Tiroler Speck

Appearance & taste

On the outside the Speck is dark brown. When cut, the meat is deep red and darkens towards the meat side; except in neck Speck, there is a layer of white fat on top. The texture is medium-firm to firm. It smells intensely spicy, with a clear note of maturity and a smoky aroma, while the smell of pork stays in the background. The taste is slightly spice-led, with clear smoky notes over a full-bodied meat flavour and a noticeable saltiness; juniper can be tasted. Depending on the region and valley, the aroma and smoky note vary in intensity.

The Speck contains at most 5 % salt. It is sold whole, in pieces or sliced, always vacuum-packed or packed in a protective atmosphere. Each pack states the establishment number, a batch or a date and the wording “Tiroler Speck g.g.A.”, which must always appear in German even alongside other languages. At most 10 % of a day’s batch may go whole to retailers or restaurants if it is sliced there in front of the customer.

Production

The meat comes from the EU: leg, loin, belly and shoulder with rind, or neck without rind, each boned and trimmed. It is dry-salted, seasoned with a spice mixture of at least juniper, black pepper and garlic, and cured. It is then cold-smoked by a regional method with at least 50 % beech or ash wood and air-dried. How long it dries is decided by the Tyrolean Speck master (Speckmeister) according to the weather and the size of the pieces.

Slicing is done only by a Speck master or under his supervision. He checks each batch for defects in colour and taste and, if there are faults, adjusts the temperature, humidity or duration for the batches still in progress. So that the Speck does not dry out or go mouldy, it is packaged in the production area shortly after slicing.

Origin & history

In the farming mountain landscape of Tyrol, making Speck developed over many generations as a way of preserving fresh meat. Farmers passed the spice recipes and the method on to their descendants; today’s commercial production grew out of this tradition. According to the specification, drying in the Tyrolean mountain air and gentle smoking with beech or ash wood give the Speck its dark brown colour.