Cured Meats from the Masters

You know that appetizing moment in an Italian restaurant when the antipasto platter arrives? The sliced mortadella, the prosciutto, the coppa—everybody loves taking a little taste with some olives and pickled peppers. Nothing could be easier to replicate at home, and now, with the growing availability of artisan salumi (cured pork products) and imported hams from Spain, the antipasto platter has never been more enticing.

Let’s look more closely at a few of the cured meat products found in specialty stores today. Some are intended for slicing paper thin and serving cold. Others need to be cooked.

Europe’s Luxury Hams: Serrano, Prosciutto, Speck

These three fine hams from Europe have distinctly different tastes, but any one, sliced thinly, would make a refined start to a meal. Never trim away the excess fat. It supplies flavor, is highly prized and should be consumed along with the lean to appreciate the ham at its best.

Serrano ham, available in the U.S. only since 1990, is Spain’s prestige entry. It is a dry-cured ham, first packed in salt for several weeks, then washed and air dried for a year or more. The long, slow curing process concentrates its flavor and produces a ham that tends to be drier, more intense and nuttier than prosciutto. Serve with Marcona almonds, green olives, Manchego or Roncal cheese and a chilled fino sherry.

Prosciutto di Parma and Prosciutto San Danielle, the royalty of Italian hams, undergo a roughly similar curing process—salting, then lengthy air drying. But the Italian pig breeds are different, their diet is different, and the details of curing time, temperature and humidity are different for serrano ham and prosciutto. Prosciutto tends to be moister, sweeter and a little softer than serrano. Serve it draped over melon, pears, breadsticks or asparagus. Tuck it into a panino with arugula, or serve simply with country bread and the best unsalted butter.

Speck is a spiced and lightly smoked air-dried ham from Italy’s Alto Adige region. Pepper, juniper and bay are used in the seasoning, although producers keep their exact recipe a secret. Serve as you would prosciutto or serrano, but expect a more aromatic ham.

Chorizo: A Tale of Two Sausages

Spanish chorizo and Mexican chorizo are both spicy pork sausages, but the similarities end there. Mexican chorizo is a soft, floppy, fresh sausage, flavored highly with vinegar, dried chilies and cumin, and it must be cooked before eating. Spanish chorizo is fully cured, firm and seasoned with garlic and Spanish pimentón (paprika). Slice it and enjoy it with no further cooking, accompanied by other tapas, such as olives and toasted almonds. Sliced and fried, Spanish chorizo adds spectacular flavor to paella, egg dishes, fried potatoes and steamed clams.

Pancetta and Guanciale: Pork as a Flavor Base

Pancetta (pan-CHET-ta), like bacon, is cured pork belly. The main difference is that bacon is smoked, and pancetta usually isn’t. The pancetta sold in the U.S. is often rolled like a jelly roll; in Italy it is usually sold flat. Another important difference: Pancetta in Italy is fully cured and can be eaten without cooking. (Italians love it in panini.) American-made pancetta has to be cooked.

Pancetta contributes a meaty note to pasta sauces, especially those with tomato. Dice it and render it with onion, then add to cooked beans or bean soups, or to any cooked greens. Because it isn’t smoked, it adds a more subtle pork flavor than bacon or a ham bone. 

Guanciale (gwan-CHA-lay) is cured pork jowl—similar to pancetta in flavor, but meatier. A few American artisan producers are making guanciale now. For an authentic pasta alla carbonara or pasta all’amatriciana, it’s the cut to use. Dice and render it just as you would pancetta or bacon.