Meat requires patience.
You don’t want to hear this, overzealous grillmonger. But it’s true. Overcook it, you leach a meat’s lifeblood. Undercook it, you only serve up a warm, sinewy porridge.
So for meat that’s benefited from Zen-like diligence, hit up West Loop Salumi: hanging salted cuts in the West Loop and taking orders online now.
In the curing chamber: hunks of milk-fed Berkshire pork alongside twine-wrapped beef, all mellowing to funky perfection.
The three cuts you need, pronto:
Coppa
100% Berkshire pork seasoned and cured for 10 days, encased in natural hog and then dried and aged for 6 months. Intense and extremely flavorful mouthfeel.
Bresaola
A very lean, delicate, whole muscle beef-eye of round, air-dried with fresh thyme, rosemary, juniper berries, red wine and salt and pepper.
Tartufo
Felino salami aged with fresh Perigord and Alba Black Winter truffles shaven into each batch. Rich yet balanced.
Per owner Greg Laketek: “Pair it all with a Saison or sour beer. And serve with torta fritta, some really nice aged parmesan and some aged balsamic.”
See a pattern here? Aged. And patience.
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