Description

Pancetta Piacentina DOP is a delicatessen product obtained from the so-called pancettone, the fat cut of the pig. The meat comes from animals belonging to the Large White and Italian Landrace, Duroc or other breeds compatible with the Italian heavy pig.

PRODUCTION AREA
The production area of ​​Pancetta Piacentina DOP covers the territories located up to 900 meters above sea level. within the province of Piacenza, in the Emilia-Romagna region. The pigs used for processing must have been born, raised and slaughtered in the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions.

METHOD OF PRODUCTION
After selecting the so-called pancettone, the piece is squared, trimmed and left to rest in the cold room until the moment of salting. Dry salting is done manually, using a mixture of salt, pepper and spices. The salty product is stored in the refrigerator for a minimum period of 10 days. Scraping is carried out in order to remove excess salt and spices. The pancetta is then rolled up and sewn. Natural pork casings or vegetable paper can be applied to the ends not covered by rind and to the side seam, in order to obtain natural protection during maturing. We then move on first to drying and then to seasoning, which lasts for a period of not less than four months from the date of salting, in rooms at a temperature between 10 and 18 ° C and humidity of 70-90%. All processing takes place in locations located below 900 m above sea level.

APPEARANCE AND TASTE
Pancetta Piacentina DOP has a cylindrical shape and a weight of 4 to 8 kg. When cut, the slice is bright red in the lean parts and white in the fatty parts. The meat has a pleasant and sweet scent. On the palate the slice is soft, with a tendency to melt thanks to the presence of the fatty parts, which also determine the delicate and distinctly sweet flavor, not devoid of that flavor that makes the product particularly appetizing.

HISTORY
The first traces of pig farms in the production area of ​​Pancetta Piacentina DOP can be traced back to a millennium before the Christian era. Later, we find evidence in the Roman civilization, through archaeological finds such as a bronze pendant-amulet, depicting a small pig. This animal is also present inside the Abbey of San Colombano in Bobbio, in Val Trebbia (Piacenza), where a 12th-century mosaic represents the “sacred” rite of pig slaughter. At the beginning of the fifteenth century, shopkeepers in Milan and Lombardy already distinguished Piacenza cured meats from those from other places in the Po valley, qualifying them as “roba de Piaseinsa”. Subsequently, in the early decades of the eighteenth century, Piacenza cured meats managed to be appreciated even in the elite circles of France and Spain, thanks to the skilled Piacenza diplomat Cardinal Giulio Alberoni. Starting from the last century, the local processing of meat begins to take on a semi-industrial connotation, but despite the passage of time and the progress of technology, companies continue to produce with traditional methods, linked to customs handed down from generation to generation.

GASTRONOMY
To best preserve Pancetta Piacentina DOP it is recommended to keep it in the refrigerator after having carefully washed the rind and wrapped it in a slightly moistened cloth. It is traditionally eaten raw, as an appetizer, paired with other cured meats or as an ingredient in Piadina Romagnola PGI. In the kitchen it is used for the preparation of numerous recipes.