Vergelegen, Somerset West, Western Cape

Join the Wickedfood Earth Team, in conjunction with Vergelegen Wine Estate Somerset West, for a hands-on 3-day Pork Charcuterie Workshop, where we’ll show you how to break down and butcher a pig for charcuterie, and introduce you to the basics of the three main arts of pork brining and curing, including:

• Pig butchery and identifying the muscles for curing;
• Brining of whole muscles and hot smoking;
  
• Whole muscle dry curing and ageing, including bacon, pancetta and coppa;
• How to make 2 classic pork sausages; and
• the art of making artisan salami from scratch. 

When – Wednesday 5th to Friday 7th August 2026 from 9:30am on all 3 days.

Where – on Vergelegen Wine Estate, Somerset West.

Cost – R5 600pp for all three days.

To book – cilla@wickedfood.co.za or 076 236-2345

Led by Mike, co-founder of Wickedfood Earth Farm and recognised as a Slow Food champion, these workshops are about more than just learning how to make hams, bacon, sausage or salami. They’re a celebration of ethical, sustainable, small-scale food production – rooted in 30 years of culinary exploration, teaching, and food anthropology.

Since 2014, our country cooking school in Gauteng has become synonymous with traditional South African cured meats and European-style charcuterie. From brined hams, to dry cured bacon, coppa, pancetta, boerewors and biltong, we’ve perfected the craft and now go on the road to share it.

With over 2 000 participants trained to date, our mobile workshops are designed for farmers, foodies, chefs and hobbyists alike – anyone looking to understand where their food comes from, how to process it with respect, and how to add value.

We teach old fashioned, tried and tested artisan techniques that work, that have been finely tuned for over 15 years of trial and error.

Join us on this journey. Learn new skills. Meet like-minded people. Reconnect with real food. And savour the joy of curing your own pork from scratch.

Our hosts

Founded in 1700, Vergelegen, has been under the ownership of some of the world’s great explorers and visionaries, each of whom, in their own way, have helped shape it into a world-class Estate.

Join us on this journey. Learn new skills. Meet like-minded people. Reconnect with real food. And savour the joy of curing your own pork from scratch.

3-day Pork charcuterie workshop

An introduction to the wonderful world of charcuterie. This hands-on 3 full day workshop, includes all ingredients and lunch on all days. In this charcuterie workshop we will introduce you to the basics of the three main arts of meat curing – pig butchery, whole muscle dry curing and ageing; brining whole cuts for hams and hot smoking; and how to make classic pork sausages and the basics of making Artisanal salami form scratch. 

Techniques covered include:

Day 1 – Brining for salt pork, ham, and more

• How to break down a pig for brined pork – hands-on demonstration of how to break down a pig carcass and the different brining cuts;
• The brine – an introduction to the wonderful world of brining meat and wet curing hams. We’ll introduce you to 5 different brining mixes for various cuts of pork to make salt pork, shoulder hams, gammon, hot smoked belly bacon, Kassler style smoked loin, and crispy pork knuckles;
• Hot smoking – how hot smoking works, smoking times and how to build a simple hot smoker at home;
• Gammon cooking methods – stove top and oven methods of how to cook the perfect juicy gammon.

Day 2 – Pork butchery and Whole muscle dry curing

• The science and theory of whole muscle dry curing – extensive notes and explanation of exactly how the process works including the use of different salts and drying techniques.
• How to break down a pig for dry-cure charcuterie – hands-on demonstration of how to break down a pig carcass and the different charcuterie cuts for dry curing;
• Whole Muscle Dry Curing  – the basics of dry curing and ageing for pancetta, bacon and coppa;

Day 3 – Making of Sausage and Salami

• The science and theory of making wet and dry sausage – extensive notes and explanation of exactly how the process works including salting, spicing, cultures, grinding, filling and drying.
• The basics of making perfect pork sausages –  including classic breakfast and Italian style;
• Meat fermentation and how to make a basic pork salami – how spices, preservatives and fermentation work, and grinding, stuffing and drying a classic salami.