Sauris (Zahre), Udine province, Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The village of Sauris was settled by German-speaking colonists from the Bavarian and Tyrolean Alps in the 14th century, bringing with them Central European preservation techniques including smoked ham. IGP status granted in 2009.
Prosciutto di Sauris IGP is the unique smoked prosciutto of the high Carnic Alps in Friuli — produced in the remote mountain village of Sauris (Zahre in the local Bavarian-German dialect, reflecting the area's 14th-century German-speaking settlers) at 1,200m altitude. Unlike Parma or San Daniele (which are unsmoked), Sauris prosciutto undergoes a cold smoking over beechwood before its long curing, producing a ham with a distinctive amber-brown exterior and a delicate, sweet-smoky flavour that combines the characteristic sweetness of long-aged prosciutto with the complexity of cold smoke. It is produced by two family dairies in the village and is genuinely difficult to obtain outside the Friuli.
Prosciutto di Sauris has a flavour unlike any other Italian ham — the sweet, long-cured prosciutto note is present but filtered through the beechwood smoke, creating a complexity that is simultaneously Italian and Central European. The fat is especially sweet. Sliced thin, it is amber-pink and translucent, with the distinctive smoked fragrance that identifies it immediately.
The production sequence: salting (rubbing the hind leg with salt, black pepper, juniper, rosemary, and laurel for 10-15 days in cold rooms), cold smoking (3-5 days of cold beech smoke at 15-20°C — below the temperature at which fat melts, preserving the ham's texture while infusing smoke compounds), and then long air-curing in the mountain air of Sauris for a minimum of 10 months (premium versions 14-18 months). The cold smoking before curing (not after, as in some smoked meat traditions) means the smoke penetrates before the proteins fully set, giving a more diffuse, integrated smoke character.
Prosciutto di Sauris is best sliced on a machine (not by hand) to achieve the correct translucency that allows the amber colour to show through. The two producers (Prosciuttificio Wolf and Petris) have slightly different smoking intensities — Wolf tends more smoky; Petris tends more sweet. Both are excellent.
Serving too cold — the smoked prosciutto's fat needs room temperature to express its sweetness. Pairing with strongly flavoured accompaniments — the smoke and the sweet prosciutto require simple vehicles (breadsticks, neutral bread) that don't compete.
Slow Food Editore, Friuli-Venezia Giulia in Cucina; Corby Kummer, The Pleasures of Slow Food