Artisan producer Ispini Charcuterie, in Northern Ireland, has launched an innovative cured pork product, the latest in a range of meats produced by the small business.
Ispini Charcuterie, based on a family farm at Aughnacloy in rural county Tyrone, has developed a Black Strap Stout and Rum Lomo. The product is based on pork loin from pigs raised on the family farm by Jonny Cuddy, the entrepreneur behind the charcuterie business, among the first in Northern Ireland.
The lomo is also cured using juniper and pepper for three weeks and then hung and air dried for a minimum of two months.
Black Strap molasses are regarded as being rich in nutrients and minerals including calcium and manganese. The stout is sourced from a Tyrone craft brewery.
“Black strap molasses adds a robust bitter–sweet taste with undertones coming through of the stout and a little bit of saltiness on the tongue makes this an unique piece of Irish charcuterie,” said Cuddy.
The product retails at £5 for a 60g packet of sliced lomo. He also produces fennel salami and chorizo for delis and chefs across Northern Ireland.
Ispini Charcuterie, the small food business Cuddy established last August, is focused on local ingredients including spent grain from Pokertree craft brewery in Carrickmore, county Tyrone for curing pork. Ispini takes its name from the Irish for sausages.
He started developing charcuterie to “increase the return from our pigs,” he said. “I saw an opportunity to revive the tradition of curing meat that had declined in Northern Ireland. I also recognised that I needed niche products that would be capable of commanding a premium.”
Cuddy has been farming with father Raymond and brother Robert since leaving university and now looks after 300 sows on the family farm near the border with the Republic of Ireland.
He’s also been encouraged and assisted by leading chef Sean Owens, also the managing director of Aughnacloy–based Montgomery Food Consulting. Together they began sampling and developing recipes for salami and chorizo sausages in Montgomery’s state–of–the–art kitchen facilities in the Tyrone town.
They turned to the School of Artisan Foods at Welbeck in Nottinghamshire to extend their charcuterie knowledge and skills.
“Northern Ireland has everything we need for great charcuterie, especially an abundance of superb and safe meat,” he said. “Our meat is produced using the highest animal welfare standards to ensure outstanding flavours and premium quality.”
