A sandwich may only take a few minutes to assemble, but at the new Red Apron Butcher shop in Union Market, some of the components take days—or months—to prepare. Among two of chef Nate Anda’s most labor-intensive creations are the porkstrami and muffaletta sandwiches, both of which are made with meat from humanely raised and slaughtered North Carolina Berkshire hogs. Anda explains the time that really goes into the $8 menu staples:

PORKSTRAMI

Pastrami-style pork

Pork sirloin is brined for 14 days, smoked for eight to nine hours, then rubbed with black pepper, coriander, and other “secret” spices.

Bacon-braised sauerkraut

Because of the volume of sauerkraut used, it’s one of the few ingredients Anda does not make from scratch. He does give it new life by soaking the fermented cabbage in water for two days then cooking it with butter, onions, bacon ends, wine, mustard seeds, and bay leaf for five hours.

Mustard aioli

Mustard seeds are pickled for a day and mixed with an aioli.

Pork jus

Just before serving, the pork is dipped in a jus made with pastrami-style pork scraps, pork stock, water, and onions steeped together for about 20 minutes.

Housemade baguette

Baked by pastry chef Tiffany MacIsaac

MUFFALETTA

Mortadella

Anda emulsifies pork leg, shoulder, and fat, seasons it with mace (the outer shell of nutmeg), cinnamon, and cayenne, then studs the meat with diced pork fat and pistachios. The sausage sits for a day before it’s poached in water for five hours.

Bologna

Anda emulsifies pork leg, shoulder, and fat and seasons it with onion powder, raw garlic, and black pepper. It sits for a day and is then smoked for three hours and poached for three hours.

Salami

Coarsely ground pork shoulder is studded with lardo, which Anda cures in salt and spices for at least a year. Anda hangs the salami for seven days, poaches it for about four hours, and hangs it again for two to three weeks.

Smoked ham

Leg meat is cured for two to three weeks in a sweet brine of allspice, juniper, cinnamon, cloves, and coriander. It’s smoked for six to seven hours.

Italian Provolone

Hot mustard

Olive spread

Consists of fennel, celery, carrots, red peppers, shaved red onion, and three types of olives with olive oil and red wine vinegar.

Housemade focaccia

Baked by pastry chef Tiffany MacIsaac

Photos by Darrow Montgomery