Source: Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE, 6/24/16


Never has there been more interest from consumers on how the sausage is made. For Dana Hanson, associate professor of food science at North Carolina State University, that interest presented a perfect opportunity to help foodies and chefs learn not only how processed meats are made but also why the science involved in making them is so important. He and fellow N.C. State food science professor Ben Chapman developed an extension charcuterie school that is drawing plenty of attention.

We interviewed Hanson to learn more about his program and what makes it so popular.

Meatingplace: What prompted the creation of your charcuterie school at N.C. State?
HANSON: Really it came out of my personal interest in the subject, foremost. But I also had received over the last couple years some calls from charcuterie enthusiasts or budding entrepreneurs maybe looking to get into business, as well as chefs looking to do charcuterie in the back of the restaurant. Chefs were running into regulatory hurdles with their health inspectors. [North Carolina] has implemented a variance committee that allows restaurants to apply for a variance from the food code, and if they do that within the satisfaction of the committee it allows them to produce things that aren’t covered, or aren’t quite black and white, in the food code.

In developing the program our target audience was restaurants wanting to do charcuterie in house, to help them through regulatory hurdles. It’s evolved to now include foodies from all over the state who are just curious and interested to learn how to produce high-end cured meats. We had offered a meat science salami short course that targeted existing USDA facilities, but once we kind of rebranded it and catered to chefs it really has taken off.

Meatingplace: Why do you think charcuterie is so popular?
HANSON: My knee-jerk answer is it’s good food; it’s spectacular product from an eating standpoint. I think the interest from restaurateurs reflects what their customers are asking for in their restaurants. For foodies it’s just interest in learning more about how their food is produced. It’s a great model. Without exception everyone is pretty excited about capicola, for example. They love these styles of food and the added benefit of knowing how they produce it. As far as food trends go, we’re really striking while the iron is hot.

Meatingplace: Why do you think it is important to teach chefs the science behind the charcuterie and not just how to make it?
HANSON: Most if not all of the chefs who have come here are certainly well-trained in food preparation, plating and the art of food. But often times they’re not as well-versed in the science. Food safety is the focus of their health inspectors, and if their food is not safe than they won’t be in compliance with the food code. This is a way to educate that core. Chefs have a rudimentary understanding of what fermentation is and how it works, for example, but not why pH levels are important; well, it’s a way to control pathogens and make the meats wholesome to consume. A lot of the time that’s a gap not necessarily covered in culinary school. We try to teach that.

Meatingplace: Were your Wisconsin roots what led you down this path?
HANSON: I grew up in Wisconsin, but I left the day after I graduated from high school and haven’t been back since. I’m certainly a product of a heavy meat processing background in Wisconsin, but the charcuterie and meat science side of it were honed at South Dakota State University and more specifically at the University of Nebraska where I got my Ph.D. in meat science. I’ve self-taught for the last 14 years that I’ve been a professor. I like that (charcuterie) style of meat processing, so I’ve delved into it a little bit deeper than other areas of meat processing.

Meatingplace: Is this type of a course a unique thing at universities?
HANSON: It’s unique in our part of the world, on the East Coast at the academic level, but throughout the country certainly other universities have processed meat workshops in similar formats.

For more stories, go to www.meatingplace.com.