Beyond the Board

How a Craigslist fridge and a whole lot of passion created an award-winning Columbus charcuterie company

By Shelby Metzger / Photos by Aaron Massey / Story Design by Bryce Patterson

It started with a refrigerator from Craigslist. $150 later, James Forbes had put the first pieces in place – via a fridge-turned-drying chamber in his mud room – to begin his cured meats and fresh sausages establishment, called North Country Charcuterie (NCC).

Located at 1145 Chesapeake Ave. in Columbus, Ohio, James, with a decade of experience as a chef under his belt, founded the environmentally-friendly, family-owned company with his mother, Jane Forbes, in April 2014.

From their Wagyu Beef to large spreads of mouthwatering charcuterie, NCC offers a diverse selection of products, ranging from salami and chorizo for charcuterie boards, to fresh sausages and bacon for five-star-worthy meals. But it’s the unique flavors, straight from a seasoned chef’s palate, that sets their selection apart.

“I think a major differentiator for us is the quality of the ingredients and the flavor development. My brother, with his culinary background, can take his culinary principles, his palate, and then bring that to the salami,” Duncan Forbes, James’ brother and North Country Charcuterie’s “Salami Monger” said. “That's the biggest compliment that we always get. That the flavor is so much more bold and fulfilling than some other products that are similar.”

Not only are the products of exquisite flavor, but they’re also sustainable. And why not enjoy some of Ohio’s best artisanal meats and cheeses while keeping your eco footprint to a minimum?

“We source 95% of our ingredients from within a two-hour drive of our production facility,” Duncan said. “You know, all the meat comes from Ohio – as many ingredients as we can get come from Ohio.”

There’s a concept in winemaking called “terroir,” which pertains to how a region’s environment (i.e. soil, terrain, climate) impacts various grapes and subsequent wines. Duncan believes this notion applies to meats, as well. Local ingredients complement each other more so than ingredients sourced from various environments. →

Spices from North Market, Stout via Wolf’s Ridge Brewing, cheese courtesy of Blue Jacket Dairy – all local Ohio products to accentuate their Ohio meats.

“Then, we work with Combustion Brewery out of Pickerington. We have their Belgian Tripel beer as an ingredient. Our number one salami, which is kind of our signature recipe, is mixed with cheese from Blue Jacket Dairy out of Bellefontaine and then Chardonnay from Debonné Vineyards up in Northeast Ohio.”

A sale of just one of NCC’s ‘Deluxe Collection’ charcuterie boards supports upward of 20 small businesses. From the array of local farm products to the nuts and cheese, the 14 items in this kit alone makes for an exceptional holiday gift or table spread.

“You're not only supporting us, but you could be supporting upwards of 30 different Ohio businesses depending on which product you buy,” Duncan emphasized.

And the end result of local sourcing is not something to be scoffed at. With multiple awardwinning products, NCC offers the best of the best to consumers and restaurants alike.

The Herbed Wagyu Bresaola, made with Ohio-raised Wagyu Beef Eye of Round and seasoned with aromatic herbs and spices, won a Good Food Award in 2022. The following year, their Wagyu Beef Bacon beat out the competition, earning a 2023 Good Food Award.

“We have more unique recipes, like a Northern Thai-style Sai Ua sausage, which is really stellar, and is one of my favorite products that we make in the fresh category,” Duncan described. “That's made with lemongrass, red curry, lime leaf, tamari soy sauce and turmeric. If you kind of just generally like Asian or Southeast Asian flavor profiles, this is a slam dunk.”

But while the Forbes’ family creation is, perhaps, the gold standard, it wasn’t an easy road to the top.

As James began to lay the foundation to make his dream a reality, he started to scope out the local competition. Until he discovered he had none. “When we launched, we were the only artisan cured meat company in the state of Ohio,” Duncan explained. “In addition to just the general challenges of starting a company, the meat industry is heavily regulated by, in our case, USDA. And so that ends up being a barrier to entry for a lot of folks. So that's, in my opinion, the main reason why other companies hadn't attempted this to date.”

After spending a year jumping through regulatory hoops and working to develop delectable recipes, Duncan joined his brother and mother to create the self-proclaimed “Salami Squad,” and the trio began production at the Food Fort facility, later moving to 1400 Food Lab.

“That's where we really kind of established ourselves. Figured out what's going on,” Duncan said.

In the fall of 2015, the pioneers received approval to sell their goods, both at farmers markets and wholesale. NCC gave those at Weiland’s Market, Hills Market and Grandview’s farmers market their first taste of the gloriousness that is their cured salami and chorizo creations. During the pandemic, the Forbeses expanded to fresh bacon and sausages. Today, they ship to all 50 states, direct to consumer and wholesale or bulk, while continuing to offer their products at farmers markets around the state every Saturday.

Giant Eagle Market Districts in Central Ohio will also officially be carrying all of NCC’s salami options, a goal that has been a long time in the making.

From a refrigerator off of Craigslist, to back to back Good Food Awards, and everything in between, NCC seems to have cracked the code to producing protein of the highest quality while deriving from local small businesses and upholding environmentally-friendly standards.

“A lot of our competitors are sourcing commodity pork, and that fits a specific category within the market, and we're at the opposite end of that,” Duncan explained. “We're trying to be more thoughtful and careful with our sourcing, uphold various animal husbandry practices as best we can, as the best the farmers can, and try to support as many local Ohio artisans and small businesses while we're trying to get our own company going.” ♦

To learn more, visit Northcountrycharcuterie.com