A Small Good Charcuterie
The American food landscape is full of incredible farmers and small scale craft producers and we’re lucky enough to work with some of the best. This week we want to highlight A Small Good, a charcuterie company in Rockport, ME started by Oliver Perkins. Hailing from Australia, Mr. Perkins used the local term, “small good”, which means any dried or cured meat product like salami, as his company’s moniker; it also happens to aptly describe his work ethos.
Many of our favorite foods (ie. cheese & charcuterie) are the result of centuries old practices and dedication to understanding the animals and land that feed us. Perkins is making true small batch products and practices whole animal, seam butchery; meaning waste is reduced and you’re getting most out of your animal for salamis and whole muscle cures. All of the heritage mixed breed animals are pasture fed and sourced from local farmers who uphold the highest animal welfare standards.
What really sets Perkins' charcuterie apart is his absolute dedication to expressing the local terroir in his cures. Rather than relying on standard freeze dried cultures, Perkins uses his own in-house ferments made from wild cider lees from a local hard cidery. A Small Good is currently the only USDA facility in the States using wild fermentation. All salumi is also cultured with koji mould which gives everything a deep, savory flavor and a beautiful floral aroma. Further looking to the land, Perkins uses native and wild flora like ramps to flavor all of his products.
A Small Good’s salamis will stand out on your charcuterie board and will make the perfect picnic or hike snack. We offer three different salamis, each truly unique in flavor: the Ramp pork salami is cured with wild onions and has a mellow, sweet and savory balance of the allium’s flavor. The Basqueish is a beef and pork salami cured with hard cider and hot pepper, a play on traditional Basque region cuisine. The Finochietta pork salami is cured with toasted fennel seeds, fennel pollen and toasted anise seed--highly aromatic with a sweet and salty finish.
We’re excited to also be carrying some fresh sausages this season, perfect for throwing on the grill and an easy way to add an extra punch to your dishes. The Thai BBQ Fresh pork sausage is flavored with soy sauce, fish sauce, shallots, garlic and white pepper. The Perfect Italian Fresh pork sausage is made with Calabrian pepper, fennel and red wine--look out for the heat! The Kranjska is a Slovenian style fresh sausage made with lots of confit garlic, black pepper and wine. And the Proper Bacon is rich, meaty bacon, with a clean flavor, not too salty and cured with maple syrup and a hint of rosemary.
Producers like Oliver Perkins make it easy to support slow food movements and appreciate where and from whom your food comes, since they do it so deliciously! We hope that you enjoy A Small Good’s process and results as much as we do!