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Bresaola

Posted June 20, 2018 by Sharon Leave a Comment

Bresaola is salted, air-dried beef, a technique that dates from medieval times.

CHIAVENNA–After an hour’s drive north of Dervio on the eastern shore of Lake Como, my Italian teacher Elena Arezio pulled her Volkswagen into a municipal parking lot in Chiavenna. This was north country–a mere 6 1/2 miles from Switzerland as the crow flies.

We had an appointment at Del Curto Macelleria, a century-plus-old family butcher shop that produces some of the finest bresaola in the province of Sondrio, Lombardy. Elena makes a pilgrimage to Del Curto every holiday season to buy the salted dried beef and other salumi.

Chiavenna

We found the shop locked since it was still officially the mid-day break. An older gentleman responded to our knock. He was co-proprietor Enrico Del Curto who went to fetch his brother Aldo, ostensibly the spokesman for the operation. At first, Aldo didn’t say much but he soon warmed to the topic of his life’s work as he led us downstairs to a series of spotless white curing rooms.

Tradition and Time to Create Bresaola

Aldo Del Curto in the drying room.

Bresaola enjoys IGP (protected geographical designation) status. Several cuts of beef from the leg and flank can be used. Aldo stresses that Del Curto uses only Italian beef while some other producers import beef from South American countries. Some cuts are bone-in; the boneless “nocino” commands a premium.

Del Curto starts the process by rubbing a mixture of salt, pepper, and garlic over the beef. The seasoned cuts are packed tightly in covered tubs for no more than 15 days. During this stage, the salt draws out liquid and seasons the meat.

After draining the liquid from the meat, a small amount of potassium nitrate is added to prevent botulism. “Pochissimo [a tiny amount],” says Aldo, who says that some of the meat is lightly smoked but most clients prefer the air dried.

Aldo opened the doors to temperature-and-humidity controlled rooms where hundreds of beef chunks were hanging. Some of the longer-hanging pieces were covered with muffa (a soft white naturally-occurring mold) that looked like snow.

I’m astounded that one butcher shop could produce such a volume of bresaola. Aldo responds proudly that the beef is served in fine restaurants in Paris, Rome, Milan and other cities.

At last, the tasting room. Aldo machine sliced the bresaola as thin as silk. I blinked at the ruby color, more vivid than fresh beef. The slice dissolved on my tongue. The bresaola was a revelation: tender, moist, complex, slightly saline but not salty.

Grazie, Aldo and Elena, for a unique slice of Italy.

Italian Air-Dried Lamb

The Del Curto brothers also produce violino di capra, cured and air-dried goat shoulder. The whimsical name is a nod to the resemblance that the elongated shoulder shape has to the musical instrument. Here’s a look at Aldo slicing a Stradivarius of cured meat at the 2016 Slow Food Salone del Gusto. Sadly, I didn’t taste the goat prosciutto. Del Curto only sells the whole violin, not slices.

How Goat Prosciutto is made.

What’s the best Italian salume you’ve eaten?

Filed Under: Food, Lombardy cooking, Markets, Miscellany Tagged With: bresaola, Del Curto, Italian cured meats, Lombardy, salami, Salone del Gusto, slow food, Sondrio

Risotto alla Monzese

Posted September 14, 2011 by Sharon 9 Comments

Delicately seasoned luganega sausage and robust red wine are the flavor keys to this rice dish.

Photos make fine souvenirs but you can’t have them for dinner.

From now on, when I want to recall my visit to Monza last June, I can  reminisce over a plate of steaming risotto alla monzese (Monza Style Risotto) like the one  I sampled there.

The recipe comes courtesy of Guidarte guide and architect Laura Radaelli who escorted our media group around the charming medieval city.

In the course of exchanging e-mails to fact check my “Off the Beaten Track in Monza” article for Dream of Italy newsletter, I learned that Laura is an enthusiastic home cook. She shared some lore about the town’s signature dish along with the preparation method. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Culture, Food, Lombardy cooking, Recipes, Travel Tagged With: Lombardy, Luganega sausage recipe, Monza, Risotto Monza-style recipe, risotto recipe

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