Smoking Goose: Reinventing Charcuterie

Smoking Goose Charcuterie in Indianapolis has carved out a national reputation for their artisanal approach to cured meats, salumi, and sausages. New York Magazine’s Grub Street called Smoking Goose “the meat expert rethinking one of the world's most ancient food traditions."  

From their holiday hams, available for a limited time only, to artisanal charcuterie for celebratory spreads, cocktail hours, and cooking, Smoking Goose is the source for award-winning cured meats. We love their story, commitment to their community, and to creating inventive charcuterie with natural and local ingredients.  

The Background  

Founded in 2011 by Chris and Mollie Eley—high school sweethearts who returned to their hometown after working in the culinary world—Smoking Goose began as an expansion of their beloved neighborhood butcher shop, Goose the Market, which they opened in 2007. Their vision was to bring old-world craftsmanship and new-world creativity to Midwestern charcuterie.  

At the heart of Smoking Goose’s philosophy is a commitment to sourcing responsibly: they partner exclusively with small, family-owned farms across Indiana and neighboring states that raise animals naturally and humanely—no antibiotics, growth hormones, or gestation pens. Every cut is crafted by hand, with recipes developed to highlight each unique protein and a dedication to using traditional techniques like dry-curing, fruitwood smoking, and spice blending without compound nitrates.  

Breaking it Down 

Smoking Goose breaks down animals on site, and the team works fast, stuffing natural casings with seasoned ground meat, tumbling pork bellies with spices for bacon, tying salumi and spraying the bundles with beneficial bacteria before they’re taken to the fermentation room to develop their beneficial mold colonies. They're then moved to the aging room to begin the long process of controlled drying. 

The Bloom Room 

Curing meat is much like the natural aging process of cheese as it depends on the mold. At Smoking Goose, they work hard to encourage and maintain the bloom, or beneficial molds in the aging rooms. This kind of mold is desirable and essential – it wards off bad types of bacteria that cause spoilage, and helps the drying process to progress evenly, not too rapidly which can ruin a batch.  

In this authentic curing and aging process, there is a lot of variability. The weather and humidity have an impact; the colors, shading, and coverage of the bloom fluctuate depending on the season. The natural bloom is edible, and most people slice and serve with the rind, as has been done throughout the long history of charcuterie. 

The slow aging process allows Chris to age a whole hog leg into prosciutto for 3-4 years, consistent with the timeline of the finest Spanish and Italian aging caves. 

The Lineup  

Smoking Goose has over 40 varieties of salumi, sausages, and slow-cured meats, featuring everything from their award-winning duck prosciutto to inventive favorites like Gin & Juice Salame and Stagberry Elk Salami. At Fortune, we are proud to offer a wide range of their products, from Mollie’s favorite, the Delaware Fireball, to hams, ‘nduja, guanciale, and saucisson. We also stock their new award-winning stand-up retail cases that make counter service as well as on-premise plating easier and faster for staff and guests alike. 

Every batch from Smoking Goose tells a story of the Midwest’s family farms, heritage breeds, and a passion for flavor that honors both tradition and innovation.