Salchichón de Vic PGI

Tasting notes

Mild, pleasant aroma, a delicate flavor and texture, with hints of pepper and a lingering aftertaste.

Other notes

Cylindrical and more or less regular in shape, its external whitish color is due to the flora unique to this sausage. When sliced the interior is reddish, with visible dots of fat and whole black peppercorns.

The composition of the end product must meet the following specifications:

Fat: maximum 48%
Protein: minimum 38%
Collagen-protein ratio: 0.12

Humidity: maximum 40%
Sugars: maximum 3%

Production / Processing method

Prepared with minced pork, to which cubed fat, salt and black pepper are added. The meat can be ham (the hind extremities of the pig), shoulder (the fore extremities), or lean of the highest quality.

Once the ingredients have been mixed together, the resulting mixture is macerated for 48 hours in a refrigerated room, at a temperature of between two and five degrees centigrade (35.6 to 41º F).

Subsequently the meat mixture is stuffed into natural casings, with the curing period (normally lasting for a minimum of 45 days) depending on the type of gut used.

There is a huge range of natural gut, which determines the caliber, weight and length of the sausage. The minimums and maximums for these variables are:

During the maturation period, the water content of the sausage decreases, due to the natural dehydration process. In order for the sausage’s typical flavor and perfect aroma to be produced, it is crucial that the molds and yeasts in the interior of the product have time to develop. The slow, constant development of the unique Plana de Vic flora gives the product its unmistakable flavor.

Geography / Relief and climate

The Plana de Vic is a broad channel between the Pyrenees and the coastal depression, some 600 km2 (310 square miles), with an altitude that varies between 400 and 600 m (1,312 and 1,968 ft) above sea level.

The region is flanked to the side by the Montseny and Collsuspina ranges, generating mild but not constant cold air currents which, in contrast with the humid air of the Mediterranean and the numerous days of fog, generate exceptional climatic conditions which give the product its organoleptic characteristics.

The combination of a continental Mediterranean climate with a rather isolated geographical location (due to the Guillerias, Collsacabra and Lluçanés ranges), produce a stagnation of the air in this area, under anti-cyclonic circumstances. This phenomenon, along with certain relative atmospheric humidity due to the River Ter and the altitude of the Plana de Vic, generates highly unique atmospheric conditions.

All these factors favor the development of a fungal flora typical to the area, and ensure that the maturing processes give these sausages their own unique characteristics and bouquet, specific to this area.

Regulatory Council

Consejo Regulador de la IGP Salchichón de Vic
Ronda de Sant Pere, 19-21, 5º 6ª
08010 Barcelona
Cataluña
Tel: (+34) 932 682 631
info@llonganissadevic.cat
www.salchichonvic.com

Sources:

 
- Spanish Ministry of Agriculture

- Regulatory Council, Salchichón de Vic PGI