Culatello: Il Re dei Salumi – The King of Salami

In late August of 2011, I was on my way to Milan’s Linate Airport to catch a flight. As I passed by Parma (I was going North) I realized that I had time for a nice long lunch. What an opportune moment this was!

Polesine Parmense Coat of Arms

It did not take much to exit the Autostrada del Sole (A1) and head for the small community of Polesine Parmense.

In the small area northwest of Parma, by the river Po, a small miracle is taking place for centuries now, thanks to the artisans who know the craft of producing the King of Salami, the Culatello.

River Po

The river is the creator of dense fog, especially in the cold months of the year. It is this foggy environment that is required for the aging of culatello. And this is the reason why culatello is not produced – naturally – in any other part of Italy or the world.

Po is a foggy River

Polinese Parmense is bordering to Busseto, the home town of Giuseppe Verdi, and the locals proudly declare that “Bassa Parmense”, the small area northwest of Parma, where Polinese Parmense is located, has given to the world culatello and Verdi. Why should anyone ask for more?

Casa Natale Giuseppe Verdi

Culatello is made of the upper thigh of the pig, i.e. the buttocks. Its name derives from the italian word “Culo”, which means buttocks. The muscle is cut out of the rest of the leg’s meat, trimmed, and bagged so that after it is done it resembles a really bif pear.

I chose the restaurant “Al Cavalino Bianco” where the Spigaroli brothers, Luciano and Massimo, have created a big name for themsleves. Today they also operate a gourmet restaurant in the restored mansion “Antica Corte Pallavicina”, where Luciano is the chef.

Culatello produced by the Spigaroli family

I tasted the culatello of 13 and 20 months, and was in heaven. The 13 month culatello was more moist and tender. I ate it first as I should, because what came after than needed the proper background.

You cannot appreciate the 20 month old culatello unless you had the 13 month old. The meat is slightly drier, more brittle, but the flavours are more mature. This also shows if you try to measure the mode and speed of your eating. With the 20 month old, I fould myself imitating the motions of wine tasting, eventhough I could not swirl the culatello in my mouth. The process was long, and started with smelling the paper-thin slice.

"The fugitive King of the Foggy Bottoms" (Burton Anderson, Treasures of the Italian Table)

The Spigaroli brothers keep their culatelli in the cellar of “Antica Corte Pallavicina”, and this is a great motive for the weary traveller and culatello aficionado to spend the night there, in one of the beautifuly restored rooms overlooking the pastures of Polesine Parmense.

Luciano Spigaroli who manages “Al Cavallino Bianco” is a real enthusiast and professional at the same time.  His brother Massimo was in the USA on business, so I did not have a chance to meet him. One more reason to visit the brothers again, this time to taste culatello again, but also to taste the gourmet creations of Massimo.

Antica Corte Pallavicina

In closing, a few words of wisdom about culatello, from Peppino Cantarelli, as quoted by Burton Anderson in his wonderful book “Treasures of the Italian Table”. Peppino answers the author’s question “What should I look for when I buy a culatello?” Here is part of the answer:

“Well, first the mold. If it’s white like flour, that means it was aged artificially. Look for muffa verde (green mold that forms naturally and allows the culatello to mature) , because the green develops only in natural conditions. Also it should have a fuller pear shape than an industrial type. ”

On my way to Linate I was a happy man. After all, it does not take much to experience happiness.

Trattoria e Locanda La Buca, Zibello, Parma, Italia

This post is long overdue, but better late than never. I visited La Buca four years ago, and it is like yesterday. The sweet memories are nourished by the solid experience of food that permeates and transcends the centuries, and is the same as it were three hundred years ago. I just checked the site of the trattoria and the menu contains all the dishes I tasted back in the summer of 2006, when I visited Miriam Leonardi’s trattoria in the small but famous village of Zibello, a few kilometers away from Parma.

Zibello is famous for the culatello, a salumi made of pork. Culatello is one of the foods that require a specific micro-climate. This is why it is produced only in a small area around the city of Parma,  in the flat lands that are covered by the dense fogs of the river Po.

In the photo above Miriam is in her own storage area, with the culatelli suspended above her head.

The culatello dish is a starter in Italy, and what a wonderful starter it is! Tender and sweet, it melts in your mouth and releases the flavors of the cured meat. A little butter on the side creates the perfect harmony. Prosciutto is a lot tougher, while jamon iberico (pata negra), is more dry than the culatello.

If culatello is the perfect antipasto, wait for the first, il primo, which is a mix of tortelli di zucca and tagliatelle con culatello. The tortelli are the elongated shapes on the left, and they are filled with pumpkin paste. The tagliatelle, on the right, are served with fresh butter, grana and culatello trimmings. Both are hand made in the trattoria.

And here comes the second, or secondo, the locally fished eel with peas. The eel is born and raised in the river Po, a few hundred meters away from the trattoria. The peas (piselli) are grown locally and are sweeter than honey. A masterpiece that will never lose its appeal.

Enjoy all of the foods with a glass of the local table rose wine, which is more than adequate. It is not a masterpiece, but it does the job.

Red Meats of Italy – A selection – Part 1

All of a sudden, I decided to post some images of red meats and red meat dishes from Italy. I call this Part 1 as I expect there will be more in the future.

I start by stating that I am not a fan of red meat. In an average place I usually do not order red meat. I prefer to eat vegetables, or chicken, or even better, a nice sald with cheese!

But I am a fan of exceptional red meat and its by products, flavours and colours and juices.

And this is what I will try to post here, the red meat beyond, creations that take the primary material and tranform it to something that is and is not the original. Transformation and transfiguration.

All the items included in thepost are”classics”, ie they have been around for a lond time and are here to stay. No meteorites, no short-lived stars, only treats that cut across the years.

Culatello di Zimbello
Culatello di Zibello

I start with the Emperor of the Italian cured meats: Culatello di Zibello!

Storage Area
Storage Area

This is the storage area where Miriam Leonardi (owner of “Trattoria La Buca” in the small town of Zimbello) keeps her treasures.

Slicing machine
Slicing machine

When I saw this machine I thought that it only befits the marvelous culatello to have such a beauty for slicing it.

Salumi di Cremona
Salame artigianale tipico di Cremona
I tasted this beauty in “Caffe la Crepa”, in the small town of Isola Dovarese. It was juicy, almost sweet, and its texture allowed it to melt in the mouth. Apparently Cremona does not only produce the finest violins in the world! Soppressata
Soppressata
Soppressata
Dekicious “Soppressata” from the “il Latini” restaurant in Florence.
Filetto di maiale affumicato
Filetto di maiale affumicato
Smoked pork filet from “Locanda San Lorenzo”, in the small town of Puos d’Alpago, near Belluno, Veneto.
Lardo di colonnato con zucca
Lardo di Mora Romagnola con zucca
An excellent treat, from “Trattoria Amerigo dal 1934” in the small town of Savigno, near Bologna. Lardo is transparent, sweet, and it melts in your mouth leaving a sense of olive oil! The zucca is the well know paumpkin, that here is grainy, tasty, and providdes support to the heavenly taste of the lardo!
Selection of antipasti
Selection of antipasti

 

A selection of antipasti from the “Vino e Camino” Ristorante in Bracciano, near Rome.

 

Steak Tartere di Vitello
Steak Tartare di Vitello
This tartare steak  comes from the wineshop of Pallatino in Roma. It is served without egg and the other regular trimmings. Just lemon, pecorino and light greens. The meat taste was clear, fresh and the firm texture of it made the pleasure complete. I was afraid that it would be a rather boring dish, given the absence of taste enhancing materials that accompany a Steak Tartar. I was wrong! Top quality veal does not need anything more than just some lemon to cut the protein surge, and a light cheese to provide a salty stimulus to the palate.

 

Display of meats in Dario Cecchini's Macelleria
Display of meats in Dario Cecchini's Macelleria
This is part of the diaply in Dario Cecchini’s Macelleria in the small town of Panzano, near Firenze.
Renaissance Salame
Renaissance Salame
Dario’s shop is full of surprises, including this one!

 

Ramerino in culo
Ramerino in culo
Marinated beef cubes (it could be called beef sushi) served with rosemary, from the restaurant of Dario Cecchini, Solociccia, although Dario does not call it a restaurant, but the home of a butcher!
Bolitti
Bolitti
A selection of boiled meats with vegetable and herb sauces, prepared by the team of Amerigo dal 1934.
Porcini e fegato di vitello
Porcini e fegato di vitello
A divine combination, porcini mushrooms with tender ultra sweet calf’s liver, from “dal Pescatore”, in the Park of River Oglio.
Fiocco di Manzo
Fiocco di Manzo
Roast beef from Dario Cecchini’s restaurant.
Roast Pork
Roast Pork
Roast pork from Dario Cecchini’s Antica Macelleria in Panzano.
Animelle co i funghi
Animelle co i funghi

 

Sweetbreads with porcini mushrooms offered by Osteria di San Cesario, near Rome.

 

Bistecca Fiornetina
Bistecca Fiornetina
Glorious juicy bistecca from “il Latini” in Firenze.
Capello da prete di manzo
Capello da prete di manzo
Cappello da prete di manzo al barbera e polenta gialla belgrano! This is the full name of the dish offered by “dal Pescatore”.