‘The Charcuterie Guide’ RARE & PASTURE RESERVE

What does 'Reserve' mean?

Reserve represents the very top tier of the Rare & Pasture range.

These are products made from some of the best and most limited raw material available to us, whether that means exceptional beef from a very small number of animals or rare pork from specialist British farming systems.

Scarcity is part of what makes Reserve different. We can't simply make more because we want to. The quality and availability of the meat determine what we can produce.

It is a range built around exceptional raw material, provenance and the craft required to make the most of it.

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What makes our Reserve products different?

It starts, as all good charcuterie should, with the meat.

Our Reserve Pork Salami, for example, is made in Devon using Iberian pork from pigs outdoor-reared in Britain, where farmers give this special breed the space, diet and time it needs to thrive. The recipe itself is deliberately simple, with pepper and garlic supporting rather than overpowering the flavour of the pork.

Our Reserve Beef & Pork Salami starts with beef sourced from our regenerative farming community, combined with British pork to create a softer texture and balance the deep savouriness of the beef with the natural sweetness of the pork.

Different animals and different farming systems, but the same principle: when the raw material is exceptional, you don't need to overcomplicate what happens next.
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Why is Reserve important to Rare & Pasture?

Reserve gives us an opportunity to show what Rare & Pasture can do at its very highest level.

As the business grows and we make products for more customers across retail and hospitality, we think it's important to retain that pinnacle.

Reserve isn't about volume. It's about protecting the relationship between exceptional farming, exceptional meat and the craft of charcuterie making.

That also has a role beyond the Reserve products themselves. It establishes a benchmark for the wider range and reminds us that growth shouldn't mean losing sight of what made the product special in the first place.

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How does Reserve fit into the wider Rare & Pasture range?

A good meat business can't only work with the most prestigious, best farmed meat.

We have to think about the whole animal and find the best possible use for it. That's why the wider Rare & Pasture range extends from slow-cured salamis and whole cuts to pastrami, frankfurters, pâté and other prepared products.

That breadth matters.

Using more of each animal creates value for farmers, reduces waste and allows customers to experience the same approach to sourcing and making at different price points and in different formats.

The ambition is simple: use more of the animal, maintain quality and give customers different ways into the brand.
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Does Reserve mean the rest of the range is less important?

Quite the opposite.

Reserve can only work as part of a broader approach to meat.

Rare & Pasture sources from regenerative farms alongside trusted British producers selected for their approach to animal welfare, grazing, land management and meat quality. Across that network, the focus is on creating a stronger and more transparent British supply chain.

Reserve represents the pinnacle, but the wider range is what allows us to use more of those animals intelligently and create great products for different occasions.

The two work together.
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What does Reserve taste like?

There isn't a single Reserve flavour profile because the point is to allow the character of the particular meat to come through.

The Reserve Pork Salami has a classic fermented character, with pepper and garlic sitting behind the richness of the Iberian pork. The Reserve Beef & Pork Salami is deeper and more savoury, with the beef balanced by the softer texture and sweetness of British pork.

The common thread is restraint.

Salt, seasoning and time are there to develop the meat rather than disguise it. That's central to Rare & Pasture's wider approach to charcuterie: good meat, handled with care, using traditional processes to bring out what's already there.
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Why does Reserve matter?
Reserve is about celebrating exceptional meat when we have the opportunity to work with it.

Some animals, breeds and farming systems produce something particularly special, and often in very limited quantities. Rather than trying to make those ingredients fit into an everyday range, Reserve gives us the freedom to treat them differently.

It means taking great raw material, giving it the time and attention it deserves and making something that reflects where it came from.

There won't always be lots of it, and that's really the point.