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Bresaola: Made from lean
beef, this one’s salted, air-dried,
and aged for at least six months.
Bresaola has a distinct dark red,
almost purplish color and a tough,
lean texture, so have your butcher
slice it paper thin.
Copa or Capocollo: One from
Emilia Romagna, the other from
Calabria, pretty much the same
deal. Both are made using the muscle
from the neck of the hog, then
dry-cured, often with hot paprika.
Guanciale: Like pancetta but less
fatty, Guanciale is made from the
jowls of hogs, with the meat rubbed
with pepper before aging. Great
on a board or sandwich and you
can’t make authentic spaghetti alla
carbonara without it.
Nduja: This spreadable treat is
made from as much as 80 percent
pork fat, plus lean cuts, herbs and a
generous mix of Calabrian peppers,
which provide heat and color.
Pronounced, variously, DOO-ja
or DOO-ya, it originated in the
town of Spilinga, where a three-day
nduja fest is held annually in early
August.
Lonza: Cured and air-dried pork
loin, usually seasoned with black
pepper or fennel. Plays nicely with
other meats on the board. The
French have a smoked version
called Filet de Coche Fumé.
Lardo: Pork fatback cured with
herbs and spices, often rosemary.
The most prized variations come
from Italy’s Aosta Valley, where pigs
are fed a diet of chestnuts and vegetables.
Lardo on toast with a drizzle
of honey is traditional. And yum.
Mocetta: From the northwestern
region of Italy, mocetta is traditionally
made of cured beef, although
often with goat or wild game such
as deer or boar. The meat is usually
marinated in wine with bay leaves
and juniper berries, then salted and
air dried. Slice it thin, although
locals often eat it in chunks, with
swigs of brandy. (Gotta love the
locals.)
Saucisson sec: The French answer
to salami, these hard sausages,
usually pork but sometimes a mix,
often white with edible mold, are
traditionally three quarters lean
meat and a quarter pork back-fat,
called bardière. Serve it thinly
sliced on the bias.
Merguez: Made from lamb,
sometimes beef, and heavily spiced
with cumin and chili or harissa,
plus sumac, fennel and garlic. Usually
grilled, but the dried version of
this North African sausage is also
a great addition to a charcuterie
board.
Jamon Ibérico: The king of
Spanish hams – and priced so –
Ibérico ham gets its funky flavor
from the all-acorn diet of black,
short-haired pigs that roam the
oak forests on the Spain-Portugal
border. Also, try Lomo Ibérico
sausage, made from the tenderloin
of the same animals.
Other Spanish meats worth considering
include the ever-popular
chorizo, a rice-filled blood sausage
called Morcilla and the garlicky
Butifarra.
And don’t forget German and Eastern
European contributions. Even
Ireland has an up-and-coming
cured-meat scene.
If you’re building a board at home,
the experts suggest offering three
to five varieties of meat, a good
mustard and a pickled item or two.
And crusty bread, of course.
We all need an excuse to eat more
bread.
– JOHN KOMINICKI