Charcuterie 101: A diner's guide

Pate

French style of curing and presenting forcemeat that is typically leaner than a terrine. In texture and consistency, pates run the gamut. Donte Allen's country pate, for example, is served at The Table more as a sliced loaf, whereas his melts-in-your-mouth chicken liver pate is reminiscent of cold pudding.

Ham

A fatty cut, typically from a pig's hind legs, that can be wet- or dry-cured. Allen offers a French-style jambon blanc (white ham) that's wet-cured with herbs and spices before being cooked.

Coppa

Thinly sliced pork neck or shoulder, often dry-cured with hot paprika. Coppa is short for capicola.

Terrine

Terrines are baked into loaf-shaped molds, allowing the charcutier to build layers of meats and garnishes. By design, they're usually fattier than pates, says Allen, who makes a duck and rabbit terrine in the fall and a vegan terrine in the summer.

Prosciutto

Dry-cured, thinly sliced ham that can be served raw (crudo) or cooked (cotto).

Pancetta

Cuts of pork belly or Italian-style bacon, often rolled and cured with salt and pepper. Rigsby's Kitchen serves a seasonal side dish of mixed zucchini with a house-made pancetta-tomato marinade.

Lardo

Cuts of fatback cured for weeks to months with salt and spices. Lardo can also serve as shortening.

Sausage

A mixture of ground meat typically stuffed inside an organ casing. The Thurns spice, mix and hand-link more than a dozen styles of sausages, like their peppery and potato-flecked andouille.

Rillettes

Chopped meat (typically pork, but you can find a version made with salmon at The Refectory) cooked with fat until it's spreadable.

Salumi

A catchall term for Italian-style pork cuts, like prosciutto, lardo and coppa, usually served cold. Rigsby's Kitchen offers an assorted salumi plate.