Everyone loves Italian meats! They make delicious antipasto platters, sandwiches, stuffed pasta, and sauces. These are the top 10 most popular Italian meat products according to Taste Atlas. What is your favorite Italian meat? Let us know in the comments below!
10. Culatello di Zibello
Culatello originates from Parma, Italy, and is sometimes classified as a salami. Culatello is made of pork and is cured with a mixture of salt, pepper, garlic and dry white wine.
9. Guanciale
Guanciale is salt-cured pork jowl and is a bit richer in flavor than pancetta. It is most famously used in Roman dishes such as spaghetti alla carbonara and bucatini all’ Amatriciana.
8. Lardo di Colonnata
Lardo di Colonnata is made of only fatback and is a raw, organic lard that is salted and seasoned with pepper, rosemary, garlic and coriander. It is then aged for 6 months in specially made marble tubs called canaloni. Lardo di Colonnata is produced in the Tuscan village of Colonnata.
7. Nduja
‘Nduja is a seasoned, spreadable salami from the region of Calabria. It is excellent on bread, in risotto and served with different cheeses.
6. Ventricina
Ventricina is a cured sausage produced in the regions of Abruzzo and Molise. There are two types of ventricina; Ventricina Teramana is spreadable and made with pork, lard, garlic, rosemary, fennel seeds, peperoncini, orange zest, and salt. The other, ventricina del Vastese, is a hard sausage made of coarsely chopped pork, garlic, sweet and spicy peppers, black pepper, and fennel seeds.
5. Prosciutto di San Daniele
Prosciutto di San Daniele is from San Daniele del Friuli and is sweeter and darker in color than other prosciutto varieties. It is made using only local sea salt and aged for atleast 13 months.
4. Mortadella
Mortadella is another type of cured sausage that comes from Bologna and dates back to ancient Bologna, in the Etruscan city of Felsina. It makes excellent sandwiches, pasta filling and antipasto!
3. Bresaola
Bresaola is an air-dried, salted beef product that can be traced back to the late Middle Ages. Bresaola comes in five different varieties: Punta d’Anca, Sottofesa, Magatello, Sottosso, and Fesa and originates from Valtellina, Italy.
2. Pancetta
Pancetta is salt-cured pork belly that can be spiced with fennel, pepper, or nutmeg. It is essentially Italian bacon and is used in a variety of dishes.
1. Prosciutto di Parma
Prosciutto di Parma is the king of Italian meats. It is produced from specific pig breeds such as the Large White, Landrace and Duroc and has been made the same way since ancient Rome. It is made with strict regulations and cured carefully before being branded.
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