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Salumi, Culatello, and the Generous Batali Family

When The New York Times published their May 17th article extolling the glories of Armandino Batali’s Culatello – and calling Armandino “the prince of pork” – Salumi Artisan Meats in Seattle was overwhelmed with requests for these amazing little cured hams.

Culatello is a traditional cured ham from Italy’s Parma region. Sometimes called the heart of the prosciutto, culatello uses the thigh muscle of the pig’s rear leg. There is no bone and more than a little skill is needed to extract this meat from the leg. The muscle cures for a year in a natural casing and comes out in a classic pear shape.

As the Times says, Salumi’s culatello are “sweeter, mellower and more delicate in flavor than prosciutto, with an astoundingly smooth and creamy texture.” When I spoke with Gina Batali (Armandino’s daughter) about getting some more (we had it in the spring), she told me that they had just a few ready to go and only Armandino could decide who would get them. I asked again in a couple of weeks and Gina told me we were ‘getting close.’ In a couple weeks more we were closer still. And finally…. It’s here!

Salumi Artisan Meats is tiny little place in Seattle. The entire restaurant is about the size of a postage stamp – there’s enough room to line up along the wall to order your food, but once you’ve got it the challenge begins. If you’re very lucky you can grab one of the 14 or so seats, otherwise you have to go ‘pardon me, pardon me, pardon me’ back through the line to get outside. And the facility for making all their wonderful salumi is only slightly larger – though they are adding some extra space so they have more room for the meats to hang and cure.

Last week, Tim and I paid a quick visit to Salumi. Gina greeted us with a big hug and we qued up to order a lunch including a cheese plate, zucchini scramble (sautéed zuke with potatoes and herbs), and an oxtail sandwich and a glass of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo for Tim. As we sat down Armandino came over to visit.

Almost exactly a year earlier, we met with Armandino and expressed our interest in carrying his products at our store. At that time we described the shop we wanted to open, our product mix, and ideas. Armandino was very encouraging, inspiring, and generous. He poured us a glass of wine and enthusiastically answered our questions about shelf-life, storage, recipes, and slicing.

This time, Armandino sat down with a “How’s the shop going?” We filled him in on the shop, our charcuterie program, and gave him a run down our sandwiches (he especially liked the sound of our Mole Salumi Sandwich with tomato and red chili jam and Mahon). Tim and I were both struck by his genuine interest in our shop's progress.

After all his success you still see Armandino working the shop, clearing dishes, greeting customers, bringing meat from the curing room in back out to the counter. This is a busy place, but Armandino spends as much time as he can in the front of the store. Salumi is becoming legendary, but this is still very much a small business—with an Italian tradition of cooking, family, and hospitality at its heart.

Naturally, Armandino left us with a recipe for our long-awaited Culatello. Gnocco Frito is Parma’s classic antipasti featuring Culatello. Small rounds of light dough are deep fried and topped with very thin slices of culatello. The heat from the gnocchi almost melts the meat. Buon appetito!

Gnocco Frito with Culatello
(makes 15 pieces)

2 T. dry yeast
¼ C. warm water
1 C. flour
Pinch of salt
2 T. butter (softened)
1 T. mineral water (sparkling)

In a large bowl, combine the yeast and warm water and leave it a few minutes before mixing in the flour, salt, butter, and mineral water. Cover with a damp towel and let the dough rest one hour in a warm place.

Heat several inches of oil to 375º in a deep pan. Meanwhile, roll out the dough, cut it into golf-ball sized pieces, and fry a few pieces at a time until puffed and golden brown. Drain on paper towels, cover with thin triangles of Salumi Culatello and serve at once with a nice fruity Italian red (ideally Lambrusco di Sorbara).