Oca means "goose" ... and tasty meat treats to pair with beer

Smoking Goose has partnered with Sun King Brewing to open outposts called Oca at the breweries. Oca means “goose” in Italian and the two locations offer up salumi, sausages, smoked meats and sandwiches.

We wrapped our episode at Oca with Chris Eley, who walked us through the finer points of creating a perfect charcuterie board. Here are a few of his tips, so you can make a gorgeous board of your own at home:

• Feature three or more meats on your presentation, thinly sliced and at room temperature to maximize flavor and aroma. Vary the type of cured meat — try plating a sliced whole-muscle salume like prosciutto with pate and dry-cured salume.

• Pair with fresh, crusty bread or neutral crackers.

• Serve with a mix of sweet, savory and salty condiments like dried fruit, honey, pickles and fermented vegetables, mustard, preserves, spiced nuts … make a range of pairs available so people can play with flavor and texture.

• Chris’ favorites include:

  • Duck prosciutto, Dodge City salame and smoked Kitchen Sink sausage with sweet-and-spicy pecans and pickled carrots

  • Rabbit terrine, Gin and Juice salame and tasso ham with dried figs and whole grain mustard

  • ‘Nduja, Salame Cotto and smoked Duck-Pear-Port sausage with roasted fennel and orange marmalade