A traditional affettato includes five or six kinds of assorted cured meats, or salumi, Italian for what the French call charcuterie. This includes salame (known as salami to Americans) itself, which is simply firm, dry-aged sausage, usually made of pork and pork fat, though sometimes of beef or a mixture of beef and pork. (In Italy, there are also versions made from the meat of wild boar, horse, or even donkey!) The texture of the ground meat may vary from very fine to coarse; flavorings always include salt and black pepper and usually garlic, while some versions also have cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, or other spices or herbs. So-called Genoa salami, common in American delicatessens, is medium-fine in texture. Another type of salame is sopressata, which is dry-aged sausage made of meat and fat from pigsΓÇÖ heads, compressed and tied into square lengths. Pepperoni, a small, firm, spicy salami well known to American pizza lovers, is unknown in Italy (where pepperoni are sweet bell peppers), but it may be added to affettato if desired. No Italian-made sausages can be imported into the United States at this time, but there are good versions of these meats made in this country and CanadaΓÇöas well as some Hungarian salami, which can be more than acceptable. Mortadella, which is cooked (rather than dry-aged) sausage, is a puree of pork stuffed into a natural casing. In Bologna, where it is made, it is studded with cracked peppercorns and cubes of creamy fat. Soft in texture and subtle in flavor, some domestic varieties are very good and feature pistachios.
Salumi also include the superb prosciutto di Parma, one of the rare meat products that can be imported from Italy and an essential element in any top-notch affettato. Good-quality cooked ham, coppa (a fat-marbled, compressed round of pork neck meat), speck (slow-smoked, spice-cured boneless hogΓÇÖs leg), and bresaola (boneless air-dried beef) are also found on an affettato platter.
To serve an affettato, arrange the thinly sliced meats attractively on a large platter, rolling some, folding some into loose triangles, and leaving others flat. (In general, salamis are cut on the diagonal, and those that are narrow in diameter should be sliced slightly thicker than those that are wide.) Figure about 4 ounces of meat per person for a generous serving. Accompany the platter with slices of good Italian-style bread and little curls of butter.
