Processing

Prosciutto di San Daniele is created by the expert hands of a few master ham-makers who, with age-old knowledge and following strict rules, transform meat and salt into a masterpiece of taste and delicacy.
Each ham is the result of craft processing carried out according to a tradition that has been handed down over the centuries by families and through the generations.

Selection and
trimming

The fresh hind legs arrive at the prosciutto factories directly from the slaughterhouse. After the preliminary conformity check they are trimmed. In this step the provisional brand DOT is applied and they are stored for 24 hours at about 0 °C to firm up the meat.

Salting

After cooling, the hind legs are covered with sea salt and kept on the horizontal plane, at a temperature between 0° C and +3° C. As is customary, the thighs are left in salt for a number of days equal to their weight in kilograms.

Pressing

After the salting, the pork thighs are cleaned from the residual salt and undergo the pressing stage to give the meat an optimal texture for the aging. In this step the thigh takes the typical guitar shape.

Rest

The pork thighs rest until the fourth month in dedicated, temperature and moisture controlled rooms, carrying on the dehydration process started with the salting.

Washing

After the rest the thighs are washed with jets of water, thus firming up the meat. The thermal shock stimulates the maturation process.

Drying

The meat is then “revived” at medium temperatures for about one week.

Aging

The pork thighs are conveyed to the aging rooms in natural temperature and moisture conditions. The Product Specification requires that the aging takes place in San Daniele del Friuli and that it lasts until the thirteenth month since the beginning of the processing.

Smearing

On the part that is not covered by the rind the “sugna”, that is a mixture of pork fat and grain flour, is applied to keep that part of the pork thigh soft and protected. This process can be repeated twice during the aging.

Piercing

To assess the progress of maturation the piercing is carried out, inserting a horse-bone needle in some points of the thigh to evaluate the aromas and the flavours.

Branding

After thirteen months from the beginning of the processing the prosciutti meeting all the requirements of the Product Specification are certified by the inspection body by means of the Consortium’s fire marking.