Cecina
Meat
Top 10 pairings
Cecina is a smoked, salt-cured and air-dried beef from the province of León in north-western Spain, the meat equivalent of jamón made from cattle rather than pig. Deep garnet-red shading to near-black at the edges, dense and faintly smoky, it is sliced paper-thin and eaten raw as a charcuterie meat, often dressed with good olive oil.
Picking a good onedrag
Freshly cut: even garnet red, dry, clean smokeOff: grey-green meat, mould, slime or a sour smell
Sound pieceBuy itThe near-black rim and the faint oak smoke are the cure, not spoilage. If you are pregnant, over 65 or immunocompromised, heat it steaming or leave it.
Colour of the cut faceDark red, near-black only at the outer rim
Rind and cut surfaceDry all over, the rim dark and hard
Press the pieceFirm, giving a little, still dry to the touch
Smell at the cutSavoury and lightly smoky, nothing sour