'Nduja & Wine

Prolly most of you are not familiar w/ 'Nduja. It’s a spreadable salami from Calabria, often referred to as the “red Nutella”. In the Fall in Calabria, when they butcher the pigs, there’s a lot of left-over stuff…eyeballs, heart, brain, liver, kidney, stomach, testicles…all that sorta good stuff. At the end of the day, they grind it all up, hit it w/ a big dosage of hot Calabrian pepper, stuff it in the casing, and then cure it. Because it has little muscle tissue, it’s got a soft/spreadable consistency. And the Calabrian pepper covers up the flavors of the various body parts.
I’ve not had any of the real stuff, but I’ve had several US-made versions. LaQuercia, Boccolone for two. You can read about a comparison here:
NdujaComparison

Anyway, I’m a big fan of 'Njuda. In fact, I often make it myself. I buy a hot Calabrian salami ('fraMani or Creminelli), chop it up in chunks, toss it in the Cuisinart w/ some olive oil (to give it a spreadable texture like eyeballs), add some hot Pimenton or Calabrian red pepper, and let her rip, until I get the texture right. Delicious stuff, it is.

I recently read a short blurb in bonApetit about a new 'Nduja producer up in Chicago:

NdujaArtisans



So I ordered some, plus two other of their salamis. I tried their 'Nduja last night w/ one of my salami buddies down in SantaFe. We were both blown away by it. It had a smooth/velvety texture of FoieGras or ground eyeballs. It had a beautiful spicy flavor from the Calabrian peppers w/ a kinda prickly heat in the backtaste. But it wasn’t so hot that it takes your head off. Absolutely delicious it was. Best 'Nduja I ever done had. Blows the others away.

I served it w/ a WindGap TrousseauGris '11. But the Calabrian peppers were a bit to much for it. So I opened a slightly sweet frizzante Marzemino. Bingo…a perfect match it was.

Anyway…now you know about 'Nduja and the best one to buy.

Tom

West Loop Salumi here in Chicago also makes one. I haven’t had a chance to try it yet, but everything else West Loop makes is fantastic.

Thanks, Tom. I love Nduja too and saw that piece and have been meaning to try some. I’ve not really enjoyed the domestics versions so far.

My wife is already checking out the 'Nduja you linked to. Both visits to Paso Robles we ate at Artisan and had their burrata and 'nduja pizza. So good that my wife has been on a hunt for a good producer. Thanks for the link!

I ADORE the Mallorca version of this…sobrasada! Eat that stuff spread on toasted baguette for breakfast or dinner whenever I can get it! But ummmmmmmmm, was not aware of this part:

I’ll just pretend I didn’t read that.

Well…that may just be an UrbanLegend, Jorge. But it makes for a good story.

Our local SpanishTable carried the Sobrasada (DonaJuana) made out in SanPedro. Alas, they went out of business.

I’m pretty sure the FDA wouldn’t allow some of those body parts in the 'Nduja made in this country. In point of fact,
the Feds are way more rigorous in protecting US citizens from lethal pig parts than they are from wayward nuclear devices. Trust me on that one.
Tom

Thanks for the tip, Adrian. Just placed an order w/ them to try some.

Tom

Well, last time I was up there and shopping at Cured in Boulder, I suggested they try to line up some 'Njuda.
Tom

I love Nduja, and I am lucky enough to have a place a mile away from me that has two kinds for sale. They make their own house-made stuff and also they get the Salumeria Biellese nduja out of the northeast. Good stuff. After thanksgiving I was spreading it on crackers with cranberry sauce and would gobble that up like crazy.

Here is the Salumeria Biellese stuff I get.

http://www.salumeriabiellese.com/cured_pork.html#Nduja

k.

Let us know how it is! Their guanciale is to die for…

Tom, David Rosengarten is crazy about Nduja Sauce, Tutto Calabria from Russo Gourmet Foods Market. You can even save money by buying it as 12 item case. http://www.russofoodmarket.com/html/imported-italian-foods.html

The repeated references to

.eyeballs, heart, brain, liver, kidney, stomach, testicles

were scary.

But this is far scarier, as you do indeed know what you are talking about, Tom!

In point of fact,
the Feds are way more rigorous in protecting US citizens from lethal pig parts than they are from wayward nuclear devices.

All the best,
Josh

Why on God’s green earth would you take perfectly good salami, and very good salami at that, and make in into "Nudja? Surely this is the devils work.

Tom -

Thanks for posting about this - I’ve never heard of Nduja but I just ordered some to try out from Nduja Artisans! Definitely sounds like it would be right up my alley.

Adrian,
My WestLoop order came in several days ago, so I took some into share w/ my salami buddy in SantaFe.
Greg is, indeed, doing an amazing job w/ his salamis. Thanks for the tip.
I would say his salamis are a bit more rustic and authentic in character than Tony’s salamis. He appears to be using beef casings, rather than
artificial. They have a bit more of a gamey odor to them. Maybe a bit more fat added back. And a somewhat looser texture, not as firm
as Tony’s.
Of the two 'Ndujas, I preferred the 'NdujaArtisans. It had a deeper richness of flavor and the heat, though both about the same, is a bit more flavored
and doesn’t come out so immediate and bitey as the WestLoop. But I preferred the texture of Greg’s, smoother on the palate becauuse of more fat, I suspect.
Alas…I couldn’t pick up that ethereal flavor of ground eyeballs in either one!!
Greg’s SpanishChorizo was rather atypical. A bit more fat to it than most and a bit softer in texture. And not quite as spicy in flavor. Buut a really good salami
in a Spanish character.
We also had one (mis-)labeled Ciauscolo, which is not yet released I believe. From the ingredients on the label, it must have actually been the Barolo salami.
Again, a looser texture than most salamis. And a bit blander in flavor…but that was after the 'Nduja…so that may be the reason.

Anyway…I was mightly impressed by Greg’s stuff. Both 'NdujaArtisans (TonyFiasche) and WestLoop (GregLaketek) are making some
amazing salamis. Maybe not as good as Chad’s at Adesso, but better than any others I’ve tried, including the Batalis/SalumiCuredMeats, in Seattle.

WestLoop: http://www.westloopsalumi.com/
'NdujaArtisans: http://www.ndujaartisans.com/

Thanks again, Adrian, for steering me to WestLoop.

Tom

Curious as to why two of the three best salumi producers I’ve tried hail from Chicago??
I thought it was nothing but Irish & Poles up there.
Tom

Both of those are BIG sausage eaters no?

Would be interested but not a very functional web site. Could not search for anything.

I’ll try & do that, Larry. Wouldn’t exactly make the Pinots shine, but that’s OK.
Tom