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Best Trentino Cured Pork Types
Lighter in flavor than its heavily smoked Alpine counterparts, but more robust than the delicate Mediterranean prosciuttos, Speck is the most prized food product of the autonomous Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy's northernmost region also known as Südtirol or South Tyrol.
With the region sharing not only a border but also strong cultural connections with the neighboring Austria, this distinctly flavored, smoked and cured ham represents the character of Alto Adige’s cuisine, which is an interesting blend of Northern European and Mediterranean traditions.
Mortandela is a traditional cured meat product originating from the Trentino and val di Non area. This smoked pork product was usually made from shoulder, jowls and leg, belly, and sometimes heart, lungs, tongue, and liver, but nowadays it's often made using pork cuts such as shoulder, belly, neck, and leg trimmings.
The mixture is shaped into flattened meatballs, flavored with spices such as pepper, garlic, cinnamon, and coriander, wrapped in caul fat, and left to dry on wooden boards that have been sprinkled with buckwheat or cornflour. It is then smoked over juniper berries and beech wood and shortly aged, usually between a week and one or two months.
Ossocollo is a traditional cured meat, specifically a type of salume made from pork neck or shoulder. It is particularly popular in northern Italy, especially in the Veneto and Trentino regions. Ossocollo gets its name from the Italian words "osso" (bone) and "collo" (neck), as it is made from the muscular part near the neck of the pig, giving it a rich, marbled texture.
The preparation of Ossocollo involves curing the meat with a blend of salt, pepper, garlic, and sometimes a mix of other regional spices and herbs. After curing, the meat is typically aged for several weeks to months, allowing it to develop a deep flavor and firm texture.
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