Cold cuts are one of the pride of the Marche region. And there are many craft outlets where you can stop for an afternoon snack or a full meal. From the Apennines to the plain, here are the stages that cannot be missed
To be enjoyed inside a sandwich or lying on a cutting board, i Marche cold cuts they are a local gastronomic pride. And forget the sweet ham: here the watchword is “nostrano”, that is tasty. Only natural aromas, seasonings in the sparkling Apennine air and often "dried" as before, in front of the fireplace. Here's where to fill the picnic basket or go shopping on the Sunday after an excursion. With the security of slicing local chain salami. The Sibillini Mountains remain the ideal reservoir from which to draw for the finest meats, the mountain ones. But there are also surprises downstream, with ancient or contemporary tasting formulas, such as the butcher with kitchen.
The Antica Norcineria Calabrò does not give up, and the perfect recipe of the ciauscolo is from 1930
Calabrò is one of the oldest butchers and butchers in the Marche region, founded in 1930. Giorgio and his son Samuele run the business that from the historic center of Visso (Macerata), after the earthquake, passed on the outskirts of the town. Pierluigi Loro Piana, industrialist, king of yarns and fabrics, through an act of patronage, allowed him to continue the art of cooking by financing the new laboratory and the point of sale built in wood. The “vivrification” (it is not part of the IGP, and for this reason it is called this) is the ciauscolo according to Calabrò, produced with the same recipe as in the 1930s: pork meat and lard, wine, garlic, salt and pepper and natural gut. Even after three months of seasoning it remains as soft as freshly made, to be enjoyed also in the version with wild fennel flower. The salami lardellati and no, and then the goodies: the salami with walnuts (instead of the lardello there are walnuts or hazelnuts). The animals are certified from local sources and a few outdoor tables at the weekend are available to enjoy cutting boards. Don't miss the salami and the sheep ham, but also the buffalo bresaola.
Re Norcino's picnic basket
In San Ginesio (Macerata), on the outskirts of the Monti Sibillini National Park, you can visit the laboratory and the shop of Re Norcino, also open on holidays. Earthquake damage has slowed activity, but woe to give up. So today visits are made by appointment. Here you can buy the necessary for the picnic and on the way back from the excursions, pork and cold cuts for shopping. The company has been raising pigs in the area since 1957 and produces cereals that close the local supply chain. The sparkling air of the Sibillini preserves the cold cuts. The ham is aged at over 1000 meters above sea level. The ciauscolo is from guinness and is called "campagnolo". It boasts a large national medal count. This spreadable salami is made with pork, salt, pepper, garlic and cooked wine. No aromas or preservatives. The cured pork cheek ends up in the best Roman restaurants for carbonara.
In Fabriano, salami and sparkling wine are served
The Covered Market of Fabriano (Ancona) is a cooperative with a chain sales point; a space mainly dedicated to Fabrianese norcineria and sparkling wine. An obligatory pairing, given that Francesco Scacchi, a Fabriano-born doctor of the sixteenth century, put the bases of modern sparkling wine in Fabriano (that is before the famous Dom Pérignon) black on white. Blend, table service, zero kilometer, direct sale of fresh meat from the producers of Fabriano salami. The Fabrianese cutting board contains a series of cold cuts, but the protagonist is the larded salami made with ham meat. In the morning, the sale at the counter, while the apericena is with the products of the eight founding partners who represent the vast majority of the Fabriano salami producers' consortium. A particularly noble salami and the "lardello", which is cut by hand, gives the right fatness. Another fundamental element is the prohibition of the use of additives and preservatives: only salt, pepper and natural flavors.
Abbey with cuisine in Valdicastro
The Abbey of San Salvatore di Valdicastro on the Fabriano Apennines is a magical place. Founded in the 11th century, it is surrounded by chestnut and beech woods, at the bottom of a valley. Here, years ago, a farm was born that raises Marche cattle and pigs of the "Suino della Marca" breed, that is the cross between "large white", "duroc" and "cinta senese". The formula is that of the agritourism: you eat in the large refectory that is a real traditional restaurant, and, next to it, the sales point supplies families and hikers with quality cold cuts and organic meats. Open Thursday to Sunday, there are ten guest rooms inside the abbey. Suppressed salami, larded beef, fresh sausages, are the must. The cheeses of the adjoining dairy are produced with cow's milk from animals raised in the wild. To find these products in the valley, just go from Fuoriporta, to Jesi (Ancona), where an "art bistrò" with tables embellished with works of art offers tastings of chopping boards with products from the Apennine farm.
Gilberto is a snack institution (the affected one)
Gilberto Ciattaglia is one of the deans of the Marche delicatessen. Together with his son Giorgio he manages the small trattoria Da Gilberto and the adjoining grocery store Ciattaglia. A stop not to be missed along the curves that lead from the countryside to Jesi (Ancona). When the pork arrives, the line starts, because at sixteen it is baked, from Thursday to Sunday. Known as the "shop of Montelatiere", it was opened by the Ciattaglia family in the early seventies. Here there is a small workshop where home-made cured meats are created and seasoned. Hand-sliced ham is the specialty and comes from a farm in the mountain area of Matelica (Macerata). Handcraft are the pork loin and capocollo, as well as soppressato and lardello salami "type Fabriano". Only natural salt, pepper and aromas in the process, after which the seasoning takes place in the air, respecting tradition. From Thursday to Sunday the cured meats are one of the main courses of the Italian antipasto in the adjacent trattoria, as are the homemade tagliatelle with duck sauce and cannelloni. The grilled meat is cooked in the fireplace, but the porchetta is the real must of the food.
The Macelleria with kitchen is "Poesia a Tavola" (and is in Recanati)
Osteria Poesia a Tavola opened its doors six years ago in Recanati (Macerata), when a butcher with over thirty years of experience relaunched his grandmother's "butcher with kitchen". Started as a joke, with two tables, the restaurant has taken such a field that it has become the main activity of Mirco Malatini and his wife Margherita Calcina. This is how it works: you choose meat on a seven-meter counter and expect it to be cooked on the grill. In the meantime, there is a chopping board of cured meats or knife-beaten meat. The meats are produced with meat from the Sibillini area. The ciauscolo is Igp, but woe to the original "Ciauscolo di fegato", the coppa di testa and the loin of pork. The liver ciauscolo is made with the pancetta and the shoulder, the scraps of the ham and the liver of the pig; and then salt, nutmeg pepper. In the meat flesh there is garlic (absolutely without the soul). And if that's not enough, even pasta is homemade: the "vincisgrassi of the past", made with ragù with chicken giblets. All for sixty covers.
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