I was right, the Lonzino is better. Never bet against pork.

Bresaola is a beautiful, deep red, razor thin slice of cured beef. The wealth of marbling on each cut makes the promise of superior flavor. Sadly, appearances can be deceiving. The Bresaola tasted like under-salted gas station jerky. The taste was subtle – really, really, really subtle.  All-in-all, I found the Bresaola to be both disappointing and a waste of perfectly good kobe beef. If I had my way, I would have Bresaola completely removed from the salume genre.

Recommendation for use:  wilderness survival training

Bresaola:  3 out of 10 stars

I should point out that when I was in Junior High, I often received a giant tub of Tear Jerkers as a reward for straight A’s.  For those that don’t know, Tear Jerkers are gum balls that have been aged in battery acid for 28 years.  It is possible that I no longer have any taste buds and that “subtle” foods such as the Bresaola elude my palette.

Straight from wikipedia:

Salumi (sing: salume) are Italian cured meat products and predominantly made from pork. The term also encompasses bresaola, which is made from beef, and also cooked products such as mortadella and prosciutto cotto.  Salami is a specific type of salume.

Lonzino is a salted and cured pork loin – the equivalent of a pork bresaola. Unlike the previous samplings, this salume is very lean and lacks any major fat deposits. It is both very salty and very dry. I get to try the bresaola tomorrow; it will be interesting to see who comes out on top – beef or pork (my money is on pork). Regardless, delicate flavor and an excellent snacking meat.

Lonzino:  6 out of 10 stars

My new hero provides step-by-step instructions on how to make Lonzino.

The Finochiona is a mild salami that utilizes fennel seed rather than peppercorn. The fennel was a great idea, but used too sparingly.  Also, I don’t see why it had to REPLACE the peppercorn. Why not both?  As is, it was a little bland for my tastes and probably needs to be eaten either in block form or at least as thick slices. Basically, it tasted like your average pre-packaged salami but with a hint of fennel. I was unimpressed – throw it on a sandwich and enjoy*.

Finochiona:  5 out of 10 stars

*Writer’s note:  Salami sandwiches are delicious. Even 5 out of 10 salami is delicious. Please don’t mistake my tone for disgust – all salami is GOOD salami.

The Tuscano Salami has an excellent texture, very much like a high end beef jerky. It lacks the grease of your standard over-the-counter cured meat and contains a respectable peppercorn-to-pork ratio. The taste is very good, although, parts of the outer halo yield a waxen flavor at times.

I would recommend this salami for appetizer purposes – served with a cantaloupe like prosciutto. It is probably too chewy for your average sandwich, although if sliced thin enough, I would happily slap a couple slices on.

I would give the Tuscano: 7 out of 10 stars