Meats and cured meats

Vasto ventricina

Vasto ventricina: hand-cut pork glowing with Altino sweet pepper

In the hills of the Vasto hinterland, leg, loin and shoulder are cut by knife into two- to three-centimetre chunks and seasoned with equal parts salt and ground sweet peppers from Altino. Packed into a bladder that weighs one to two kilos when filled, it dries by the fire and is ready after seven or eight months. It is a Slow Food Presidium and a traditional agri-food product (PAT) of Abruzzo.

• Orange-red paste with the hand-cut pieces of meat clearly visible
• A firm heat that never hides the meat, and at times a citrus note from the casing
• Heavy pigs raised locally and no chemical preservatives, as the Presidium requires

How to enjoy it. Serve it raw in thick, hand-cut slices so every bite keeps whole pieces of meat. At home it is also diced into ragù, which it colours and seasons.

Production areas

Abruzzo

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