Speck -- what do you do with it?

[Phred]

Yes, usually the stuff found here looks rather like the image you
referred to above -- mostly fat with bugger all meat! However, I did
see one piece the other day which was probably 30 - 40% meat. If a
similar bit turns up I might try it instead of bacon with cabbage etc.

Why... didn't you like the fatty stuff? If it is good, it could very
well be better than anything you have ever tried in your life. But it

I confess I haven't actually tried the fatty stuff -- the look of it
put me off. (Why eat a lump of expensive fat? :)
But, based on your recommendation, I'll give it a go. :-)

does have to be good and some of the stuff isn't, of course. Some of

And that's a bit of a problem here in the sticks of the deep north of
the deep south -- I've only ever seen Speck (and Kassler come to that)
in one shop here. The brand is Gotzinger[1] (with the umlauted 'o').

Given this restriction it may be hard for me to compare. :-)

the German "fetter Speck", Italian "lardo" (especially lardo di Arnad
or lardo di Colonnato), Ukrainian/Russian "salo", and Hungarian
"szalonna" (particularly if flavoured with paprika... Pick makes a good
version) can be out-of-this-world-good.

That would agree with the comment earlier this evening from "Giusi"
in Message-ID: <***@mid.individual.net> where he referred
to the Italian Lardo (unsmoked) eaten on grilled (toasted?) bread.

[1] I'm cross-posting this to aus.food in the hope someone in that
group down in one of the big smokes may know of other brands and be
able to offer a comparison of Gotzinger versus others available in Oz.

Cheers, Phred.

[Andrew McKenna]

Post by Phred
[1] I'm cross-posting this to aus.food in the hope someone in that
group down in one of the big smokes may know of other brands and be
able to offer a comparison of Gotzinger versus others available in Oz.
Cheers, Phred.

North of the Italian border 'speck' means either rendered pork fat
(lard), with the cheapest obtained from the belly and the most expensive
from the back, or smoked and cooked pork belly. Gotzinger Speck is the
latter (Gotzinger is an Australian smallgoods company).

South of the Italian border is the province of Alto Aldige, which
includes the German-speaking province of Sudtyrol, where they make
'speck' from the hind leg of the pig, salted, smoked and cured in
spices. You won't find this sort of 'speck' in the supermarket, but you
might in a deli that imports. Read more about it here:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,23214720-5002031,00.html?from=public_rss