Speck Alto Adige

Appearance & taste

On the outside the speck is brown from smoking. When cut, the lean part is red and the fat part a delicate reddish-white. It smells of matured meat and pleasantly smoky, and tastes strongly seasoned but not salty. According to the specification, it is milder than the heavily smoked raw hams of northern Europe and stronger than the mild hams of the Mediterranean.

The speck contains at least 20 % protein and at most 5 % salt; strict maximum levels apply to nitrate and nitrite. It is sold as a whole leg, in pieces or in slices, unpacked, vacuum-packed or in a protective atmosphere. The names may not be translated, and every label bears the PGI logo.

Production

The pork legs are trimmed in the customary way with or without the topside and boned, then moderately dry-salted and seasoned with a cure. They are then hung up in the open and cold-smoked at no more than 20 °C. They then mature at 10 to 16 °C and 55 to 90 % humidity. Working and processing of the legs as well as cutting, slicing and packing take place only in businesses in the Autonomous Province of Bolzano-South Tyrol.

“Riserva” may be used for a speck that has matured for at least 28 weeks from the start of processing, then weighs at least 4.3 kg and has lost at least 39 % of its weight; for legs cut into more than two parts, the figure is 40 %. The term “prodotto di montagna” (mountain product) is permitted if, according to the specification, the speck was produced at 600 m above sea level and thus in a mountain area.

Origin & history

South Tyrol is mountainous through and through. Light air currents and winds pass through the many Alpine valleys, the climate is moderately dry, and there are more than 300 days of sunshine a year. Winds from the southern and northern slopes of the Alps meet in the valleys and create favourable conditions for maturing.

As a border and transit land between Europe north and south of the Alps, South Tyrol has absorbed influences from both sides. For the speck, the intensive smoking of the north was combined with the method of the Po Valley, in which meat dries slowly with salt under natural conditions. The roots of this kind of preservation lie in the Alpine tradition of the farms. According to the specification, during maturing the meat takes on scents from the surrounding air and from the cure of the first processing stage.