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The Alta Badia is an area of the Dolomites which sits in a concave of land surrounded on all sides by the high mountains. With its six small towns grouped into three comuni the area is a self contained unit for both winter and summer sports.Once made the sausages are left in a 'camino', a type of airing room, for a couple of weeks and matured with the help of smoke from burning wood.
Even today it remains a traditional family preparation, but it is widely offered in the restaurants and cantinas of the valleys. We picked up a kilo in Merano.
Our sources have told us that the best speck in the world comes from the 'Lo Sciliar' district of Alto Adige-Südtirol. They also add that the best speck from the best speck region in the world comes from Castelrotto - www.castelrotto.com
The reason it's so good is that the meat is smoked in the 'masi' of the mountain using only wood from the forests of the zone. It has a perfume of laurel leaves and coriander and 'melts in the mouth like a bigné' or cream puff.
