Curing
Unlike prosciutto and other hams, speck is not made from the hind leg of the pig but from the shoulder. And unlike other prosciutti, speck is deboned before curing.
A leg of pork is deboned and divided into large sections called "baffe", and then cured in salt and one of various spice combinations, which may include garlic, bay leaves, juniper berries, nutmeg, and other spices, and then rested for a period of several weeks. After this, the smoking process begins.
Speck is cold-smoked slowly and intermittently for two or three hours a day for a period of roughly a week using woods such as beech at temperatures that never exceed 20°C (68°F).
The speck is then matured for five months.
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