Today we delve into the world of Italian meats. Here are a few photos taken over the years as we’ve visited Italian meat markets.
“I’ll start today with just the cured meats…done the Italian way. Next week, we’ll cover the sausage/salami and lard meat categories”
Most of what I’ll cover will be cured meats classified as ‘cold cuts’, or ‘salumi’ (not to be confused with ‘salami’ or ‘salame’) in Italian. And most are created from pork, though a few may have beef, venison, wild boar, horse or donkey. I wouldn’t worry about getting anything made from the latter two, though it can be found in an occasional meat market (macellaio) of Italy.
In these photo, you can see that these non-traditional products (at least in the U.S.) are clearly marked as ‘cavallo’ or ‘asino’, respectively. Alas, sorry to disappoint, but we’ll just stick to meat products made from pork and beef.
When I say ‘products’, that’s what they are. The subject of today’s article is not a beef steak or a pork loin, but natural cuts of meat that have been transformed into a completely different product, like cold cuts and sausages.
Like me, you may have grown up eating sandwiches made with baloney (American slang for Bologna) or salami. Those were probably a mass produced Americanized version of the real thing…though there is typically no comparison to the ‘real thing’ of Italy.
I will be discussing these fine Italian meat products in three categories: cured, sausage/salami, and lard…yes, lard prepared in a special Italian way is considered to be a delicacy to be enjoyed like other cold cuts.
Because the cured meats are the most popular…in particular prosciutto, I’ll start today with just the cured meats…done the Italian way. Next week, we’ll cover the sausage/salami and lard meat categories. And, as prosciutto is the king of cured meats of Italy, I’ll spend a lot of time describing how it is produced…and I’m not pulling your leg!
CURED MEATS
Italy is well known for its cured meats, known as salumi. Methods and curing ingredients vary by region and local customs, based on their curing traditions, with some traditions going back centuries. So, salumi in one place can be distinctly different than salumi found in another place, where herbs and other ingredients differ.
Some of the cured meats are cooked during their processing, but most are air-dried after getting some distinctive treatment during their preparation. I’ll start the salumi discussion with one of the most popular, and that is prosciutto.
PROSCIUTTO
[proh-SHOO-toh]
Pork
A custom cutting stand for thinly slicing prosciutto
Prosciutto is made from the hind leg of a pig. There are actually two famous prosciutti in Italy, that from Parma and that from San Daniele, though Prosciutto di Carpegna and Tuscan Prosciutto Crudo can also be found. Here’s the lowdown on this tasty haunch of pork.
Rigid Standards
Whether it is Parma or San Daniele, prosciutto can only be produced from Italian-born and bred pigs raised according to the highest standards, which are monitored, inspected, and traced. Acceptable pigs are the Large White, Landrace, and Duroc breeds. Whether for Parma or San Daniele prosciutto, the pigs are all raised within the same 10 northern and central Italian regions.
Two Styles
We know prosciutto as a dry-cured ham that is usually thinly sliced and served uncooked…this style is called prosciutto ‘crudo’ (raw) in Italian and is distinguished from cooked ham, or prosciutto ‘cotto’ (cooked). And though it is uncooked, it really isn’t as raw as you might think…that’s where the curing comes into play. A well-cured prosciutto has a deep red meat and pure white fat.
The Curing Process
For the curing of prosciutto, one would want a dry climate…and that’s what you have in the Parma and San Daniele regions of Italy. For curing, you also need salt…lots of salt. A salt master, or Maestro Salatore in Italian, is in charge of determining just how much salt is appropriate for the legs that our well-cared-for pigs have given up for your dining enjoyment.
Here are salt-rubbed legs prior to aging.
Here are legs seen in two stages: to the left, they are ready to have their open ends rubbed with a fat-salt protective coating; and to the right, that coating has been applied.
You are probably wondering how long the curing process lasts…I mean, we don’t want the meat to spoil and go bad, right? Well, there’re two phases to curing: the resting phase, or riposo; and, the drying, or sugna, phase. The resting phase finds the ham literally hanging around for about 3 months.
The sugna phase
After that, the drying phase begins when the legs are smeared with a rice flour, salt, and pork fat mixture. This salty paste is what begins the curing process. And, that pork fat seals the cut end of the leg to prevent spoiling. Using a very thin horse bone, the caretakers occasionally insert it into the ham, withdraw it, and then smell it. If it isn’t malodorous, all is well. This part of the curing process lasts at least a year, and sometimes three years, when its unique full-bodied flavor is at its best. So, three years without being spoiled…that’s the benefit of salt curing.
Here are a couple of expert sniffers sniffing their horse bone picks.
The Taste of Prosciutto
How does it taste? Some say sweet…some say salty…and some say sweet and salty. You’ll have to try it to make your own decision. It’s always served thinly sliced and satisfyingly salty. We’ve eaten it wrapped around cantaloupe melon, asparagus, dates, cheese…all good uses. You can also savor it by itself, or on a charcuterie plate.
From the San Dan website: “The more mature the prosciutto, the stronger the aroma, offering hints of crusty bread and notes of dried fruit and barley malt. The flavor is also unmistakable: subtle yet deliciously tasty mixed with the tang of cured meat to create a perfectly balanced flavor that transforms every mouthful into a multisensory experience.” I couldn’t have said it better myself!
Why so thinly sliced? It’s expensive, that’s why…you want it to go a long way. We ran across a shave-it-off-the-leg yourself situation at the Lodge at Vail years ago…unheard of since! Prosciutto heaven.
Have you cooked with diced speck? It comes from the hind leg like prosciutto, but that’s the only similarity. Speck is smoked during the final step of the curing process, and the smoky flavor tastes similar to bacon. Speck can be used as you would pancetta, which I will cover a bit later.
Most definitely, don’t confuse prosciutto with American-style smoke-cured ham…there’s no comparison. If you confuse the word prosciutto with prosecco, please take a few moments to get centered, go have a glass of prosecco, and then come back to continue reading about Italian meats.
The Curing Environs
Parma prosciutto is produced near the town of Parma, along the Po River valley. San Daniele Is produced in the hilly area around the town of San Daniele in the province of Udine, which is in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. If you go as far as you can to north-eastern Italy -- way up there on the right -- you are in Friuli-Venezia Giulia.
The Pig’s Diet
As mentioned previously, the pigs are raised within the same 10 regional areas. However, the Prosciutto di Parma pigs seem to have a bit better pre-prosciutto existence. You’ve heard of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (simplified in the U.S. as ‘parmesan cheese’), right? Well, there’s a link to this cheese and the prosciutto from Parma. Besides the usual grain and cereal diet (it’s hard to think of a pig having a ‘diet’ isn’t it?), these pigs often have parmesan in their diet. They aren’t actually eating a big chunk of cheese, but the whey from the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese producing process. As they say, “You are what you eat”, and that applies to these large pigs. The whey in their diet adds to the complex taste of their future-self as prosciutto.
The Leg’s Shape
The Parma leg is left in its natural shape…a bit stubby. But, the San Daniele legs are pressed to give them their characteristic "Stradivarian" shape, i.e. they have the shape of an oversized violin, so it’s longer and skinnier than Parma. Who presses the leg? Why women it seems, as men lack the ‘necessary touch’.
Here is a San Daniele prosciutto ham…it has a traditional flattened shape.
And the stubbier Parma prosciutto. Note the Parma Crown that has been branded onto the prosciutto.
Here is a glimpse of the branding process…less painful than a cattle brand (with a live cow).
Let’s shave off a piece to enjoy, shall we?
That’s it for prosciutto. Try it wrapped around ripe cantaloupe…prosciutto e melone…delish.
GUANCIALE
Pork
It’s hard to actually call this a meat…it’s a good bit of fat with some occasional color.
It is a similar fat product to pancetta and bacon, but it has a higher fat-to-meat ratio (that means a lot more fat than meat). It’s said to have a richer, sweet-savory pork flavor, though I’ve never tasted it…if you have, let me know how it was.
It is pressed into a pillow shape…thus the name guanciale, which means ‘pillow’ in Italian.
This cut of meat comes from the pork's cheek and is rubbed with salt, sugar, and spices and cured until it loses about 30% of its original weight. Guanciale has an intensely strong flavor and can be used as a substitute for Pancetta or bacon.
BRESAOLA DELLA VALTELLINA
Beef
The origins of this air-dried, salted, lean and tender beef can be traced waaaay back to the Lombardian Valtellina valley and Alps.
This meat is cured for two to three months after being rubbed down in spices. When it is completely dried out, it is hard and dark-red to purple, with a sweet and musky smell. Some say it’s like a lean prosciutto, though made with beef.
Ready to taste it? Do it the way the locals do and slice it very thin, drizzle it with extra virgin olive oil, lemon, and parmesan cheese shavings. Tasty sounding, isn’t it?
PANCETTA
Pork
Rolled pancetta
Pancetta is a salumi made from salt-cured pork belly, sometimes spiced with sugar, fennel, pepper, or nutmeg.
One could call it an Italian bacon, as it is made from the same cut as bacon, However, unlike bacon, pancetta is not smoked, but merely cured and left to dry, usually for several months.
Flat pancetta
You will probably find it sold in thin slices or cut into small cubes. But, in its uncut state, It comes in two forms – rolled in the northern Italy style, and in its flat form of the central and southern Italy style.
Ready to slice at your local deli
Rather than being eaten by itself, it is mostly used to enhance the flavor of vegetables, meats, soups, and pastas. So it's almost always used as an ingredient in other dishes, like pasta carbonara or pasta arrabbiata.
CAPOCOLLO
Pork
Capocollo is made from pork…but not just any part of the pig. Specifically, it’s made from the dry-cured muscle running from the neck to the fourth or fifth rib of the pork shoulder or neck; this gives it a highly desirable meat-to-fat ratio.
So, it’s a whole-muscle salume.
Capocollo is dry cured, and it’s typically sliced thin, which is how you find it when it is pre-packaged at your local supermarket.
It is also known as coppa, capicola, or the slang ‘gabagool’.
It might be seasoned with red wine and it can have a spiciness because it is rubbed down with paprika during the curing process, which lasts about 75 days.
So, there you have the cured meats of Italy. Stay tuned for Part 2 next week, where we will take up sausage/salami…and of course, that promised fat/lard…makes your mouth water, doesn’t it?
Ciao for now,
Steve
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