A mould-ripened pork salami, cold-smoked and aged for months under a coat of white noble mould. Márk Pick first made it in Szeged in the 1860s and the Herz works in Budapest followed; the mould coat is what gave it keeping quality.
It is a raw-meat cure over months where safety rests on measured nitrite, pH and water activity, and the noble mould has to be the right species — what grows on its own in a domestic cellar frequently is not.
What goes into it
- pork and pork fat from mangalica or similar pigs
- salt and curing salt
- white pepper and allspice
- beech smoke
- Penicillium nalgiovense on the casing
How it is made
Minced pork and fat are cured with salt and nitrite, stuffed into casings and cold-smoked over beech for a week or more. The sausages then hang in a cool cellar for two to three months, during which a white noble mould is encouraged to cover the casing entirely — it keeps oxygen and unwanted moulds off while the sausage dries slowly and evenly.
How long it takes: three to four months
How it is eaten
Sliced thin with bread, mustard and pickled peppers, or on a cold board at Christmas.
History
First made in the 1860s by Márk Pick in Szeged and by the Herz works in Budapest; the white noble mould coat gave it keeping quality.
Frequently asked questions
What is Winter salami?
Winter salami is a charcuterie & cured from Hungary: mould-ripened pork salami, cold-smoked and aged for months. First made in the 1860s by Márk Pick in Szeged and by the Herz works in Budapest; the white noble mould coat gave it keeping quality.
How is Winter salami made?
Minced pork and fat are cured with salt and nitrite, stuffed into casings and cold-smoked over beech for a week or more. The sausages then hang in a cool cellar for two to three months, during which a white noble mould is encouraged to cover the casing entirely — it keeps oxygen and unwanted moulds off while the sausage dries slowly and evenly. It takes three to four months.
Can I make Winter salami at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. It is a raw-meat cure over months where safety rests on measured nitrite, pH and water activity, and the noble mould has to be the right species — what grows on its own in a domestic cellar frequently is not.
What goes into Winter salami?
Pork and pork fat from mangalica or similar pigs, salt and curing salt, white pepper and allspice, beech smoke, penicillium nalgiovense on the casing.
How is Winter salami eaten?
Sliced thin with bread, mustard and pickled peppers, or on a cold board at Christmas.
