Since the Good Food Awards were created in 2011 to recognize and celebrate artisanal fare, Craig Deihl has dominated the charcuterie category. In 2011 and 2012, his soppressata won and in 2013 his picante salami proved tops.

This year, he submitted his culatello to the competition. They tell us culatello is a pig’s rear large muscle mass, which gets cured in salt and stored in a pig’s bladder for 16 months. Sounds gnarly.

He’s up against a whole slate of meaty goodness again this year. There’s beef tongue from California, mortadella from Rhode Island, smoked hog head cheese from North Carolina, and pig red salami from Wisconsin among many other cured creations.  

Winners will be announced in San Francisco on January 16. We’d say good luck to Deihl, but we don’t think he needs luck. He’s got enough skill and talent to help him continue his delicious domination.  

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