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Speck dell'Alto Adige
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Identity Card
Name: Speck dell'Alto Adige
Type of product: Cured pork meat
Raw material: It is made from a haunch of pork
Curing: 20-24 weeks
Ripening: 15 days in brine and 2 or 3 weeks in a smokehouse
Production area: Alto Adige (northern Italy), especially Val Venosta
Note: For centuries smoking was an important process for preserving meat for a long time. The termbauern speck refers to genuine farmer's speck, which is very hard to come by, given that it is almost always eaten by the farmer's family. To taste it at its best it should be cut by hand, not with an electric meat slicer. |
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Speck dell'Alto Adige is much more than just a haunch of pork.
And in the mountains of South Tyrol knowing how to prepare speck as they used to back in the olden days is truly something to be proud of. It is flavoured with herbs and spices before smoking it over a wood fire and then curing it as tradition dictates.
The skill and experience behind this mountain industry provide consumers with a traditional cured meat with a truly unique flavour. And to preserve these characteristics the autonomous province of Bolzano only places the characteristic brand with the wording "Alto Adige" on the baffe (this is the name given to the sections of smoked, cured meat) after a long series of checks carried out by different bodies along the entire production process.
The average curing period for the branded product is 20-24 weeks, but, as often happens with Parma ham too, not all specks are the same and one has to know how to recognize a quality product.
Genuine speckmust have a rind that is well marked, but not excessively so, and should be firmish to the touch, since too soft a texture denotes a short curing period.
Once cut the speck will keep for a long time as long as it is wrapped in a hemp cloth and stored in a cool place.
When it comes to how to use speck in cooking, we're simply spoilt for choice, since its smoked flavour makes it excellent in sauces (Tagliatelle, speck and chanterelle mushrooms, for example) or in second courses with meat or eggs.
And should there be no time to cook anything, then all you have to do is to cut a generous slice by hand to go with a few cucumbers, a spoonful of horseradish sauce and a glass of Blauburgunder, the Pinot noir produced in the Alto Adige region.
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