The cuisine in the northern Italian region is by no means easy. For a long time, the countryside was all about satisfying hunger with its own products and as little effort as possible. Thick soups, dumplings, noodles, Schmarrn, bacon and lard pastries are still served today. With less fat and usually only one course, the traditional specialities are usually served in a slimmed-down form in restaurants and pubs.
The popular South Tyrolean bacon can be found throughout the region. It has always been a staple of the peasant diet, although it is understood differently in South Tyrol than in most other areas of the German-speaking world.
It is not the fatty pancetta from the pork belly that is used, as is the case here, but the rump ham from the best part of the pig, from which the fat has been removed. It is pickled in salt with herbs, smoked over juniper wood and aged for a long time. In Tyrolean style, it is cut into thick slices and eaten “auf’m Brettl” with bread and red wine.

Today, “Speck aus Südtirol” is a protected designation of origin and is produced according to strict quality rules and under state control. The protection concerns the processing, the duration and type of curing, smoking and maturing, but not the origin of the meat.