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St. Aubin-sur-Yonne. In the life of any French village, two artisans are key: the baker and the charcutier. Bread is the staff of life, and charcuterie follows close behind. The name comes from chair cuite, cooked meat, and its mainstay is the pig. For Serge Devove, charcuterie is that rarity in French life, a second career (he was a policeman).“I do it for the pleasure”, he says.

 When I hear his average day, he certainly has to enjoy it. Twice a week he works a first shift from 4.30 a.m. to noon, making the sausages, brining the bacon, cooking the head cheese and tripe. A second evening shift is needed to turn, stir and simmer his products, and on sales days he must load up his pickup for the following morning. Each day, six days a week, he makes boudin, a blood sausage that must be freshly made. “It’s a big draw”, says Monsieur Devove, and he sells a mind-boggling 25 tonnes a year, around 6,000 portions.

On market days he leaves at 6.30, driving to one of the five villages, each a different day of the week, where he sets up a small stand, always in the open air. That’s where I met him, joshing customers and pressing slices of the morning’s boudin on willing tasters. Above us soar the flying buttresses of the 12th century church, and a market has been held here since Roman times. Some things don’t change in northern Burgundy.
Monsieur Devove’s country sausages are made from an old recipe – “the simplest in the world”, he says. “Good pork, salt, pepper, white wine, freshly chopped garlic, thyme, and a grating of nutmeg”. Like all perfectionists, Serge Devove insists on the best materials. His pigs are raised outdoors in neighboring Nièvre – “Charlemagne, the best”, he says. In summer, barbecue season, there’s a queue for his saucisses and for merguez, the Arab-inspired sausages spiced with hot red pepper, fennel and anise. “I use half lamb, half beef, never pork”, he explains.

In winter tastes turn to sauerkraut. Again Serge Devove has his own way of doing it. “My secret is browned onions added to the cabbage, giving it an amber color. And I include cooking juices from making head cheese, and a bit of applesauce to take away the acidity”. I’m beginning to understand why Devove’s products have such a following. In just a week he sells over 500 pounds of fresh sausage, and 400 pounds of andouillette, the juicy cooked sausage made entirely of beef and pork innards, some scarcely mentionable.

Andouillette is not for everyone, but as it happens, I’m partial to it crisply grilled with French fries on the side, However Monsieur Devove’s description of the scraping, cleaning and simmering involved to make the ingredients edible makes me pause. Similar operations are performed on tripe, the lining of the cow’s stomach. After cleaning, the best bit, the gras double is poached in court bouillon just below boiling point for seven hours. When cool it is drained and cut in pieces to cook further as the famous “tripes à la mode de Caen”. For Christmas, he prepares tripe rolled so it can be cut in slices, breaded and fried. I dare you to try it!

A charcutier is famous for using every bit of the pig, from snout to tip of its curly tail. “We use the cheap cuts”, explains Devove, “we don’t need the hams or loin.” One of his staples is petit salé, lightly salted inexpensive cuts such as hock, ribs and belly. He makes a vat of brine, 30 quarts of water to 6.6 pounds of salt, with thyme and bay leaf. In goes the meat for three days and three nights – if shorter the meat does not hold up and if too long, it is salty. Also included is controversial “pink salt” a nitrite that pickles and colors the meat. “You have to cheat a bit”, he winks, “can’t do any harm, it’s been used for ever! That European Union”, he continues, “they get some odd ideas. They wanted us to wash the parsley in bleach! Forget it!”

It’s hard to believe that Serge Devove became a charcutier by accident, to help a friend going through a bad time. That was seven years ago, and now he is licensed to be an independent producer. He sells the country bread baked by his friend’s nephew, and hopes to add other offerings to “Aux Produits de Nos Campagnes” (Products from our Countryside) line. He’s having difficulties with the nephew, though. “He has trouble waking up in the morning”, says Devove, “can you imagine a baker who can’t get up early?” No one could say the same of him.

SIDE DISH SAUERKRAUT

Serge Devove makes his savory sauerkraut to serve as a side dish, traditionally for grilled sausages or ham. For a main dish, meats and sausages are baked together with the sauerkraut (see below). The wine for cooking should be medium-sweet, such as Riesling. Goose fat is available in cans.

½ cup goose fat or lard
2 onions, sliced
3 lb fresh or canned sauerkraut
1 bay leaf
2 whole cloves
8 juniper berries
3 cloves garlic
½ lb thick cut bacon, diced
1 cup white wine
½ cup well flavored beef or veal stock

1. Melt goose fat or lard in a large casserole, add onions and cover with foil. Cook over low heat until golden brown and meltingly tender, 20-25 minutes. Wash sauerkraut under cold running water, squeeze dry, rinse and squeeze again. Tie bay leaf, cloves, juniper and garlic in a piece of cheesecloth.

2. Heat oven to 300°F. Stir bacon and sauerkraut into onions, add flavoring bag and pour over wine and stock. Cover again with foil, add a lid and braise in the oven, stirring once or twice, until sauerkraut is still slightly crunchy, or very tender as you prefer, 2-3 hours. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serves 6.

MAIN DISH SAUERKRAUT

Bury a 1½ lb piece of salted or smoked shoulder or loin of pork in the sauerkraut after it has been mixed with onions; braise as directed. A half hour before cooking ends, bury 6 frankfurter sausages in the sauerkraut and continue cooking. Slice the smoked pork before serving.

© 2004, Anne Willan. Distributed by Tribune Media Services International.

Anne Willan is the founder of the famous French cooking school, LaVarenne, and has also served as president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals. She is the author of over a dozen internationally published cookbooks, including her latest book, A Cook’s Book of Quick Fixes & Kitchen Tips ( John Wiley & Sons, September 2005).