Tiroler Speck

Tiroler Speck is a protected geographical indication and the method is specified: pork from defined cuts is dry-salted with a spice mix that usually includes juniper, garlic, pepper and bay, left to cure, then cold-smoked over beech or other hardwood at low temperature - never hot - and air-dried for weeks to months in the mountain air, which is the step the region's climate makes possible and which gives the drier, firmer texture that distinguishes it from Italian speck or German bacon. It is sliced thin and eaten cold on a Brettljause, the board of cured meats, cheese, horseradish, gherkins and dark bread served in huts and taverns, or cut into dice for dumplings and Gröstl. Farm and butcher versions vary a good deal in salt and smoke.

What you actually see

• A protected method - dry salting, cold smoking over beech and long air drying.
• Juniper in the cure - the spice mix that marks the Tyrolean style.
• The Brettljause - the board of speck, cheese, horseradish and dark bread.
• In dumplings and Gröstl - the diced use in the cooked dishes of the region.

When to go

All year; it is hut food, so summer and winter alike. A meal.

Honest expectations

Much sold as Tyrolean speck is industrial and made outside the region - look for the protected mark or buy from a farm. It is salty and fatty by design. Portions on a Jause are large.

Nearby

Every Tyrolean valley has its own butchers; huts on the walking routes serve it.