Martina Franca, Valle d'Itria, Puglia
The signature cured meat of the Itria Valley: pork neck (capocollo) from heavy Italian pigs, cured with sea salt, pepper, wine, and the powdered residue of the local Primitivo grape marc, then briefly cold-smoked over aromatic oak (quercia) and myrtle branches from the Valle d'Itria. The combination of Primitivo marc, oak smoke, and Mediterranean macchia (scrubland) aromatics creates a unique flavour signature. The DOP area is just 8 comuni in the Taranto province. Aged a minimum of 90 days.
Pork neck carrying the aromatic smoke of Valle d'Itria oak and myrtle, seasoned with the marc of Primitivo grapes — a product whose flavour is inseparable from eight Pugliese comuni
{"Curing: salt, black pepper, and crushed dry Primitivo marc applied and massaged in; rest 15 days","Cold smoking over oak and myrtle: maximum 20°C to avoid cooking the fat; 2–3 sessions over 2 weeks","The smoke is aromatic (myrtle, olive wood sometimes added) rather than heavy","Dry ageing minimum 90 days in traditional cellars in Martina Franca","Slice medium-thin (2mm) for maximum expression of the layered fat and lean"}
{"Primitivo di Manduria (the grape from the same terroir) is the natural pairing — the terroir of the wine and the marc echo each other","Serve with rustic Apulian bread and fresh mozzarella — the smoke and fresh dairy are complementary","The best producers are small artisan norcini in Martina Franca who still smoke over wood collected from the same Valle d'Itria forests"}
{"Hot smoking — fundamentally changes the protein structure","Over-smoking — the myrtle character should be subtle; heavy smoke dominates the Primitivo marc note","Slicing too thick — loses the characteristic layered texture"}
Salumi di Puglia — Consorzio Capocollo Martina Franca