Ten years ago, Charles Wekselbaum was out of a job and decided to pursue his fascination with European meat-curing traditions. He stocked up on heritage pork, and a year later, he started Charlito’s Cocina to sell his handmade dry-cured salami. The story behind the company name? In addition to being Jewish-American, he’s also part Cuban. A factory in Gloversville, N.Y., produces an array of salami, dry-cured and long-lasting. The salamis are aged at his base of operations in Long Island City, Queens. He is now offering the large, 1.5-pound black truffle (trufa seca) salami ($45), usually reserved for restaurants, to the general public. It conveys just enough of that distinctively funky, truffly perfume and taste. Drink a natural red alongside. It’s available along with the rest of his varieties, in some stores and online.
Beer, chorizo, spicy and country-style salami ($27 — and $38 for black truffle — for two five-ounce salami, $50 for a sampler of all five); presliced ($40 for four three-ounce salami), charlitoscocina.com.
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