EU Quality Products
In older times in the villages of Pitsilia, aged and wine matured meats were usually made just before or after Christmas, from domestic pigs in a ritualistic and festive atmosphere with the participation of the whole community. The process of aging meat with salt and local wine is a dietary habit of many farming families in Pitsilia, as in many parts of Cyprus, with roots that date back centuries. This practice ensured adequate home supplies of aged meats for a year. The pig was raised with extra care in the courtyard of the house eating bran and barley as well as acorns, which were abundant in Pitsilia. The pig's diet and good living conditions ensured the delicate and highly nutritious meat. The local wine from the mountainous vineyards of the indigenous Mavro variety blended occasionally with the indigenous Maratheftiko variety, proved to be a unique raw material in which to ripen the meat.
Hiromeri Pitsilias PGI
It is considered the most luxurious salted pork preparation in Cyprus. It owes its rich taste both to the wine and the prolonged ripening that reaches up to five months. It has a dark colour, a strong aroma of wine and smoke, a salty taste and a solid cohesive texture.
Ingredients: Fresh pork loin, red dry wine from vineyards of the local Mavro variety in which there may also be plants of the Maratheftiko variety, coarse sea salt, crushed coriander (optional).
Preparation: After the legs (thighs) are thoroughly cleaned of unnecessary fat and nerves, they are sprinkled with salt and left in a cool place for 5-7 days. Occasionally the sides are turned and sprinkled again with salt. They are then covered with red dry Pitsilia wine according to the PGI specifications.
Optionally, crushed coriander can be added. The leg portions are aged in the wine, at low temperatures of 0 to 4 °C for at least two weeks. Next, they are placed in a smoking room (a closed room with a chimney) where a wood fire is lit every day. There, they remain for a period of at least 1 month, during which they are periodically compressed in specially made presses. The smoking is gentle, gradual and cool (up to 38°C), and by the end of this period the outer surface of the portion has acquired a dark brown red to black colour.
At the end of this period, the portion can optionally remain in a ripening room (shaded ventilated room temperature - between 20 and 28 °C) until its humidity reaches the desired levels. It can be smoked alone or a combination of smoking and maturation, but in both cases this period must last no less than 2.5 months.
Loukaniko Pitsilias PGI
Ingredients: Fresh minced pork, pork casing, wine, salt, crushed coriander ground cumin and ground black pepper.
Preparation: Loukaniko Pitsilia PGI is made from fresh pork. The meat is cut and ground and then salted, seasoned with spices and mixed with local red wine. The pork casings are filled with the meat mixture. This is followed by tying the casings at intervals forming a chain arrangement (rope) and then hanging them in the smoking room where they remain for 2 to 5 days by a fire lit daily with natural wood.
The way the meat is ground, the ratio of meat to fat, spices, the right salting, aging in wine and smoking are of prime importance for the final taste of the product and are part of the know-how of the local producers of Pitsilia that has been passed down from generation to generation.
At the end of the smoking period, Loukanika Pitsilia PGI can optionally remain in a ripening room until its moisture reaches the desired levels, which is determined by the experience of the producers.
Lountza Pitsilias PGI
It is distinguished by its refined and slightly salty taste as well as the aromas of red wine, smoking and coriander.
Ingredients: Fresh pork fillet, red dry wine from vineyards of the local Mavro variety which may also contain plants of the Maratheftiko variety, coarse sea salt, crushed coriander and optionally ground cumin and/or ground black pepper.
Preparation: The pork fillet (used whole) is cleaned of excess fat and any inappropriate parts. It is sprinkled with salt on the outside, placed in special containers and kept at a temperature of 0 - 4 °C for at least 24 hours. If necessary, it can be sprinkled with salt and/or turned. It is then covered with red wine and left at a temperature of 0 - 4 °C for at least 7-10 days. Spices can be added to the fillet, either during salting, when placing it in wine, or after aging in wine. Next, it is placed in a smokehouse where a fire is lit daily using natural wood.
It remains in the smokehouse for 1 to 2 weeks. At the end of this period, the fillet can optionally remain in a ripening room (shaded ventilated room temperature - between 20 and 28 °C) until its moisture reaches the desired levels.