Charcutepalooza,

or, "The Year of Meat"

Charcutepalooza is the brainchild of The Yummy Mummy and Mrs. Wheelbarrow. It's a play-along festival celebrating all manner of cured meats (I might even sneak in some vegetables...). Dozens of bloggers are participating, and this exciting challenge has already created a lot of buzz.

However, this is not only a celebration of meat in all its glory, it's also about knowing where our meat comes from, how the animals are treated, and using resources in a responsible, thoughtful manner.

I hope you will follow me through this journey. Pictured at the top of this post is pork belly covered with a cure to turn it into pancetta. This, as with most of the recipes, is from Brian Polcyn and Michael Ruhlman's Charcuterie. I'll be posting my "official" Charcutepalooza posts on the 15th of each month beginning in February, although I'm sure to have "unofficial" posts in between. These will be in addition to my frequent cooking and baking posts.

Happy Curing!