Ericka, From Salt to Smoke

Our Local Produce Personality for September is... 

Ericka at From Salt to Smoke

From Salt to Smoke are based just on the edge of the New Forest in Cranbourne, but they do use Pannage Pigs from Beaulieu in the New Forest! From Salt to Smoke deliver expertly handled meat from animals, that have been ethically reared, providing a sustainable resource for customers. They also supply some restaurants and pubs in the New Forest too!

Read more in this The Forest Foodie Meets From Salt to Smoke interview - Flora Richardson & Ericka Golding (April 2021) :

TFF: Hello Ericka! Thank you so much for letting me come to see From Salt to Smoke in action. What beautiful old building, and an epic job you have done so far.

We would love to find out a bit more about your new venture, how you work and the story behind it all.

What inspired you to set up From Salt to Smoke?

Ericka: Underpinning everything we do is the relationship we have to the food in our own lives.  This includes the animals grown to produce this food we eat and to the people working to provide us with this produce.  

I met Matt Clark (my business partner in FSTS) in July 2020.  I was familiar with Big Inn France from the social media of my colleagues and we recognised our mutual desire to eat and serve good food.  From Salt to Smoke was born from Matt’s desire to bring the very best meat to his enterprises.  On my side of things, a high attention to animal welfare and the change in lifestyle, both with Maternity Leave and Lockdowns, lead to the perfect environment for our business plans to spark.  

This spark was nurtured by our friends at the Book and Bucket Cheese Company, when they suggested we could become their neighbours at Number 5, Manor Farm.  Friendships and good fortune were all factors in the equation that lead us to where we are at this moment, but our commitment to creating something unique and special is what we carry with us forward into the horizon.

TFF: What makes what you do so unique?

Ericka: To answer this, I can refer back to the 3 tenants of Produce, People and Philosophy I touched on at the beginning of the previous question.  

Through working in and around the Forest, we’ve been introduced to quite a few of the producers and makers in the area who have shared with From Salt to Smoke some of their unique character.  It is out of these relationships we discover: Beau, Cranborne Estate’s head gamekeeper who thins the Estate’s herd to our benefit, Peter Morgan, Book & Bucket’s Cheese Maker & Owner, our main point of call to direct us to our cull ewes and perhaps the odd cull cow, as well as Sonja and David Waite, the commoners who turn their pigs out to pannage, or Alex Moreton from St.Clair's and Tom Mitchel, the Warminster farmer with the contract to farm the herds on our very doorstep.

As far as food miles go, one cannot get much closer to the source than where we are at currently and I do say this with a mind of "fresh is best".  Cranborne Estate is home to several herds of Roe, Fallow and some Sika deer.  We currently are using the Roe and Fallow in our venison burgers and for our cuts of venison (loin and haunch).  Our pork come from David and Sonja Waite in Brockenhurst and enjoy a pastoral life in the very heart of the New Forest.   At pannage season, these pigs are turned out to eat the acorn fall, outside of pannage they enjoy a happy life and range freely.  We’ve been delighted to share our pork with Darren Broom from Pythouse Kitchen Garden in Salisbury to highlight in his demonstration for Farms not Factories.  Our neighbours, who I might have mentioned before, are cheese makers and it is through Peter we made the connection to Buckshaw Milk Sheep.  These ladies are a cross between Dorset and Herdwick breeds, and are the same sheep that provide Peter with the milk for his amazing cheese.  Tom is breeding a variety of Dairy breeds interbred with classic beef breeds such as Angus & Hereford (also to mention his 2 beautiful Irish Aubrac bulls the only 2 of their kind in the country to date), taking them through to a finished product that is of high value and enjoying a natural life in the fresh air

Now when I speak of philosophy, it is my opinion at this stage of the game (as humans on the planet with access to a broad variety of data and Sir David Attenborough) we should have a firm handle on the impact our choices have on the planet.  Animal agriculture, as the business it has been in the last decade, has been one of the prime contributing factors of the current sixth massive extinction.  It is past time we address this imbalance and change the conversation.  Learning more about holistic land management and ecology was the game changer for me, personally.   More than allowing yourself a treat in a Sunday roast or a bacon sandwich, it’s about building the soil fertility of the environment by old fashioned mixed-farming arable rotation.  We can acknowledge the power of grassland to sequester carbon.  When we understand how an ecology functions, we can work within it and find a balance in its harvest.  You can enjoy our bacon and know it has played a part in cleaning up the acorns in the forest or has had the happiest life it can be given.  You can cook a Sunday roast from one of our cull ewes, secure in the knowledge she has had a great purpose in her life, producing milk and cheese for our neighbours.  

TFF: You mentioned before about working with Pannage Pork – can you tell us more about that?

Ericka: This is a favourite because it is so versatile.  We cure our pork into guanciale, bacon, pancetta, ham, coppa or lomo.  Lee butchers the rest into joints of meat, with a small amount ending up as diced pork or mince.

TFF: You age your meat in Salt Chambers, can you tell me more about how this works?

Ericka: The salt chamber is what takes the philosophy further to a physical realisation, it does this by taking an already great product and concentrating flavour by the ageing process.  Ageing in the salt chamber also naturally tenderises the meat as the enzymes and microbes break down.  Herve This has written some brilliant essays on the effects salt has on food and exactly how it breaks down bonds.  I’ve also read about the de-ionisation of the air inside the salt chamber and the scientist inside me loves to revel in these facts.  Practically, though, the salt wall in our fridge allows us to age meat to its utmost expression without fear of spoiling.  Generally, it is common place to age meat to a length of 28 days but we can take ours to 100+ days.

TFF: How do you support local farmers?

Ericka: We support our local economy as patrons of their produce.  We buy their beasts and connect them with a route to market.  

TFF: You are making some incredible charcuterie; can you talk to us more about your curing process?

Ericka: For instance, with our pancetta, we make a salt and spice dry cure and rub it into the meat, then vac pack.  We leave it in the fridge a minimum of 2 weeks to cure, turning every day.  Once it’s cured we remove it, net and hang in our curing room to dry cure for a minimum of 2-3months (or until it has lost between 20-30% of its weight). 

TFF: Where can we buy your wonderful produce?

Ericka: As lockdown eases and restaurants start opening, visitors to the New Forest will be able to experience our products on the menu at the Pig in the Forest and at the Pig on the Beach (although that is not technically the New Forest!).  You guys at The Forest Foodie with your charcuterie and with your three course dinners. We are also supplying The Fleur de Lys in Cranborne, which is also our resident collection point for local online order.  I’ve met with Mark Young, the New Forest Chef, who is planning to include us in his menu at The Gun Inn in Keyhaven.  Mark Hartstone, at La Fosse in Cranborne, will also be including us on his menu.

TFF: What are your personal favourites?

Ericka: Of course, I love the Pannage.  The season is short, so we can appreciate it all the more and the product is great.  

The 100+ day aged T-bone is stunning, because it delivers a cross section of flavour over the cut of sirloin and fillet.  It’s also very tender.  

The cull ewe shoulder was very enjoyable, we did it on the barbecue in a spicy rub.  I am also looking forward to making a Shaanxi dish with the cull ewe as well as rolling the breast for a Korean style barbecue.

Flora | Founder of The Forest Foodie, Lymington | April 2021.

The Forest Foodie deliver Hampers & Picnics of Fresh Locally Sourced Produce from around The New Forest to homes, holiday cottages and boats around The New Forest.

www.theforestfoodie.com