Pustertal lean bacon

Smoked Pustertal Lean Speck from Metzgerei Steiner

Pustertal Lean Speck from Metzgerei Steiner is a speck made from pork loin, which is first cured with salt and spices and then air-dried for a long time. It can be sliced just as easily with a knife as with a machine.

Pustertal Lean Speck is a specialty of the Steiner butcher shop in Rasen-Antholz, cold-smoked over beech wood. It is shipped as a whole piece and weighs between approximately 400 and 500 grams, depending on how it is cut, as every piece of meat has grown a little differently.

Rose-red slices with the scent of beech smoke

The outside features a golden-brown crust containing the spices, while the inside is a uniform rose-red, interspersed with fine light veins.

On the board, the speck proves to be quite uncomplicated—firm as it is—as the knife glides through it in smooth strokes, and the slices can be made as thin as you like. On the palate, it is robust, meaty, and aromatic, with a gentle smokiness that brings to mind a fireplace in an adjoining room rather than a smokehouse.

Paper-thin for a "Marende" or as carpaccio

For a "Marende," the hearty South Tyrolean snack, place a few slices on a wooden board, accompanied by crispy Schüttelbrot (rye flatbread), a Kaminwurze sausage, and a few gherkins. Only slice as much as you will eat right away, as the meat stays juiciest when freshly cut. It’s the perfect way to save an evening when nobody really wanted to cook anymore.

Fan the slices out finely for a carpaccio, finished with a few drops of good olive oil, a handful of arugula, shaved mountain cheese, and freshly ground pepper. In summer, pair them with wedges of ripe honeydew melon. In autumn, add a tart apple from the Vinschgau valley and a piece of dark farmhouse bread.

The spicy crust and the hands behind it

The salt and spices used during the curing process adhere to the outside of the pork loin after smoking and long drying, forming a crust that gives each slice its dark, bold edge.

Florian Steiner and his family explicitly attribute the house's awards to the employees who cure, smoke, and age this speck.

A back-cut speck, awarded in Frankfurt

The Pustertal Lean Speck from Metzgerei Steiner received a gold medal at the 2016 international quality competition at the IFFA trade fair in Frankfurt, alongside the house's mountain ham and organic speck. The butcher shop lists these in its IFFA awards list.

In South Tyrol, traditional speck is cut from the leg, showing its typical red color with a white fat rim when sliced. Lean speck, on the other hand, comes from the pork loin, the long muscle strand along the back. Metzgerei Steiner produces it as a specialty of its own, alongside neck speck, belly speck, and mountain ham. To taste the difference, try laying a slice of speck from the center cut next to it.

The lean speck arrives vacuum-packed. If there is a little air in the package upon opening, it is still in perfect condition. Simply remove it, wrap it in a cotton or linen cloth, and store it in a cool, dry, and dark place. Over time, it will dry out slightly and become firmer without losing any flavor.