Tag: sausage

Authentic Calabrian Salami: SMAF Ltd selection

07.02.2021

We proudly present our line of Authentic Calabrian Cold Cuts: SMAF Ltd selection.

TRADITION AND QUALITY

SMAF LTD deals with all the sausages and salami labelled in Calabrian DOPs. However, among the sausages, stand out the Calabrian “soppressata”, seasoned salami (capocollo and hard sausage) and the famous “Nduja” (sophisticated spicy and spreadable salami).

The first item, SOPPRESSATA is an Italian dry salami. Soppressata is sometimes prepared using ham, but it never happens in Calabria.

Even if there are many variations, two principal types are made: a cured dry sausage typical of Basilicata, Apulia, and Calabria, and a very different uncured salame, made in Tuscany and Liguria.

In Calabria, and generally in the south of Italy, this salami is part of southern Italian cultural heritage, much more than in the north.

“Soppressata di Calabria” enjoys Protected designation of origin status, as in esample that one produced in Acri and Decollatura, highly renowned.

Secondly, CAPOCOLLO is a traditional Calabrian and, generally, Italian pork cold cut, made from the dry-cured muscle running from the neck to the 4th or 5th rib of the pork shoulder or neck, sometimes smoked or conserved in olive oil or flavored with cooked wine.

Given that it is a whole muscle salume, its preparation seems similar to the more widely known cured ham or prosciutto. Both are pork-derived cold-cuts and typically sliced very thin.

We can count, in Italy, two particular varieties, Coppa Piacentina and Capocollo di Calabria. We deal with the second, which has Protected Designation of Origin (P.D.O.) status, under the Common Agricultural Policy of European Union law, which ensures that only products genuinely originating in those regions are allowed in commerce as such.

Other versions, not covered by mentioned PDO status, are simply designated as “Prodotto agroalimentare tradizionale” (P.A.T.) by the Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies. It is the case of Capocollo del Lazio, Capocollo tipico senese (called finocchiata or finocchiona), Capocollo della Basilicata and Capocollo dell’Umbria.

In any case, our well known product is ‘NDUJA.

Generally, outside Calabria, is a special, spicy, spreadable pork salumi, made with shoulder and belly, ripe, roasted peppers and a mixture of spices. Our Calabrian variation derives from French andouille and is made using meat from the head, trimmings, fatback, and roasted hot red peppers.

The fiery taste of ‘Nduja is typical of the small town of Spilinga, where it was developed in the actual taste.

It is served with slices of bread or with ripe cheese and has a unique taste, suitable for a variety of dishes. Bright red in colour with a fiery taste, our ‘Nduja is delicious on a pizza or alongside medium seasoned cheeses. It also gives an incredible flavor, when you add it to lightly fried onions celery and carrot, as the basis of a tomato sauce for pasta, or just on its own with the addition of a little of the pasta water.

OTOH, we have a wide variety of other CALABRESE SALAMI. All our regional coarsely ground pork salamis are mildly hot, due to a generous addition of red pepper flakes– perfect for sandwiches and antipasto.

They are pressed into a flat shape during curing. This pressing not only gives Calabrese its characteristic shape, it also gives it a wonderfully firm texture. This coursely ground meat is perfect for sandwiches or in an antipasto. Serve with crackers for a game day appetizer as well.

Other example of calabrese Salami is “Cervellata Calabrese”, a Pork Salami or Sausage flavored with white wine and hot peppers. Another is “Pancetta di Calabria DOP”, a Pork Salami, part of many Italian recipes and widely used in the preparation of fried. It can also be consumed raw or barely heated, sliced thin, more or less, along with salt bread, baked in a wood, a typical local tradition. Another one “Salsiccia di Calabria DOP”, a Pork Salami, which, according to an ancient recipe, is made with giblets and fatty parts of pork mixed with hot peppers, bagged, then smoked at first and then cured.

All these salami from Calabria dates to the period of Greek colonization of the Ionian coast and the cultural glories of Ancient Greece. Historical records describe processing of pork from the seventeenth century.

OUR ROLE

SMAF Associates LTD operates in Calabrian’s original salami sector as a broker – national and international “Broker”. Our activity towards the original Calabrian sausages starts from a long experience in the agricultural products market, in the activities of buying, selling, import-export, logistics, sea-to-land transport, insurance and customs issues.

Our brokerage deals with import-export to USA, Canada, Europe and Eastern countries, from Calabria, Italy, for quality fruit and vegetables of the best brands. We give the right importance to the original Calabrian quality sausages by taking care of their transport directly from the manufacturer. We guarantee our business partners the utmost seriousness and we have clients of great international prestige. Among the other brokerage countries: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Chile, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Hungary, USA and Vietnam.

Our company is leader in the distribution of Calabrian original salami.

The presence of liaison offices in Calabria ensures us a strategic position for the supply and distribution of goods. We are the privileged interlocutor for the Commercial and Collective Catering World and all the business forms that need a high level of service as well as a constant and customized quality standard.

New Life of ‘Nduja in the Kitchen

18.11.2018

A SLOW EVOLUTION 

From its beginning, a poor street salami, to the symbol of Calabrian gastronomy,  ‘nduja has become an almost international product, known not only in Spilinga, in the province of Vibo Valentia, but all over Italy and Europe, crossing regional borders in the last twenty years.

It is a food with a long history, so much so that the first traces lead to the nineteenth century. Very poor origin, even the etymology could date back to that period, with possible derivation from “andouille”; the hypothesis is based on the presence of the Napoleonic army in Calabria. That “andouille” was a French sausage based on tripe (and not only) pork.

Nowadays, ‘nduja is a sausage based on pork entrails which, once seasoned, is cut into slices, boiled, cut into small pieces and used to flavor soups (wild fennel, cabbage, beans).

Today the ‘nduja is produced throughout all the region of Calabria, is a spreadable salami demonized by dieticians for its fat content, unsuitable for palates not prone to spicy, loved by everyone else. Indeed, one of its basic ingredient is chilli pepper, which in Calabria is cultivated, especially, on the plateau of Monte Poro, where Spilinga stands.

 

THE RECIPE

The “recipe” of the ‘ndujais simple. Its realization is however complex: the play of balance between lean and fat meat, between sweet and spicy pepper and between meat, hot pepper and salt is made complicated by the degree of spiciness, which varies significantly even among fruits born from the same plant. The artisan can not follow precise doses and therefore to help him, more than the balance, are the experience and the taste.

It is its advantage the uselessness of adding preservatives of any kind: it is just the bactericidal function of the pepper to guarantee food safety.

At the contrary, certain excesses are an eventual defect of ‘nduja. Indeed, a very unbalanced portion  of salami or the amount of capsaicin (the substance that determines the degree of spiciness) can be often capable to cover the taste of meat and to anesthetize the palate throughout the meal.

It is not, as you might think, a choice made to reduce costs: the chilli, in fact, is much more expensive than meat. Therefore, the secret of a good ‘nduja lies in the correct balance between its components.

However, this is a necessary but not sufficient condition to obtain a perfect salami: in fact, another important role is played by duration of meat processing, which is used to prevent fat rancidity (a rather common defect in low-level products).

Then comes the time of packaging inside the “orba” (the small intestine of the pig, used for the larger size sausages, which are considered the best). Alternatively, is used the “crespone”, a thinner casing, suitable for small-cut nduja.

The bagging phase is completely manual.

The aging lasts from 45 to 90 days and is mainly used to dry the dough which, thanks to the high percentage of fat, is always soft. Some artisans add a further organoleptic note through a slight smoking that contributes to the roundness of taste.

The ‘nduja is not produced only in Spilinga, even if it is right here that a good number of quality craftsmen is concentrated there. In Acri, at the foot of the Sila, is indeed present a certain amount of companies; theirs is a small-scale activity and for this reason it can afford a very short supply chain: Calabrian black pigs reared at home and fed with cereals produced on the farm, sweet and spicy pepper grown in the land owned, small machines (al maximum 60 kg of dough at a time, to prevent it from heating up during preparation). The production phase is rapid: no more than a week passes from the time of slaughter to maturing.

 

THE NEW LIFE OF ‘NDUJA IN THE KITCHEN

The success of the ‘nduja also passes for its rediscovery by the chefs. ‘Nduja, bread and red wine are a typical combination which enriches plates of pasta with sauce of tomatoes and onions, taken at the market, adding also the perfume of mint and bay leaf.

‘Nduja shall be melt over a low flame, mixing it with the pasta in the sauce and at the end sprinkling it with smoked ricotta or semi-seasoned pecorino, being also recommends to never cook the salami but only to heat it, in such a way to facilitate its break-up.

These dishes are the reinterpretation of a traditional Sunday dish, the macaroni with underwire with pork sauce and ‘nduja.

In the home cooking, moreover, ‘nduja has many other uses: in bean soup, spread on bruschetta, mixed with sheep’s ricotta, in the salad of ripe tomatoes enriched by two other products symbol of Calabrian gardens like oregano and onion Tropea.

 

IN THE STREET FOOD

The decided taste of ‘nduja is also a protagonist in the street food world: calzoni, panzerotti, potato croquettes, arancini, supplì, pizzas.

In the street it is a truly extraordinary dish, tasting ‘nduja in combination with a glass of “Pecorello”, an indigenous white vine, or with another local wine, Abbruzzino, accompanying it with an excellent bread kneaded with ‘nduja and, in the autumn, with an emulsion of porcini mushrooms.