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Some Bresaola della
Valtellina and some olives, a pickled onion and bread |
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Bresaola is air-dried salted beef that has been aged about
2-3 months until it becomes hard and a dark red, almost purple colour. It is
made from top (inside) round, and is lean and tender with a sweet, musty smell.
It originated in Valtellina, a valley in the Alps of northern Italy's Lombardy
region. |
The word comes from the diminutive of Italian dialectal bresada, which is the
past participle form of brasare, meaning to braise, as in French
braiser.
A strict trimming process is essential to the rich taste.
Legs of beef are thoroughly defatted and seasoned with a dry rub of coarse salt
and spices, such as juniper berries, cinnamon and nutmeg. They are then left to
cure for a few days. A drying period follows, of between one and three months,
depending on the weight of the particular bresaola. Up to 40% of the meat's
original weight is lost during aging.
A similar process is also applied in Valtellina to smaller pieces of meat. This
results in a more strongly flavoured product, slinzega, which is similar to
South African
biltong. Traditionally horse meat was used for slinzega, but now
other types of meat can be used, such as venison and pork.
As an antipasto, bresaola is usually sliced paper thin and served at room
temperature or slightly chilled. It is most commonly eaten on its own, but may
be drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice or balsamic vinegar, and served with
rocket (rucola, arugula) salad, cracked black pepper and freshly shaved
Parmesan
cheese. The similarity to
carpaccio, which is made from raw beef, sees that name
being used (incorrectly) for bresaola dishes as well.
