Speck Alto Adige PGI—Blending Italian & German Cultures in 1 Bite

Speck Alto Adige PGI – A Beautiful Blend of Italian & German Culture in One Bite

By Julianne Clancy; Photos by Sean vonLembke

Walking into an Italian deli can be intimidating—especially one with the clout and history of DiPalo’s in Little Italy. This extraordinary Italian market (which has been in the family for five generations, a true representation of the Italian immigrant in the United States and the immigrant experience in general) is filled to the brim with homemade pastas, decadent cheeses, deliciously salted and smoked meats, and fantastic imported delicacies, making it difficult to decide where to even begin. Many of us opt to stick with the classics that we know: a chunk of Parmesan, a ball of mozzarella, a slice or two of salami. But the world of smoked meats has so many more treasures to share. We were lucky enough to be treated to a master class on one of owner Lou DiPalo’s favorite hidden treasures of the smoked meat world— Speck Alto Adige PGI. As DiPalo’s was the first store in the United States to carry Speck, Lou was able to give us the full details of the incredible history and intricate flavoring of this smooth and salty treat.

For being the size it is, Italy is an incredibly varied and diverse country. Its twenty regions have more diversity than the fifty United States, in part because Italy, as we know it, wasn’t a country until the 1860s. Before that, it was a bunch of independently controlled states, each with its own distinct style and flavor. Speck Alto Adige PGI is from one of the most unique of these regions: Trentino Alto Adige. Formerly a part of Austria, this region boasts a blend of Germanic and Mediterranean cultures—a blend that is most evident in their making of Speck.

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Speck Alto Adige PGI, pronounced Shpeck and often called Speck Alto Adige Südtirol in homage to the blended region from which it hales, is a cured meat made from the hind quarters of a pig—basically, a ham (or prosciutto in Italian). However, it’s the way that Speck is prepared that makes it different and makes it representative of the region it’s from. In the Mediterranean, salt is used to cure meat before it spoils from the heat. The salt extrudes water from the meat while the air dries it out, allowing the meat to cure in a shorter amount of time. But in colder regions like Germany, where fires are always kept burning to keep the houses warm, meats are cured by smoking—another effective and delicious way of drawing moisture out of a cut of meat that simply wouldn’t work in the warm climates of the south.

Speck Alto Adige PGI is made by fusing these two methods together. First, the meat is removed from the bone, so just the center portion of the leg is used. Then, it is spiced with a variety of flavorings (every family has their own secret recipe), ranging from juniper to black pepper and beyond. Then, the meat is stacked and left to sit for a few weeks to lose some moisture. Before the curing is done, though, the meat is moved into a smoker for about 36 hours before being placed in a cool room where the mountain air from the Alps can finish curing it. The process takes about five and a half months, all told.

The result? A light ham that is a beautiful blend of sweet and salty. The air curing leaves the meat with a slightly earthy and fresh fragrance. The salt and smoke are perfectly balanced—blending the two processes allows for the moisture to be removed from the meat more slowly, meaning neither technique has to be used too heavily. While the smoke is evident, it doesn’t overpower. The salt is lighter than in most hams, allowing the umami flavors of the meat itself to shine.

We tasted the Speck Alto Adige PGI, sliced thin, with a few accompaniments to see how it changed the flavor. With fresh Mozzarella (a cheese that is traditionally from the south), the freshness and sourness drew out the salt a bit more, making the flavors sharper and more pronounced. With the Alta Badia Cheese, a cow’s milk cheese from the province of Alto Adige Südtirol which tastes like a blend of Manchego and Swiss cheeses, the nutty creaminess brought out the rich, fattiness of the speck. All of it was washed down beautifully by the dry, smooth Le Grine wine, a fabulous red made 100% from grapes grown in the sandy soil of the same region as Speck is made.

We also tried the Speck Alto Adige PGI julienned, the way it would be prepared for use in recipes. While this preparation of course had the same flavors, it also had a wonderful chewy, soft mouth feel which would be lovely on a salad or tossed into boiled potatoes. If you want to cook with Speck, go light! It’s better to not cook at all, and toss the Speck on at the end of whatever your doing, like layering it on a pizza right after it comes out of the oven to slightly cook simply from the heat of the dough.

We even tried the spiced side of the Speck Alto Adige PGI, something that is not often served in American markets. While the texture was a bit too hard and dry, it gave a wonderful sense of the smoke and spice that go in to making the meat, as the flavors were much more intense than that of the rest of the Speck.

Having never spent so much time focusing on the creation and history of one ingredient, I’d never really thought about how much goes in to creating something like Speck Alto Adige PGI. However, after learning and tasting, I can say closer inspection is certainly warranted. Not only does Speck tell a story of the history of the region from which it comes, it is a delicious, delicate, and different cured meat that is an absolute must have for any charcuterie plate. Make your next dinner a trip to Italy. Pick up Lou’s book, all about essential Italian ingredients, grab a nice bottle of wine and some good cheese, and put out a big plate of Speck Alto Adige PGI. I promise you will not be disappointed.