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Sopressata
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Soppressata is an Italian dry-cured salami, typical of Apulia and Basilicata.
name is said to come from the fact that it is often pressed with a weight while drying, giving it a characteristic flattened shape. It can be made of fresh hams, as well as other cuts. Pork is the traditional meat used, though it is sometimes made using beef. The meat is typically coarsely pressed, rather than ground (minced) as with salame.
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Encyclopedia
Soppressata is an Italian dry-cured salami, typical of Apulia and Basilicata.
Preparation
The name is said to come from the fact that it is often pressed with a weight while drying, giving it a characteristic flattened shape. It can be made of fresh hams, as well as other cuts. Pork is the traditional meat used, though it is sometimes made using beef. The meat is typically coarsely pressed, rather than ground (minced) as with salame. This gives it an uneven, "rustic" appearance when sliced. Soppressata is a specialty of southern Italy, and often includes hot pepper (though, as with all salami, seasonings vary). The sausage is hung up to dry for anywhere between 3 and 12 weeks, depending on the diameter, and loses about 30 percent of its original weight. At the end of the drying phase, the soppressata is commonly stored in jars of olive oil. When eaten, it is commonly sliced thin and placed on crackers or sandwiches or even by itself.
Varieties
Depending on Italian geography, other traditional spellings include Soprassata and Soppresata. In the US, particularly in the northeast where many Italian descendants take pride in making homemade batches of Italian dried sausage each year, it is commonly spelled as Supersata (pronounced "soo-per-sah-ta"). The following image is more representative of a premium blend.
In the Italian region of Tuscany there exists a very different interpretation of Sopressata. La Sopressata Tuscana is made up of the left over parts of the pig. First the head is boiled for a few hours. When it is done it is picked of meat and skin. All of the meat and skin, including the tongue, are chopped, seasoned, and then stuffed into a large casing. The cooking liquid is poured in to cover the mixture and it is then hung and the cooking liquid thickens to bind everything together. It is similar to the American/English head cheese and the German Presskopf(Austrian Presswurst).
In the southern Coal Regions of Pennsylvania, as well as in southern Rhode Island (Specifically Westerly, where immigrants from the Calabria region of southern Italy settled), Sopressata is also called "Supie", which is a slang derivative of the word, although in the northern PA Coal Regions is is pronounced Supersata or "super".
Examples of Homemade Soppressata
See also
External links
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