Trust Your taste

The way deli meats are sliced significantly influences the pleasantness of the taste: there is no standard cut, but each type requires specific care. The cut must in fact respect the structure of the product: salami must be sliced transversally, while for larger sausages, such as hams, the slice must be cut parallel to the longest side. As for the tool to be used, purists would suggest cutting by hand, but this requires a good mastery of the knife. The slicing machine is a good and practical alternative, especially for larger deli meats or for those who prefer thin slices. Whichever method you choose, pay attention to the details: the knife used must be made of stainless steel to avoid the risk of oxidation (as a result of contact with the fats of deli meats) while for those who use the slicing machine (now widespread in many homes) the secret is to wait a few seconds between one slice and the next, to prevent the blade from heating up too much, altering the taste.

To understand whether it is better to slice thick or thin, a first simple division between ‘sweet’ and ‘salty’ deli meats is useful.

Deli meats such as cooked ham, sweet raw ham or mortadella should be cut into thin slices, which enhance the taste, ‘melting’ in the mouth. It is best to use a slicer. If cut with a knife, the knife should be serrated, the cut should be continuous, using the blade swinging from right to left, gently following the movement of the wrist without forcing or compressing. A final precaution concerns the removal of the outer rind from hams or speck, which is essential to prevent the fat coating from affecting the aroma of the slice. This should be removed just before slicing, with a sharp, smooth-bladed knife.

On the other hand, deli meats with a stronger, more savoury taste, such as most salamis, are enhanced by thicker slices: the rule is that they should balance themselves! Again, the knife should be serrated, but the cuts should be sharper and more vertical (from top to bottom). It is recommended to slice the salami with the ‘peel’, which protects it from being cut by the blade and consequently fraying. A peel that is easily removed from the slice is an indication of a quality product with the right maturity. An exception to this is salami Milano, which must be sliced finely.