Salami souvenirs — Orr Wines

I grew up with San Francisco salami - a cured meat tradition which came with the Italian immigrants who settled in North Beach in the late 1800s. This style is a pork salami, quite garlic-y and seasoned with whole black peppercorns and red wine. Borderline too salty but sliced thin? So delicious. Back before we knew I had celiac disease, I ate a lot of sliced sourdough bread salami sandwiches for school lunch and then, as I got to be more fancy (a journey which I hope never ends) I ate baguettes sliced in half with a bunch of salami crammed inside. After I went gluten-free, I ditched the bread and now eat it plain or sometimes with Mary’sGoneCrackers.

Salami is among the many world-class food products impacted by San Francisco’s fog. It’s a fermented food, lactic acid bacteria “cure” the raw pork. During the fermentation, the bacteria increase the meat acidity which we perceive as a delicious tang and appealing red color. The water content of the salami decreases as the fermentation and aging occur. Spoilage and rancidity are prevented by quick and sanitary handling. The growth of white Penicillium mold that you can see on the outside of the casing is protective and a good thing. https://www.molinarisalame.com/co_process.php

Check this out if you want to nerd out even more about salami technology. https://nassaufoods.com/resources/dry-and-semi-dry-sausage-technology/

In 2005, I moved up here to Seattle and I was pleasantly surprised Met Market would slice Molinari by the pound and Trader Joe’s sells those the little Caccitore Salami Secci from Columbus keeping my San Francisco salami habit healthy. Gallo salami reminds me of hiking when I was a kid - my dad sliced off half inch thick discs of it with his swiss army knife in Yosemite. It tasted good because I was hungry … but salami is a zillion times better when it is sliced thin. Trust me on this.

Then in 2009, Olympic Provisions was born (now Olympia Provisions) in Portland, OR. I love their restaurants and the Saucisson sec is probably my favorite of their salami offerings. I will admit that their other flavored offerings can be too wild for my palate mainly because I think this San Francisco style is perfection..

In 2010 … I spent a week in Chianti with my now ex-husband. Before the trip, I asked winemaker and master of wine Bob Betz for advice about restaurants to visit in the area. Dan McCarthy from McCarthy and Schiering wine shop helped me coordinate my winery visits – I’ll never forget that magical afternoon at San Giusto a Rentennano when I didn’t know anything about anything and was like “hey these wines are pretty good” and then I found out they cost $150 a bottle. This actually happens to me a lot. Anyhow, Bob Betz said that he hopes his last meal on earth includes a salami sandwich from Macelleria Falorni in Greve in Chianti. Now that’s an endorsement. FYI Their salamis are excellent and the pork flavor is very delicious.

Then I think just a couple years ago? maybe in 2017? 2018? I was visiting my buddies in Santa Rosa, CA and I asked if I could bring anything to the little backyard get together party thing they were hosting and they told me about a new salami shop in Healdsburg called Journeyman. It’s terrible but my instinct is to assume that everything like this is gonna be too precious, OK come on a cutie pie charcuterie shop in downtown Healdsburg? But, I trusted my friend, so I went to the shop and sampled all of their available salami offerings. Repeatedly.

First of all, the salamis are sliced paper thin on that Berkel slicer that has the flywheel so that the fat doesn’t heat up and melt from an electric motor. One day I will have a red testarossa slicer like this, displayed in my house like a grand piano in a special corner of my living room. I will slice salami paper thin for my friends when they come over for happy hour. Manifesting this dream now, everybody. Get ready.

Second of all, the Journeyman salamis are seriously delicious. My favorites are the Parmesan and Porcini and the Finocchiona but everything they do is great. Big surprise it has a lot to do with how the animals are raised. Wow when the meat and fat are so flavorful and lovely, then you don’t need to put 10 tons of fennel seed in to get your point across. Yo I can take a hint, licorice! Subtly accented, elevated if you will by the light-handed addition of local spices and herbs, these salamis are world class.

So….. last week I was driving back from the Bay Area to Seattle and I decided on a whim to dogleg west from I-5 and take 101 north up to redwood country I realized OMG I’m going to pass by the salami shop in Healdsburg! I got there a tick before they opened and obviously there were no samples due to covid restrictions but I picked up two whole “chubs” (trust me it’s more embarrassing for me to write than it is for you to read here) which I shared with Rebecca and her family when I came home.

The Journeyman story is especially inspirational because it was started by winemaker Pete Seghesio whose family has been making wine in Sonoma County since 1895. He has been taking a sabbatical in Italy to work at salumerias every February/March which typically is a slow time at his winery. He trained under Dario Cecchini in Panzano (a butcher whose restaurant I visited on that trip to Chianti when I tasted San Giusto a Rentennano and Macelleria Falorni and whose episode of Chef’s Table I just watched with Rebecca and her family). I think a food science sabbatical is way cool and I hope to do something like this in some capacity in cheese or chocolate or tea or maybe even salami making in the future!