When talking about Tuscan cured meats, the mind naturally goes to the great classics: finocchiona, prosciutto crudo, Tuscan salami. All cured meats, stars of the cutting board and of the best-known tradition.
Less often told - but just as deeply rooted - is the tradition of cooked cured meats. Cured meats that, instead of being aged, are cooked in water, in melted lard or using other techniques, often starting from parts of the animal that aged charcuterie does not use: the head, the tongue, the belly treated with heat. These are cured meats with a peasant history of pure reuse and of giving value to what was available, and today they find their place again on the tables of those seeking the authentic flavors of tradition.
Let’s look at three Tuscan cooked cured meats worth knowing: pancetta cooked in lard from the Montagna Pistoiese, soprassata**** and Tuscan mortadella.
It is a cured meat born in the mountains that divide Tuscany from Emilia-Romagna, particularly in the Montagna Pistoiese area: a region that has always had a strong and inventive tradition of preserving pork, shaped by long winters and the peasant economy.
How it is made
The belly of the pig, cut and squared off, is flavored with a chopped mixture of fresh garlic and rosemary. Then comes the part that gives the cured meat its name: cooking in melted lard. The pig’s lard, melted in a container, becomes the cooking medium in which the pancetta is immersed and slowly cooked for about three hours. It is not boiling in water, nor oven cooking: it is a special technique that allows the lard fat to penetrate the cut, enrich it with flavor, and protect it from drying out.
Unlike classic aged pancetta, then, this one has no further aging stage: after cooking it is ready to eat. The production process is shorter, but also more delicate - cooking in lard requires constant attention to temperature, which must never exceed the proper limits so as not to alter the flavor.
The taste
The result is a cured meat with a very soft, almost creamy texture, and an intense aroma of garlic and rosemary - the two traditional herbs that blend perfectly with the fat from the belly and the cooking lard. The flavor is full and decisive, but without the aggressive saltiness of aged cured meats: here the richness of the fat slowly processed takes center stage.
How it is eaten
Pancetta cooked in lard is eaten cold, sliced thin, or lightly warmed in a pan or oven - gentle heat releases its aroma even better. It is excellent as a rustic appetizer, on Tuscan cured meat platters (where it adds a soft fatty element missing from aged cured meats), or served with freshly toasted Tuscan bread.
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Soprassata is one of those cured meats that divide Italy by region. There are soprassata products everywhere - Tuscan, Calabrian, Piedmontese - but they are completely different products. The Tuscan version has its own precise identity that is worth knowing.
How it is made
Tuscan soprassata is a cooked cured meat made mainly from pig’s head and tongue - parts of the animal that in peasant tradition were not wasted but enhanced through specific processing. The meat is slowly cooked in water for about three hours, together with the aromatics that define the Tuscan version: garlic, parsley, lemon zest. Some recipes add cloves and other spices.
After cooking, the meat is chopped (medium-coarse grind), seasoned with salt and pepper, and stuffed into a cloth casing - traditionally sewn by hand. The cured meat is then left to rest so it can compact and take its final shape.
The taste
The taste of Tuscan soprassata is especially rich: the citrus note of lemon zest adds unexpected freshness, the parsley contributes an herbal note, and the garlic adds depth. The result is a cured meat that tastes like cooked meat, yes, but transformed by a mix of aromas that makes it less predictable than simple cooked meat.
The texture is compact but not hard, with visible pieces of meat in the mix - it is not a pâté or a finely minced cured meat, but neither is it a coarse chop. It is a middle ground that lets you recognize the different textures of the parts used.
How it is eaten
It is always eaten cold, sliced not too thinly (2-3 millimeters is ideal), otherwise it crumbles. It is perfect for Tuscan appetizers, rustic platters, seasonal salads, homemade sandwiches. A classic pairing is with boiled beans dressed with extra virgin olive oil, red onion and soprassata cut into cubes - a humble peasant dish that today finds its place on the menus of traditional restaurants.
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Mortadella is probably the most imitated Italian cured meat abroad and the most misunderstood: when people abroad talk about "mortadella", they think of the Bologna version - finely homogenized meat, pistachios in evidence, uniform pink color. But Tuscany has its own mortadella, with a completely different identity that is worth telling about.
How it is made
Tuscan mortadella is a cooked cured meat made from pork (shoulder and belly) ground to a medium texture, with clearly visible cubes of fat. The seasoning follows local tradition: granular garlic, white pepper powder and peppercorns distributed throughout the mixture. Cooking takes place slowly in water, for about four hours, unhurriedly - the long time allows the aromas to penetrate evenly and the meat to reach the right texture.
Compared with Bologna mortadella, the Tuscan version does not include pistachios or the fine grinding that completely smooths out the mixture. The structure remains visible when sliced: the white cubes of fat and the dark peppercorns can clearly be seen, elements that give the slice both flavor and visual recognizability.
The taste
The taste of Tuscan mortadella is aromatic but balanced: the pepper stands out with a warm, direct note, while the granular garlic adds depth without aggressiveness. It is not a cured meat dominated by a single strong flavor, but a whole that comes together on the palate, where the soft fat of the cubes and the saltiness of the cooked meat find balance in the blend of aromas.
The texture is soft but not as uniform as in the Bologna version: there is structure, you can feel the slice under your teeth, and the fat cubes melt in the mouth distinctly from the lean meat around them.
How it is eaten
Tuscan mortadella is always eaten cold, sliced. The slices can be thin for platters and appetizers, or thicker - even half a centimeter - for rustic sandwiches, where the visible fat cubes add character to each bite. It pairs well with freshly cut Tuscan bread, with fresh cheeses such as stracchino or ricotta, and with vegetables preserved in oil.
In Tuscan cooking, mortadella also appears in more elaborate preparations: fillings for savory pies, stuffed vegetables, composed salads. Unlike pancetta cooked in lard, which can be warmed to enhance its aroma, mortadella is at its best at room temperature - heat would flatten its aromatic complexity.
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These three cured meats have a common thread that goes beyond cooking technique: they are all products born from the peasant culture of non-waste. The pig’s head and tongue (soprassata), the belly processed with special techniques (pancetta cooked in lard), the noble and less noble parts of the meat mixed together and transformed by long cooking (mortadella) - all are practical answers to a world in which every part of the animal had to be valued, and every preservation method had to work with the means available.
In high-quality aged charcuterie (prosciutto crudo, finocchiona, Tuscan salami) we find the "noble" side of the tradition. In cooked cured meats we find the everyday, popular side, which for centuries fed Tuscan families. Today these are recipes that only a few producers carry on, often tied to specific territories (such as the Montagna Pistoiese for pancetta cooked in lard). Rediscovering them means bringing a less-told part of Italian tradition to the table.
Compared with aged cured meats, cooked ones have slightly different uses that are worth knowing in order to make the most of them:
On the platter
On a platter made only of aged cured meats, a cooked cured meat brings variety in texture and flavor. Pancetta cooked in lard, in particular, works as a soft, fatty counterpoint to drier cured meats. Soprassata offers an aromatic profile unlike the rest thanks to the lemon zest. Small amounts - a few slices per person - are enough to enrich a platter that would otherwise be monotonous.
As an ingredient in the kitchen
Tuscan mortadella enters the kitchen as an ingredient for cold or lukewarm preparations: finely chopped to fill savory pies or vegetable stuffings, cut into cubes in seasonal salads, in thin layers on rustic Tuscan sandwiches. Pancetta cooked in lard can be lightly warmed in the oven to enhance its aroma. Soprassata, being cooked, does not require further cooking but can be added in cubes to warm salads or legume dishes.
Which bread to serve it with
Unsalted Tuscan bread is always the best choice to accompany Tuscan cured meats, including the cooked ones. For pancetta cooked in lard, also consider warm toasted crostini: the heat from the bread begins to gently melt the cured meat, with remarkable results. For soprassata, a rustic homemade bread with a substantial crust is the ideal accompaniment.
What is the difference between pancetta cooked in lard and classic aged pancetta?
They are two different products. Classic aged pancetta is only salted and left to age for months - it is not cooked. Pancetta cooked in lard is seasoned and then slowly cooked in melted fat, without an aging stage. The final result is very different: the aged one is drier and saltier, while the one cooked in lard is soft and aromatic.
Is Tuscan soprassata similar to Calabrian soprassata?
No, they are two completely different products that share only the name. Calabrian soprassata is an aged, spicy cured meat made with lean meat cut by hand. The Tuscan one is a cooked cured meat, flavored with lemon and parsley, made mainly from head and tongue. When choosing at the deli counter, it is always worth specifying which of the two you are looking for.
Is Tuscan mortadella the same as Bologna mortadella?
No, they are two products with the same name but different recipes and characteristics. Bologna mortadella has finely homogenized meat, added pistachios, a uniform pink color and a smooth texture. Tuscan mortadella has a coarser grind with clearly visible fat cubes, contains no pistachios, and has a stronger seasoning with pepper and garlic. When sliced, the differences are clearly visible: the Bologna version is homogeneous, while the Tuscan one has a recognizable structure slice by slice.
How are these cured meats stored once opened?
Like all cooked cured meats, they should be kept in the refrigerator. Once the vacuum pack is opened, wrap them in kitchen paper or place them in an airtight container and consume them within a few days. Compared with aged cured meats, cooked ones are more delicate and should not be left at room temperature for long periods.
At our facility in Poggio a Caiano, Tuscany, we produce pancetta cooked in lard according to the Montagna Pistoiese recipe, soprassata according to Tuscan tradition with lemon zest, and Tuscan mortadella with visible fat cubes seasoned with granular garlic, white pepper and peppercorns. All products are made with 100% Italian pork and handcrafted processing. In the carousel below you will find our full range of cooked cured meats.
