APULICA / MEATS AND CURED MEATS
Frentano salsicciotto
Slow Food Presidium · PAT · Meats and cured meats · Abruzzo
In brief
- A cured meat from the Sangro and Aventino valleys, between Lanciano, Casoli and Montenerodomo, already mentioned in Lanciano's statutes of 1592. (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Salsicciotto frentano)
- It is made from lean cuts with only salt and pepper; after a few days it is pressed under wooden boards into a squarish shape. (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Salsicciotto frentano)
- It ages for up to two or three months and is sometimes kept under lard or oil. (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Salsicciotto frentano)
- It is on Abruzzo's list of traditional products. (Masaf — Elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, XXVI revisione (2026))
History and origin
Salsicciotto frentano is a cured meat of ancient tradition from the Sangro and Aventino valleys, in the hill country that descends from the eastern slopes of the Maiella along the Sangro river, from Lanciano to Casoli and up to Montenerodomo.
Pork butchery here has a long, documented history. Salsicciotto already appears in 1592 in the «Antichi Capitoli della città di Lanciano», where it was common enough to need a fixed market price. In the eighteenth century the income ledger of the convent of Santa Chiara in Lanciano records it as payment for the lawyer who handled the nuns' disputes.
Lanciano, after all, between the Middle Ages and the early modern period, hosted some of the most important fairs of the Kingdom of Naples, attended by merchants from across Europe and the Mediterranean. Today salsicciotto is a Slow Food Presidium and is on Abruzzo's list of traditional products.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Salsicciotto frentano · Italia.it — Lanciano · Masaf — Elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, XXVI revisione (2026)
Area and method of production
Prized lean cuts are used: ham, shoulder, loin and capocollo, with a fat share never above 10-20 per cent. The meat is ground medium-coarse and cured only with salt and pepper, the sole spice, whole or cracked.
The mix is stuffed into natural casing and tied by hand at the ends with string, giving a salami about 25 centimetres long. After a few days' rest, around the fifth or sixth day, it is pressed under large wooden boards until it takes the shape of a small, irregular block: the step that makes it unique.
Ageing lasts up to two months, never more than three, and the salsicciotto is sometimes kept under lard or in oil. Like all traditionally made cured meats, it is produced in the cold season, from autumn to late spring. The Presidium's rules ban preservatives, other additives and GMOs in the pigs' feed.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Salsicciotto frentano
How to recognise it
It is instantly recognisable by its squared shape, a small irregular block left by pressing under wooden boards: its most obvious feature. Before pressing it is about 25 centimetres long, and the ends are tied by hand with string.
When sliced it shows a medium grain, in which the lean meat of the prime cuts clearly outweighs the fat, which stays within a fifth of the mix. Pepper, whole or cracked, is the only spice: the flavour therefore depends on the quality of the meat and on the short ageing, two months and never more than three.
Some salsicciotti are kept under lard or in oil, following an old custom. Together with extra virgin olive oil, a wide range of sweets and breads, and fine pecorino and caciotta cheeses, it remains one of the most interesting products of this part of Abruzzo's cooking.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Salsicciotto frentano
Where to taste it
The area is the upper and middle Sangro and Aventino valleys, in the province of Chieti: hills rising towards the Maiella, with Lanciano, Casoli and Montenerodomo as landmarks. Few butchers work meat from their own pigs, but production still relies on locally raised animals, and home production is common.
Salsicciotto can be found in local butchers' shops and agriturismi, where it comes both from the Presidium's artisans and from family tradition. The best time to look for it is from autumn to spring.
Lanciano, with its old centre spread over three hills and the historic quarters of Lancianovecchia, Borgo, Civitanova and Sacca, makes a good base: from here the Sangro and Aventino valleys climb towards the Maiella, where salsicciotto is made.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Salsicciotto frentano · Italia.it — Lanciano
Protection
- Slow Food Presidium — salsicciotto-frentano (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Salsicciotto frentano)
- Traditional agri-food product (PAT) — Abruzzo, n. 26, 26th revision (Masaf — Elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, XXVI revisione (2026))
When
- The sources consulted give no months.