Ask any Southern chef, and he’ll tell you that pickles are an essential element on a charcuterie plate. But why limit the pig-and-pickle combination to a board of salumi and prosciutto? With the rise of in-house, whole-hog butchery, chefs are finding ways to utilize all parts of the pig and create less waste. So, they’re expanding the salty-meets-acidic pairing with less traditional pork preparations and pickled vegetables beyond the classic cucumber. Here’s a sampling of the new age pig-and-pickle pairings appearing on menus:
Fleet Street Kitchen
Baltimore, Md.
Pig Face & Pickles, with pig jowls, snout, cheek, tongue, chin, ears and pork rinds; $15
Pig & Pickle
Scottsdale, Ariz.
Pork Liver Smear, cranberry mustardo and pickled fennel; $5
Farmstead Restaurant at Long Meadow Ranch
St. Helena, Calif.
“Potted Pig” with housemade pickles, mustard and toast; $13
Edmund’s Oast
Charleston, S.C.
Crispy Scrapple, sunny side farm eggs and pickled veggie salad; $13
The Purple Pig
Chicago
Pig’s ear with crispy kale, pickled cherry peppers and a fried egg; $9
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