Some of the Most Popular Cured Italian Meats

The Italians has been curing meats since the ancient Roman Empire and this state-of-art technique has been passed down for centuries. Today, the cured meat we enjoy in America are based on original Italian recipes. Types of most popular cured Italian meats are Prosciutto, Salame, Pepperoni, and Sopressata. Cured Italian meats tend to fall into two categories, meat molded from ground meats or taken from whole cuts of meats. They play a very important role in Italian antipasto, often served with sliced cured meats, cheeses, and vegetables.

Prosciutto: is an Italian dry-cured ham that is thinly sliced and served uncooked. It is a ham taken from the hind leg of a pig, boar, or a hog. The air dried process takes at least 210 days under specific climate controls. The process was done only in the winter in the old times. There are several types of Prosciutto such as Prosciutto di Parma, Prosciutto di San Daniele, Prosciutto di Modena and more.

Salame: Salame is the Italian word for Salami. It is made by stuffing the gound meats and seasonings into a casing and then hanging it to cure. There are also many types of salame such as Carando, Hormel, and Hard.

Soppressata: is one of the most traditional cured Italian meats. The word Sopressata means pressing from Latin and it is falttened. It is typically a Southern Italian food more than the north. It is basically a poor man's salami because the meat is used from the left over parts of the hog after the expensive meat is sold.

These are just a few of our large selcection of cured meats here at Cerra's Market. If you haven't decided what kind of meat you would like for your next dinner, come visit our shop on Route 1 in Saugus. If you decided that you would like to have some delicious cured Italian meats, contact us today for pickup or catering services. We serve Saugus, Chelsea, Revere, Lynn, Lynnfield, Peabody, Salem, Danvers, and more. Check out our catering menu here.