For Chef Ryan, the joy of creating a specialty meat platter comes not in seeking out Italian salumi but looking instead to the Michigan traditions of sausage and smoked fish. For holiday entertaining, shellfish like shrimp and oysters can provide a special flourish, but the spotlight shines on pickled vegetables, housemade pâté and sausages from a traditional butcher shop. (For a few of these items he provides his sources in case they are difficult for readers to find.)
Ingredients
SERVINGS: 10 Serving(s)
Main Platter
- 2 ounces each kimchi, pickled carrots and turnips (The Brinery, Ann Arbor)
- 4–6 hardboiled eggs
- 8 ounces smoked whitefish sausage (Carlson’s, Leland)
- 8 ounces each knockwurst, kielbasa, andouille and chorizo sausage, roasted and sliced (Plath’s Meats, Rogers City and Petoskey)
- 8 ounces Smoked Pork Rillette
- 8 ounces Pork Liver Pâté
Specialty Seafood
- 8–12 cocktail shrimp, wild caught
- 5–10 Blue Point oysters
- 4 ounces pickled herring in wine sauce
The Extras
- 4 ounces cherry honey mustard
- 4 ounces cherry honey mustard
- 4 ounces cocktail sauce for shrimp
- 4 ounces Mignonette sauce for oysters
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill or parsley to garnish
- ½ cup roasted peanuts crackers
- fresh baguette, sliced and toasted
Instructions
Arrange all items on a platter and serve from a place that encourages gathering and socializing. Pair with a cold and hearty Michigan beer.
