Separating prosciutto

I have some ultrathin prosciutto. Is there some technique for separating the pieces without tearing them into little shreds? Yes, I tried sliding a knife between the pieces.

Larry, Hi....

You have posed a question more difficult to answer than that of defining "the meaning of life".

My own only solution, when purchasing proscuitto if sliced has been to have the butcher insert a single piece of plastic between each slice.

Best
Rogov

Larry, Hi....

You have posed a question more difficult to answer than that of defining "the meaning of life".

My own only solution, when purchasing proscuitto if sliced has been to have the butcher insert a single piece of plastic between each slice.

Best
Rogov

Indeed, that or greaseproof paper.

Here's a couple of ways I do it.
Assuming the prosciutto has been refrigerated, zap it in the microwave for 8-10 seconds, then separate the slices. It's not perfect but it's easier.
Second, stick the prosciutto in the freezer for about a half hour, it'll be a lot easier to peel off slices.

Save yourself the trouble and buy the type separated by paper. I had some sliced once and the cutter inserted the paper for me.

I agree with the others that it's much easier if you get it sliced with paper in between. But it sounds like you've already purchased some that isn't, so I'd go with Shel's ideas. I've never tried either one but they seem as though they ought to work.

Thanks for the tips. I didn't have a chance to contact the butcher in Germany before I purchased the package at Trader Joe's.

Aldo Coffee Company, an excellent restaurant in Mt. Lebanon, PA, has a neat riff on proper slicing; probably Joe didn't read it before packaging his ham.

We use Prosciutto di Parma in our Antipasto Aldo and in our Monday and Thursday panini specials. We usually buy some every five or six days.

We hand-carve our turkey and Angus beef and all our deli meats, in part because we think the texture of our panini is better with a thicker slice. And the hand-carving fits in with our "rustic" country Italian atmosphere. It makes a different sandwich and our customers like it.

But it would be foolhardy for us to try hand-carving prosciutto. The flavor and texture of good prosciutto is enhanced in part through the art of slicing, which is a separate skill from most other meat cutting. We don't have a meat cutter due to space constraints in the kitchen. And it would be silly to spend $800 on one just to slice prosciutto. So we buy ours pre-sliced every few days.

When we can combine our prosciutto shopping with other errands in the Strip, we will make a stop at the PennMac deli counter. They understand the importance of the slicing. After some quick trimming to remove unnecessary fat, their butchers get down to the serious art of perfecting the prosciutto slice.

Each slice is cut thin enough to be almost translucent. Slices are lain side by side, barely overlapping, on deli paper. Once one sheet is covered with a single layer of ham, another sheet is lain on top and the process repeats until the desired weight of the order is achieved.

The overlapping and thinness are vitally important. The thinness is what gives a good prosciutto its texture, which is silky and unlike any other deli meat. The overlapping is what makes it possible to work with in the kitchen.

As the meat is sliced so thin, the individual slices are exceptionally delicate. When there is too much overlap, the slices will stick together and become difficult to separate without tearing. When you work with prosciutto every day, you really learn to appreciate the art of slicing and packaging so that the individual slices maintain their integrity.

Unfortunately, we don't always get to the Strip when PennMac is open. So we've had to figure out where to buy closer to home. We have found two viable options: The Uncommon Market and McGinness.

Of the two, the Uncommon Market is the more consistent. This is probably because the same two meatcutters have been on duty every morning we've shopped there. The slices are almost as thin as PennMac, although they tend to do a bit more overlapping - although you can tell them to make sure the slices barely touch one another.

At McGinness, it's more luck of the draw. It seems everyone there has a hand in the meatcutting operation. And the results show it. We've had some great examples of slicing and some less than great. Our general advice would be to never have your prosciutto cut by anyone with blond hair.

One last note, if you're in the Strip and PennMac is closed (which means all the other delis are closed), resist the temptation to try Wholey's. We did once back in April. While Wholey's had Prosciutto di Parma, they don't know how to slice it. Our order was sliced thick and piled high on a single sheet of deli paper. It was impossible to work with. In fact, Dr. Good next door actually suggested that we were using an inferior brand because it "didn't look like di Parma" and "felt different". It wasn't the ham, it was the slicing. That's how important it is to get it right.

And that's probably more than you'll ever need to ever know about prosciutto.

http://www.aldocoffee.com/2005/09/the_slice_is_ri.html

I do know that cursing doesn't help.

But it helps to relieve $@&#$! stress.