Casentino grey pork dry-cured ham, bone-in - aged minimum 18 months - 10kg

Casentino grey pork dry-cured ham is one of the greatest delights of our valley. This prime-quality product is the result of the craftsmanship of Massi, a local pork breeder. He takes care of every production step down to the smallest details, constantly looking for the highest quality with no compromises.

His Casentino grey pigs are reared in the semi-wild on the slopes of the National park of the Casentino forests and are slaughtered only when they reach an adult age. As a matter of fact, time is the secret ingredient of I Commensali’s cured meats: waiting for the right time is essential for both slaughtering and aging.

The best legs are selected to make hams. They are trimmed and massaged with a mix made of garlic, red hot chilli pepper, rosemary, sage, thyme and laurel and they are covered in salt. After a couple of days, they are washed with vinegar, seasoned with black pepper and left to age for at least 18 months in a controlled environment, where the same temperature conditions found in the old cellars below Tuscan farmhouses have been recreated.

The flavour is truly unique, completely different from the taste of classic Tuscan dry-cured ham. Casentino grey pork ham is flavourful, healthy and genuine, exactly like it was back in the days! It is told that in the 19th century, gluttons from Northern Europe would go all the way to Casentino just to stock up on this precious good! Today, thanks to the collaboration between I Commensali and Italy Bite, it is much easier to get your hands on it.

It is delicious by itself of course, but we like to pair it with:

• Artichokes packed in oil

• Pickled vegetable mix

• Tuscan raw milk Pecorino cheese