Non-VegetarianAlpine Italian cuisine Starters

Speckbrettl

Name: Speckbrettl
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Alpine Italian
Ingredients: 250 g south tyrolean speck pgi; 2 pieces kaminwurzen; 150 g stilfser or mature mountain cheese; 150 g schüttelbrot; 30 g fresh horseradish root; 80 g pickled gherkins; 50 g pickled pearl onions; 60 g unsalted alpine butter

Speckbrettl, known in Italian as tagliere di speck, is a traditional South Tyrolean cold board laden with cured Speck, smoked sausage, Alpine cheese, pickles, and crisp flatbread.

🇮🇹Italy· Trentino-Alto Adige

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 0 min
Total: 20 min
Servings: 4
Difficulty: Easy
Calories: 480 kcal

Ingredients

0 of 8 gathered

Servings

250 g south tyrolean speck pgi — cured, lightly smoked pork ham in a thick piece
2 pieces kaminwurzen — cold-smoked cured pork and beef sausages
150 g stilfser or mature mountain cheese — semi-hard Alpine cow's milk cheese
150 g schüttelbrot — hard, crisp rye flatbread spiced with caraway and aniseed
30 g fresh horseradish root — peeled for grating
80 g pickled gherkins — small, crisp cornichons or sour cucumbers
50 g pickled pearl onions — drained
60 g unsalted alpine butter — chilled block or quenelle

Equipment

•Large wooden serving board
•Sharp chef's knife
•Fine box grater
•Small condiment dishes

Nutrition

Per serving, approximate

Calories: 480 kcal
fat: 27 g
carbs: 28 g
fibre: 3 g
protein: 32 g
calories: 480 kcal

Instructions

1
Remove the Speck, sausage, and cheese from the refrigerator thirty minutes before serving to awaken their aromas.
2
Trim away the tough outer hard rind from the Speck piece using a sharp knife.
3
Cut half the Speck across the grain into thin matchsticks, keeping the white fat intact.
4
Slice the remaining Speck into paper-thin ribbons along the grain.
5
Slice the Kaminwurzen diagonally into bite-sized coins roughly half a centimetre thick.
6
Cut the mountain cheese into neat wedges or rustic bite-sized batons.
7
Break the hard Schüttelbrot into rough, jagged shards with your hands.
8
Arrange the cured meats, cheese, and broken flatbread in distinct clusters across a broad wooden board.
9
Place the pickled gherkins, pearl onions, and butter into small dishes on the board.
10
Finely grate the fresh horseradish over the sliced Speck immediately before bringing the board to the table.

Chef's tips

Never remove all the fat from the Speck; the white fat carries the delicate juniper smoke flavour. Bring the board to room temperature so the cured fats soften pleasantly on the palate.

Ingredient substitutions

Stilfser cheese → Fontina, Bergkäse, or an aged Gruyère
Kaminwurzen → Landjäger or any firm smoked dried sausage
Schüttelbrot → Vinschger Paarl rye bread or crisp Scandinavian rye crispbread

Storage

Wrap leftover meats and cheeses tightly in greaseproof paper and refrigerate for up to five days.

Reheating

Do not reheat; allow cured components to return gently to room temperature before eating.

Common mistakes to avoid

•Serving cured meats straight from the fridge, which dulls the spices and leaves the fat greasy.
•Slicing Speck entirely paper-thin; the matchstick cut provides an authentic rustic bite.
•Trimming away all the delicious white cured fat.

Serving suggestions

Serve alongside a glass of crisp Vernatsch (Schiava) or structured Lagrein red wine.Offer small pocket knives to guests in the traditional Alpine manner for custom carving.