Valle d'Aosta — particularly the mountain communities of the Valpelline and upper valleys. Chamois and ibex were the traditional game animals of the hunters of the high Alps; the mocetta tradition allowed the preserved game meat to be consumed throughout winter. With the protection of chamois (and ibex), beef and goat have become the commercial alternatives.
Mocetta (or motzetta) is the traditional cured game meat of the Valle d'Aosta: in its original and most prized form, the hind leg of chamois (camoscio) or ibex (stambecco) cured in a brine of juniper berries, rosemary, bay, black pepper, and mountain herbs for 30-60 days, then air-dried in the Alpine mountain air for an additional 60-90 days. The result is a dark, intensely flavoured dried meat with the concentrated essence of mountain game — lean, slightly gamey, with the complex herbal character of the Alpine brine. It is served thinly sliced with mountain cheese (Fontina) and dark rye bread. Beef and goat mocetta are now more common (chamois being protected), but the original chamois version remains the benchmark.
Mocetta of chamois is dark red-brown, firm, and intensely flavoured — the concentrated game sweetness of chamois, filtered through the juniper-rosemary brine and the Alpine drying air, produces a flavour that is simultaneously lean and complex. Sliced thin, it melts slightly on the tongue. With Fontina and black rye bread, it is the complete Alpine antipasto.
The traditional brine: coarse sea salt, juniper berries (crushed), black pepper (cracked), rosemary (fresh), bay leaves, and optionally garlic. The meat is rubbed with the salt mixture, then placed in a non-reactive container with all the herbs and left at 4-6°C for 30-60 days (turning every 3-4 days). After curing, wash the salt off, pat dry, wrap tightly in a cloth, and hang in a cold, ventilated space (10-12°C, 70-80% humidity) for 60-90 days until firm throughout. The mocetta is ready when it is uniformly firm but not hard.
Beef mocetta (now the commercial standard) is produced from lean topside — it requires a shorter curing time (20-30 days) than chamois. The juniper is the most important aromatic — it provides the characteristic resinous note. Serve sliced to 1-2mm with Fontina and black rye bread.
Insufficient curing time — under-cured mocetta is still partially raw in the interior. Curing in too-warm conditions — above 8°C accelerates bacterial growth; the cure must happen at near-refrigerator temperature. Drying too fast in dry conditions — the surface dries before the interior is fully cured, forming a 'case' that traps moisture inside.
Slow Food Editore, Valle d'Aosta in Cucina; Corby Kummer, The Pleasures of Slow Food