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Learn with Steve Williams

Charcuterie at Home

Learn how to create charcuterie at home including drying meat, brining, and hot and cold smoking. Start the online charcuterie course today.

Course overview

Steve will show you how to prepare a pig for your charcuterie. You'll learn what equipment you'll need to make charcuterie, smoke and cure meats at home and where to source the equipment, along with Steve's recommendations for sourcing meat. You'll be preparing cuts of the meat ready to cure, dry and smoke in the next lessons.

Meet Steve Williams

Steve Williams is one of the country’s most revered charcutier makers. He’s also a hunter, restaurant owner and cofounder of Good Game which he set up after meeting Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall on one of the first River Cottage courses, Pig in a Day. The course inspired Steve to make charcuterie professionally but in a different way – without nitrates and using only the best local meat. Steve has reared his own pigs on occasion with the help of a farm on the Powderham Estate. He has been able to experiment with different native breeds and form opinions on his experiences. He also buy pigs from friends who have native breed pigs locally. Most of the game he uses is either shot himself or sourced by local Devon stalkers. Steve's restaurant 'The Pig and Pallet' uses his meat knowledge and smoking knowledge to produce amazing BBQ food. There is an American influence but a complete ethic in using local free range and organic meats.

Course description

Artisan charcutier Steve Williams teaches you how to create charcuterie including cured, smoked and dried meats at home.

You'll start with looking at the equipment you need, before learning how to butcher a pig ready to create charcuterie. Steve will then show you how to brine and dry cure your pork cuts. You'll learn how to choose which brine to use and you'll start creating your first charcuterie alongside Steve.

As you go through the course you'll learn how to make coppa ham, fermented sausages, and how to smoke venison and chicken. The final lesson shows you how to use your BBQ for hot smoking your meat and how to make a cold smoker.

What will you learn?
  • basic butchery and preparing a whole pig for charcuterie
  • brining and dry curing
  • casing options for sausages
  • how to hang meat and measure when it's ready to eat
  • hot smoking using a BBQ
  • how to cold smoke food

What is included?
  • 4 on-demand video lessons - presented by Steve Williams and River Cottage
  • lifetime access to the videos, notes and interactive class
  • flexible classes - join and learn when and where you like
  • downloadable lesson notes
  • practical charcuterie and smoked food assignments and recipes (with tutor feedback available)
  • access on your mobile, PC, Mac or laptop
  • small interactive online classroom - chat online to students from around the world and share your creative ideas

How long will it take to complete?

Every student is different but in general we think the whole course will take around 14 hours 15 minutes to complete including:

  • Video lessons: 2 hours 15 minutes in total
  • Course notes: 30 minutes per lesson
  • Your charcuterie and smoked food recipe assignments: at least 2 hours per lesson
  • Interactive classroom time: 15 minutes per lesson
  • Tutor feedback review (Expert level): 15 minutes per lesson

What will you need?

Your lesson notes will include the full details of the ingredients and equipment you'll need, but you will be making charcuterie and smoked food, so you'll need standard kitchen equipment.

Independent Cookery Schools Association approved
This course has been approved by the Independent Cookery Schools Association (ICSA), recognising the highest standards of training.