Gailtaler Speck

Appearance & taste

On the outside, Gailtaler Speck is golden yellow. On the cut surface the fat is clearly visible and pure white, and the lean meat is deep red. It tastes lightly spiced, without a dominant juniper note, mildly salty and with a pronounced cured, smoked and meaty flavour. The fat is comparatively plentiful and firmer than in other kinds of speck; even so, according to the specification, the speck melts tenderly on the tongue and has a delicate bite.

In principle it can be made from all cuts of meat, including whole sides. It is sold loose or packed, whole, in portions or sliced. Whole pieces carry a red- or green-coloured, numbered pull-through seal with a laughing pig’s head and the words “Gailtaler Speck”. Packed products give “Gailtaler Speck — g.g.A.” and the producer’s registration number on the label.

Production

The meat comes from pigs born, reared and fattened in the area: Landschwein, Edelschwein, Duroc, Schwäbisch-Hällisches Sattelschwein and crosses of these, also with Pietrain boars. Piglets from elsewhere may be bought in up to 31 kg. Feeding is meant to encourage slow growth: over the whole fattening period the animals may gain at most 750 g a day, liquid feeding is prohibited, soya and maize are allowed only in small proportions (under 20 % and 10 % of dry matter respectively), and fattening aids, hormones and growth promoters are excluded. Pigs are slaughtered only from 120 kg live weight. According to the specification, the low maize content makes the fat firm.

Fattening, cutting, curing, smoking and maturing take place in registered businesses in the area. Spices and the duration of curing and smoking are adjusted to temperature and humidity. Besides traditional cold smoking, the firm fat also allows smoking at higher outdoor temperatures in chambers without cooling. Airing, drying and maturing make use of the valley’s climate; the producers recognise from experience when the unpressed pieces of varying thickness are properly matured. In climate-controlled smoking chambers this knowledge goes into the control of the equipment.

Origin & history

The area comprises the municipalities of Dellach, Feistritz an der Gail, Gitschtal, Hermagor, Hohenthurn, Kirchbach, Kötschach-Mauthen, Nötsch im Gailtal and St. Stefan im Gailtal. The mountains around the valley run from west to east and shield it from disturbances in the weather. Compared with other parts of Carinthia, the Gailtal therefore has a lot of sunshine, especially in autumn and winter, balanced humidity, even temperatures, hardly any fog in winter and clearing south winds. According to the specification, these are ideal conditions for maturing the speck.

According to the specification, the tradition of making speck in the Gailtal can be traced back to the 9th century. Every year on the first weekend in June, the “Speckfest” takes place in Hermagor, the main town of the valley. Since 2005 the area of origin has been one of Austria’s Genussregionen (culinary regions).