Soppressata di Calabria DOP con Peperoncino

Calabria

The most celebrated Calabrian salame — coarsely ground pork (lean and fat) seasoned with Calabrian peperoncino (both sweet and hot varieties), black pepper, garlic and wine, stuffed into natural casings, tied and pressed during the initial curing to achieve the characteristic flat, oval shape. DOP-protected with specifications that cover pig breeds, production area and seasoning. Aged minimum 45 days.

• Coarse-ground cured pork with paprika — the Spanish version uses smoked pimentón for its red colour; Calabrian uses fresh and dried peperoncino → Chorizo ibérico curado Spanish
• Pressed cured salame — the Veneto version shares the pressing technique (hence 'soppressa') but uses very different seasoning: wine, cinnamon, garlic → Sopressa veneta Venetian
• The Italian-American version of soppressata diverged from the Calabrian original — it is now more associated with the cooked pressed-meat tradition than the cured salame → Head cheese / soppressata (Italian-American) American

Bold, spicy, deeply porky; the peperoncino gives sustained heat and brick-red colour; fat pieces melt on the tongue; the coarse texture gives each bite a different ratio of lean to fat — Calabrian charcuterie at its most assertive