Northern Ireland charcuterie in major UK and European Guide

Two Northern Ireland companies are included in an influential publication on the charcuterie sector in Europe.

Included in Fine Food Digest's Guide to British and Continental Charcuterie are Corndale Farm Charcuterie and Ke Nako Biltong.

Corndale Farm, established in 2012 by heritage pig breeder Alastair Crown on his farm near Limavady in county Derry, specialises in chorizo, fennel salami, garlic and black pepper salami and venison salami.

He has his own herd of free-range Saddleback pigs and is planning a range of air-dried whole muscle products including lomo, coppa and pancetta. Venison is sourced from the wild Sika herd at Baronscourt Estate, near Omagh in county Tyrone.

Mr Crown has established a state-of-the-art production facility with new curing and salami-drying cabinets imported from Italy.

Corndale products are sold through delis and used by high-end restaurants in Northern Ireland

Ke Nako Biltong is based near Larne in county Antrim and is developing biltong snacks and other traditional South African cured products including Droewors sausages.

The small business was formed in 2015 by partners Ilse van Staden, a South African chef/butcher, and Alanagh Chipperfield, a food lecturer. They cure beef in red wine vinegar with a blend of salt, black pepper, coriander seeds, nutmeg and cloves and then air-dry it.

The charcuterie guide features 71 producers or suppliers, most of them British, and is central to Fine Food Digest's Sell More Charcuterie campaign launched in 2012. The digest is produced by the UK Guild of Fine Food.

The objective of the campaign, according to Mick Whitworth, editorial director of Fine Food Digest, is to secure a "strong and stable" market for emerging British artisan meats by encouraging delis to refresh their charcuterie offer.