THE ITALIAN NAMES AND DESCRIPTION OF THE MEAT CUTS
ITALIAN PORK MEAT CUTS MANUAL: MIDDLE QUALITY CUTS
In this table you can find images, pictures and description of all the middle quality pork meat cuts. Among them you can find: spalla, spalla cotta, mortadella, salami, salsicce, cotenna, pancia, pancetta, ciccioli, lardo, strutto. You will find all the Italian names and their translation in English.
this is also an interesting part. The meats are rather thin, and therefore more fibrous, for this reason require a long cooking. They are excellent roasted, or in slices as braciole (chops with the bone) or "rosette" (boneless) . They are used for salami as the "spalla cotta", a lower quality of ham, or for the sausages.
spalla cotta
It is a salami usually of lower quality than the cooked ham, however in some valley of the province of Piacenza is produced a very appreciated smoked quality.
mortadella
very famous salami of Emilia Romagna called also "Bologna"
he utilized cuts are shoulder, fresh ham, some parts of the flank, throat and guanciale. It must be put into natural sausage skin and aromatized with pepper and other spices. It is available either with pistachios or without.
cured salamis
The shoulder meat is utilized for the "insaccati", particularly for the salami of better quality
also in this case it is important them to put into natural sausage skins
he great variety of Italian salamis make to us impossible to explain all of them in this small area: with small or great grain, aromatized with wine or various spices, they are since the ancient Rome the most appreciated and exported products. We can mention the Piedmont salami with wine, the very famous salami of Felino, the Cacciatore, the salami "Milano" with small grain, the Finocchiona of Tuscany...
salsicce
fresh are grilled: they are tasty and cheap
sausages
also in this case each region has its own specialities: the spicy 'Nduja of Calabria, the "luganega" of Milan, the "salamelle" of Tuscany. Many qualities are available either seasoned or smoked
Cotenna
skin
a curiosity, the pig bristles do not burn and it is not possible to shred them. For this reason they are used for good quality brushes and paintbrushes.
it is cleansed and bristled. Minced is one of the ingredients of the cotechino and zampone:the exceeding part is used for the gelatin. Generally the sausage skins for the zampone are obtained also from the shoulder skin.
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Pancia
Bacon
The bacon fresh may cooked grilled or baked. In the typical Tuscanycooking this piece is cooked in crust of bread
lardo and pancetta (smoked, spicy or simple), ciccioliare the more known products. In the belly is also the "gut" i.e. the intestine gutted and washed, essential for sausages of quality. It is very appreciated the liver
Pancetta
obtained from the half-fat part of the pig belly, seasoned and spiced
the pancetta salami:
smoked, hot, spicy or simply seasoned is a salami widespread in Italy. It is available "plain" for cooking and rolled, for eating raw or for rolling the roast.
Ciccioli
crackling
in the fact they are a residues from the lard processing. They are the membranes supporting the fat, that remain after boiling. After a 6 hours of boiling they are removed from the melted lard and pressed.
Lardo
bacon fat
The fattest part of the belly.
Very famous the variety of Colonnata it is widespread.
It is the basic ingredient of the pesto modenese
Strutto
lard
It is the pig fat, melted and filtred. Very good for frying as it does not give smell to the food and tolerates high temperatures without braking down.
