region, is fermented for 26 hours and then air cured for 20 days. Its pepper and nutmeg notes give the marbled meat a warm, mildly spicy flavor that’s hard to resist.

Pairing: Syrah

Good Food Awards winner (2018).

2) Toro Bravo Sobrasada Mallorca

Toro Bravo’s sobrasada, a soft Spanish-style cured sausage, is made from Tails & Trotters pork jowl and Iberico pork belly spiced with ample pimenton and paprika. Its buttery texture calls for crostini with delicious accoutrements at the Portland restaurant.

Pairing: Riesling

Good Food Awards winner (2018).

3) Olympia Provisions Salami El Rey

Portland’s Olympia Provisions now has the spicy Spanish-style chorizo you’ve been searching for since your trip to the Iberian Peninsula. Salami El Rey, “The King,” packs a punch with sweet and smoked paprika, clove, allspice, cayenne and chili flakes for mild heat.

Pairing: Grenache

Good Food Awards winner (2018).

4) Chop Sopressata

Chop butcher/owner Eric Finley and trusty sidekick Michael Jennings make and hand-tie each salami from 50-pound batches a week at their Portland location. The sopressata is made with white pepper, a touch of mace for sweetness and a little heat from chilis on the finish. 

Pairing: Pinot Noir

5) Chop Curry Salami

The guys at Chop adore currywurst and wanted to craft a salami with the same flavors. An exotic spice blend of cumin, coriander, tumeric, allspice, ginger and garlic makes the salami warm and buttery without overpowering it. A delicious little experiment gone right.

Pairing: Chardonnay