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Ok, so I'm at the deli at HEB today and saw a hunk of meat called "prosciutto". It's on sale mind you for twenty something a pound. Jokingly in my mind I'm thinkin..."wow, what a deal!" The gal before me was getting samples of it and she kept exclaiming how good it was. I think she ate 10 bucks worth before it was my turn.
I asked a couple of other gals waiting in line if they knew what kind of meat it was. No one seemed to know. That made me feel better. So I tried a sample as I've never had it before...and I'm old. End result...what is the big deal? It's really, really chewy...I thought I'd choke before I masticated enough. I kept wanting to gag. I bought a few slices for the crew at home to see their reaction, (probably about two dollars worth...sliced see-through thin). It did kinda taste like cheese though...chewy cheese, that is.
I did ask the meat guy what it is and he said it's pork. I'm still not sure which part of the animal it is so I better google that. The label says Italy so I guess the pigs there must be awfully well taken care of at twenty something a pound. The best part of the whole deal is in the asking..."ah, excuse me...may I have a few slices of the prosciutto?" It's an opportunity to act like a snob. However, the experience isn't worth twenty something a pound...on sale.
Please tell me what is so special about it?
well $20 a lb is a bit on the high side: we get it for $12 to $15 lb and a Lb would last for a heck of a long time. It is not like sitting down to a meal of ham and beans, it is used very sparingly, more as a appetizer than anything. I do buy it once in a while, love it but not too much at once.
We think of it more as a seasoning I guess. Properly made it is intensely flavored and delicious, with the thinnest of those expensive slices adding great stuff to whatever it's with. Add it to manicotti filling, wrapped around stuff that needs a flavorful hit, slim strips as they are or crisped in just about anything that could use a salty flavorful contrast.
However, I visited Spain a few years ago, and there was no shortage of prosciutto at any restaurant I went to. That is some of the best tasting meat I've ever had..
When I came back to the States, I was never able to find anything like what I had in Spain..
I'm a prosciutto fan for life now, but b/c it's so salty and so rich (which is part of what makes it very delicious), I normally never buy it unless I'm making a special dish, or see something interesting on a restaurant's menu.
One of my favorite, favorite things as an antipasta is proscuitto wrapped around a very ripe slice of honey dew or cantelope melon.......ahhhhhh. I had it the first time in Rome and a local Italian restuarant here in town has it on their menu. I go there often, just for that. The sweet, salty favor is divine.
Wash that down with an aged sherry and you've got something.
if prosciutto was as cheap as ham or turkey i would never buy anything else. that said, i still buy proscuitto about once a week for my home. cheese, olives, some good bread and proscuitto is a day in heaven for me. also, $20/lb seems to be the cheap end of the spectrum.
if prosciutto was as cheap as ham or turkey i would never buy anything else. that said, i still buy proscuitto about once a week for my home. cheese, olives, some good bread and proscuitto is a day in heaven for me. also, $20/lb seems to be the cheap end of the spectrum.
I pay between $8-12/ lb for Daniella brand at the local Italian markets.
20 bucks a pound for something you're just going to cr@p out, LOL, I'll pass.
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