ALL of the meat

The time that carnivorous Wellingtonians have been droolfully anticipating has arrived: Big Bad Wolf has opened in Wakefield St. This is a charcuterie with a local twist, as their products incorporate wild game animals along with the more familiarpork, lamb and beef. Beasts that have given their lives for a higher purpose are visible in the back room being stripped down and undergoing an earthly transubstantiation into a glistening array of meaty delicacies, including sausages, terrines, rilletes, jerky, broths and patties. Looking into the cabinets is a bit like being a kid in a candy shop, but for “candy” read “bits of delicious flesh”.

Everything is available to eat in or take away. There are sausages made from veal, saffron, leek and thyme; thar jerky; rabbit rillettes; and even a terrrine of alpaca, chili and pistachio. Local produce is augmented by sometimes eye-wateringly expensive imported smallgoods such as air-dried wagyu beef and the legendary jamón ibérico de bellota. If you don’t believe that things like snails, calamari or raspberries belong in sausages, then more traditional combinations such as pork, cheddar and beef or lamb and feta might be more to your taste. Of the ready-to-eat lunch dishes, the pork spit-roast sandwich sounds as delicious as it is sniggerworthy. They also sell cheese, chutneys and relishes, but this really isn’t a place for those of a delicate vegetarian disposition.

Alpacas: not just cute and fluffy, but also really delicious.

Now if you excuse me, I’ll get back to my venison and raspberry biltong.