Peter Temkin. Photo: Sarah Logan

Peter Temkin brings a decade of experience to Show Dogs and specializes in charcuterie from pates and whole-cut dry-cured meats to fresh sausages. Peter began working with Chefs Gayle Pirie and John Clark six months ago as Show Dogs’ in-house Charcutier, and recently introduced five new specialty sausages to the menu including: Merguez, Wild Boar, Chicken Curry, Chicken Boudin and Maple Bacon. Each sausage is made with locally sourced meats but incorporate seasonings to mirror the regions from which the sausages are inspired.

Peter was introduced to the culinary world in his youth while growing up in New York City -- his mother was a catering chef and his father was a book publisher for MCA/Universal's book division, now known as Putnam Books. This upbringing, coupled with travels to France and Italy, instilled an early appreciation for food and cooking traditions. He began his culinary career as an apprentice at Florio restaurant in San Francisco. Here, Temkin says, Chef Rick Hackett set his foundation for cooking -- learning everything from practical skills to the art of cured meat. Since then, Temkin has been instrumental in the opening of Nopa, Spruce, and Cavallo Point’s Farley Bar, where he developed comprehensive charcuterie programs. He lives in South City.

What’s new at the restaurant?
Things are great and the in-house sausages are really singing. We're in the process of developing several new charcuterie offerings as well, which is very exciting. At Foreign Cinema, the housemade program is starting to hit its stride, now that the salumis are beginning to show. My chefs are so supportive and generous with their talent. I'm very lucky to work where I do.

What are your favorite 2 spots to shop for food?
Avedano's on Cortland and Olivier's Butchery in the Dogpatch. I also keep my eye on anything Good Foods Catering does. Chef Dontaye gets it done!

Tell us about meeting your wife.
My wife is Melody Mitchell, who is a certified sommelier and the lead server at The Village Pub. We met through mutual friends after a catering event. I went up to her and kissed her, and we've been together ever since. That was about 6 years ago, and we've been married for over a year and a half. My sun rises and sets with her.

What are your favorite date night spots?
Slow Club because the combination of the ambiance, the decor and Chef Matt Paul's food are just devastating.... My wife and I always order his flatbread, and I know he just put his short ribs on the menu. We'll have to get those, since I've heard they're just amazing. We also love Flower Lounge in Millbrae and, well, our house! We cook quite a bit together and the food's getting better all the time. My friend Jon Reitz just opened his first place, Cedar Hill Kitchen + Smokehouse, so we're looking forward to eating there as well.

What is your favorite meal to have with your family?
My wife's chicken thighs, braised greens and scalloped potatoes.

Guiltiest food pleasure?
Stouffer's French bread pepperoni pizza

As a teacher, what are the “musts” of making charcuterie?
You have to keep your proteins clean, cold and covered. Don't let the fancy words intimidate you -- a pate is just a meat loaf that's had a couple of cocktails. Finally, patience and passion -- you'll need both to do charcuterie well.

Do you have plans for the holidays and/or a favorite dish/recipe?
Eat, drink and be merry!

Salumi Paradiso - Sausage Knot. Photo: Elisa Cicinelli

Recipe: Salumi Paradiso

20 lbs of boneless pork butt, large cube, lean and fat separated
9 oz of kosher salt
3 tsp of DQ#2 curing salt (Butcher & Packer is a fantastic source for curing salts, starter cultures and casings.)
125 g of dextrose
2 cups of non-fat dry milk powder
4 oz of dry white wine
Two large pinches of saffron
10 g of crushed chile de arbol
15 g of minced fresh ginger
15 g of minced fresh garlic
4 g of starter culture

• Place meat on a full tray sheet for 20 minutes or until very cold.
• Grind lean and fat pork separately through 3/18" plate-make sure to chill all grinder parts for at least 20 minutes before grinding.
• Place ground pork, separating the lean and the fat, on a full sheet and keep refrigerated until all ingredients are assembled and ready to be utilized.
• Bring white wine to a boil and then off heat, crush the saffron between your fingers to release the essential oils of the saffron and then, put the saffron into the white wine and let steep into liquid is cool.
• Remove meat from fridge and combine lean meat with all seasoning and spices, by hand, break the fat into small pieces and incorporate into meat mixture.
• Mix white wine/saffron liquid into meat along with several glugs of ice water.
• Place starter culture into 3 oz of room temperature distilled water and vigorously incorporate solution by hand into meat mixture, make sure mixture is tacky.
• Stuff mixture into 34-36 mm hog casings, form sausages into 1/2 foot links, tying off links with double knots on both ends.
• Prick sausages with sausage pricker and hang on dowels and place in fermentation chamber for 48 hours.
• Place in drying room with a temperature of 58 degrees and an ambient humidity of 65-70% for 4-6 weeks or until sausages have given up approximately 40-50% of their water weight.

Chorizo Breakfast Sausage (no grinder needed!)

Homemade breakfast sausage has never really been on the top of my culinary accomplishments to tackle. It seemed difficult and messy, and I wasn't sold on how much better it would taste. I was wrong on all counts. Well, except for the messy part…you do need to get your hands in there.

I started to rethink the benefits of making my own sausage from scratch when I saw this month's Charcutepalooza Challenge: Grinding. For those who are unfamiliar with Charcutepalooza, it's a monthly online cooking group, like Daring Bakers or Tuesdays with Dorie, where everyone makes their take on one dish and posts about it on a given date. In this case, it is all about meat. The group, created by Mrs. Wheelbarrow and The Yummy Mummy at the beginning of this year, quickly developed an ardent following as charcuterie novices and pros alike shared their experiences of salting, smoking, curing -- and yes, grinding -- tasty meat treats.

Now, I love me a fine prosciutto any day, but admittedly, I'm not a huge charcuterie lover by nature. My husband, on the other hand, can frequently be seen in the kitchen around 9:30 p.m. making himself a plate of meat dessert. Charcutepalooza was just the thing I needed to step up my carnivorous game.

A whole lot of pork

This month's challenge focused on free form sausage-making (sans creepy skin casings). A good way to ease into things, I thought. First thing's first, I needed to get my hands on some pork shoulder and fatback. I've never asked for fatback before; it felt a little badass.

Snowy white fatback

The experts all say that the secret to a good grind is Eric Nies--sorry, I couldn't help myself--no, the real secret is ensuring that the meat and equipment are very cold. So, I stuck my metal mixing bowl and food processor blade in the freezer while I cut the meat and fat into small cubes. Then, I added my spices.

Spices

The inspiration behind my breakfast sausage seasonings comes from some tasty Chorizo Sausage Patties I had once in New York. I had done a remake of them at home before, using store-bought sausage and chorizo and adding a blend of seasonings, but this time I would attempt to do it all from scratch.

Spice rub

I raided my spice drawer and decided on a healthy dose of chili powder and smoked paprika, cayenne for some heat, cumin, ground fennel seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and a touch of garam masala to keep it interesting.

Thyme + Sage

I also added some brown sugar, garlic, and lots of fresh thyme and sage.

Ready to mingle

This party of flavors got doused over the meat and fat, and it all chilled and mingled together for two hours.

Sausage via Food Processor

Since I don't have a grinder, I used the food processor method. I worked in small batches, pulsing until everything was evenly ground. To this I added an egg yolk, a bit of milk, and vinegar to help bind it all together. I fried up a test patty, and it was good…but something was missing. My brain when to burgers (it does that sometimes) and voila! I knew what I needed -- the secret ingredient to my homemade burgers: caramelized onions.

Wit onions

That did the trick. My sausage patties were tangy, smoky, sweet, and savory, with a hint of heat. I think the biggest difference between my homemade sausage and store-bought was the texture. These definitely have more chew to them, and the fat added some great flavor. I'm already fantasizing about the killer breakfast sandwich I'm going to have tomorrow. And then, the day after that? This with Huevos Rancheros.

At this rate, I may just be on my way to meat dessert too one day.

Cochon Butcher (New Orleans)

Suspended above the deli counter of Cochon Butcher runs a long meat locker filled with pink plump sausage links dangling happily in temperature controlled, humidified bliss. On the walls, homage to the divine swine. In the deli case, rows of house-made sausages and salumi, butcher specials like andouille sausage, smoky spicy tasso ham, kurobuta bacon, boudin-stuffed quail, duck confit, and various cuts of beef, lamb, and of course, piggy piggy.

This was going to be a great lunch.

Chef Donald Link, of Nola's famous French-Southern bistro Herbsaint and the acclaimed Cajun-Southern restaurant Cochon, opened Butcher in January 2009 with partner chefs Stephen Stryjewski and Warren Stephens. The casual 25-seat combo café/meat market is right next to Cochon, and together, they have made the Warehouse District quite the dining destination.

All the sandwiches are made with house-cured meats -– it reminded me of the Fatted Calf, but with a distinct New Orleans style with heavenly freshly baked bread (light and white), bold spices, and rich flavors.

Hot Boudin

To start, we sampled the Hot Boudin -– a Cajun classic. Rice is mixed in with the pork before it is all stuffed into the casing (back in the day, this was the poor man's sausage and adding the rice filler was a way to stretch the meat). The hearty boudin is served with sweet-tart crunchy pickles and spicy whole-grain mustard, both great for cutting the richness of the dish.

Cochon Muffaletta

Another NOLA classic, we had to try the Cochon Muffaletta (pronounced muff-a-lotta). There are a few hallmarks of a great Muffaletta. Soft, pillowy bread, round as an oversized whoopee cushion, and sprinkled with sesame seeds; deli meats piled high; and olive salad. Cochon's version hits the spot with quality house-made meats, provolone, pickled peppers, and a finely minced olive salad, whose olive oil-red wine vinegar dressing has soaked nicely into the bread.

Duck Pastrami Slider

The Duck Pastrami Slider sure didn't look like any slider I've seen before…and the duck didn't taste too much like duck, but what's in a name? This was a tasty pastrami sandwich cut into cute little triangles. I do wish the duck was a bit duckier, but no matter, the creamy gruyere cheese sauce and butter-grilled white Pullman bread made up for it.

Pork Belly on White with Mint + Cucumber

I'm a sucker for pork belly, so I just couldn't resist trying this. Shockingly, it was my least favorite sandwich. Maybe I'm just spoiled with all the excellent pork belly I've found in SF? The Pork Belly on White fell a bit flat for me. No crispy bits. Perhaps not enough salt? The simplicity of the sliced white bread I could appreciate (like an amped up tea sandwich), and the mint, pickled cucumber, and chili-lime aioli were bright accompaniments, but the star of the show fell short. Those homemade kettle chips though. I could eat them forever. Not a trace of grease and a crunch you can hear round the world.

BBQ Pork 'Carolina Style' and Cole Slaw with Potato Salad

Now, my favorite of the bunch, the BBQ Pork sandwich, lit up the room like a shower of Mardi Gras beads. A generous heap of smoky Carolina-style Pulled BBQ Pork, topped with a generous heap of fresh Cole Slaw (that is thankfully, not drowning in mayo for once), all piled on top of that airy, soft-crumb bread I've fallen in love with here in the Big Easy. The most remarkable thing about this BBQ pork sandwich is that it is served without a drop of BBQ sauce. Instead, the meat is dressed in a vinegar sauce that gives it a mouth-watering tang. Pardon my French, but this is one tasty, juicy mofo. Also of note, the Potato Salad earns its keep here. Creamy and chunky, with lots of whole-grain mustard cutting it so it doesn't feel too heavy. Ooh child, this order is a whole lotta lovin' on a plate.

Bacon Praline

Bacon Pralines officially tipped this meal from decadent to obscene. Instead of studding the buttery brown sugar and cream praline with the traditional pecans, Butcher's heart attack version uses chewy bits of thick slab bacon. The homemade batches of these PRAH-leens (as my Southern gentleman of a host kindly pointed out, I've been saying it all wrong my whole life) routinely sell out. We were lucky to get our paws on some, still warm from the oven. I expected them to be more brittle, like toffee, but the consistency of real southern pralines is soft, like fudge. If you're the type who loves dipping your bacon in maple syrup, this is your kind of candy.

It was refreshing to see a different regional take on artisanal homemade charcuterie. Cochon Butcher has a special thing going, with a style and personality all its own.

Cochon Butcher
930 Tchoupitoulas St
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 588-7675

The thing that struck me speechless was the salumi.

I know what you're thinking. "Salumi?" you're thinking. "That is so, like, 2006." Maybe. But when it's as good as it is at Bar Bambino, it never goes out of style.

The small salumi plate ($9.50) was the first thing my boyfriend and I settled on during our inaugural meal at Bar Bambino. The selections, which change daily, were chosen for us by Alex Potter, Bar Bambino's salumi guy. He and his batons of porcine goodness occupy a small corner of the main dining room, just to the right of the bar, where he works feverishly to keep up with the plates that circle 'round and 'round the room.

Clad in an impeccable white chef's coat, Alex himself delivered a wooden tray to our table that glistened with creamy pork fat. It was stacked five rows deep with three kinds of housemade salame as well as prosciutto and pancetta. He walked us through each one so that there was no doubt what we were eating -- an oversight too many good restaurants make.

"This is the ciauscolo," he said, pointing to the one farthest from me. As owner Christopher Losa explained via email, ciauscolo comes from the Marche region of Italy, just south of Emilia-Romagna on the eastern seaboard. "Ours is done in a bit firmer form than most (it's traditional in the Marche to have ciauscolo spreadable, not unlike French rillettes) because I like to have the purity of the meat flavors and seasonings be fully accessible and not competing with bread," he wrote. Bar Bambino flavors their version with garlic and allspice.

Next there was a salame toscano, made with red wine and black peppercorns, and a finocchiona, distinguished by fennel seeds, lavender, and other aromatic herbs. I picked up a sliver and held it up to the light. It was sliced so whisper thin, I could have read the menu through it.

We happily munched our way around the plate, letting slices of barely crisped pancetta melt on our tongues and fighting over the last slice of finocchiona. Christopher says that all of Bar Bambino's own salame is made from Duroc pork that is raised naturally in Iowa. "But we recently found a Duroc-mix locally (Sonoma) that our next batches will be from. I'm excited to see how the local pig fairs [sic] from a taste/consistency perspective."

In addition to Bar Bambino's housemade salumi, all of which is made in a curing room in Geyserville, Christopher offers a sopressata from Salumeria Biellese, a New York-based artisan producer that's been around since the roaring twenties, and plans to expand his selection by offering goodies from other like-minded producers.

"I am an avid supporter of the renaissance in cured meat artistry that is occurring locally and I want to offer the best of Italian-style cured meats that we can source," he continued. "Just as I can't make the best wine, cheese or bread to offer my customers, I know that somebody can do more than we can alone."

My boyfriend and I enjoyed the rest of our meal equally well, from the "al ginepro" bruschetta ($8.00) -- creamy chunks of chicken liver enlivened by a sprinkling of fleur de sel -- to the polpette ($14.75), meatballs in a light sauce of tomatoes, onions, and chard. My only real complaint was the chintzy wine pours (I noticed punier than normal glasses at Nua, too -- a disturbing new trend?). As annoying as it is to pay good money for a Lilliputian glass of vino, it's even more frustrating to be constantly waving down your server.

But the meal was lovely, and the salumi some of the best in the city. This little piggie cried "whee, whee, whee" all the way home.

Bar Bambino
2931 16th Street
San Francisco
(415) 701-VINO
Open for lunch and dinner Tuesday-Sunday