About this episode

Chef Steve McHugh discusses the science of curing, aging, and the complexities of charcuterie.

Chef Steve McHugh is a six-time James Beard Award finalist, the author of Cured , and the founder of the celebrated San Antonio charcuterie restaurant of the same name — a 12-year run built entirely around preservation, dry aging, fermentation, and the science of what happens when you take time seriously with meat. Steve grew up on a Wisconsin dairy farm, trained at the CIA, and cut his teeth in John Besh's kitchens in New Orleans before a lymphoma diagnosis stopped him mid-career. He finished treatment, moved to Texas, and opened Cured at the Pearl Brewery — a restaurant centered on whole-animal butchery, handmade charcuterie, and a custom aging case that eventually became one of the most interesting preservation programs in the country. In this conversation, we get into the real science behind curing and dry aging: what 60/60/60 actually means and when it doesn't apply, the difference between EQ curing and salt box method, why water is the enemy of every preservation technique, and how mold — the right mold — is the thing that keeps your case healthy and your flavors complex. Steve talks about how COVID wiped out twelve years of charcuterie inventory in three months, and how…

People in this episode

Host: Jeff Fell

Guest: Steve McHugh

Topics covered

• curing
• aging
• charcuterie
• preservation techniques
• dry aging
• fermentation
• food science

Keywords

• curing
• dry aging
• charcuterie
• fermentation
• food science
• mold
• preservation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Cured, CIA, John Besh

Places: Wisconsin, San Antonio, Texas, Pearl Brewery

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