Salume Beddu

Salume Beddu

 

 

Salume Beddu, St. Louis
The blackboard and counter, Salume Beddu

My taste buds love surprises, and what a surprise they have in Salume Beddu, a small artisanal company in St. Louis dedicated to the craft of creating Italian and European-style cured meats, sausages and Italian foods uncommon in America.

Before we have even walked into the store in a nondescript St. Louis strip mall, the aroma of spices, herbs, citrus, and sausage have us salivating. It feels as if we have been transported to a small town in Tuscany, Abruzzo or Calabria.

Salume Beddu, St. Louis, MO
Stacks of Salamis, Salume Beddu

Inside, piles of dry salamis are stacked near a refrigerated showcase next to the counter. Nearby, a tiny seating area with a long table and a few chairs fill the space beneath walls covered with framed articles and awards. A chalkboard near the door lists the daily specials that are available in addition to the many sandwich choices on the regular menu, all featuring the salamis and other cured meats produced in the store. Salume Beddu is a favorite spot for lunch and fills up quickly.

Until a few weeks ago, the meats were produced in a tiny space in the store. Now, a new 8,000-square foot space a few miles north in Olivette, means that production will be increased six times over.

The most popular cured salami sold at Salume Beddu is the Veneto, a lean Venetian-style salami flavored with a secret blend of ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and black pepper. Others include the Finocchiona is a Tuscan-style salami flavored with fennel seeds, citrus zest, black pepper and garlic, and the spicy Calabrese salame from southern Italy flavored with chili, coriander, and red wine. There are many other types to choose from as well as fresh sausages and seasonal specialties.

Only a few spots in the eating area, Salume Beddu
The tiny dining area, Salume Beddu

At the end of the year, Italians who live in St. Louis line up outside the door to pick up their Cotechino – a boiled, fresh pork sausage that includes pig skin ground with the meat, fat and numerous spices. The Cotechino, served with lentils, is the traditional Italian New Year’s Eve dinner and, according to legend, will bring good luck to those who eat it. (Salume Beddu is one of the few places in America where you can find fresh Cotechino).

Our favorite is Culatello (considered by many to be the finest type of Italian prosciutto ever), so delicate that its velvety texture melts in your mouth. In our house, a pound of Culatello from Salume Beddu rarely makes it to the dinner table. It disappears in a matter of seconds, eaten straight out of the packaging.

Salume Beddu is the brainchild of St. Louis native Mark Sanfilippo. It is no secret that Missouri produces some of the best pork in the country, and Mark uses the best of the best – Heritage pork – not usually produced by mainstream breeders. Using traditional methods to cure the meat dating back hundreds of years, the small batches of sausages and meats are spiced and hand-tied to produce some of the best Salami in America. And we aren’t the only ones who think so. Even Forbes Magazine has declared that Salume Beddu makes the Best Salami in the Country!

Artisan Cured Meats, Salume Beddu
Salume Beddu, St. Louis

If you can’t make it to the store, Salume Beddu products are served in a number of restaurants and sold in many St. Louis stores, as well as in Eataly in Chicago. Not traveling to St. Louis any time soon? You can order them direct.

And with the new production site, Mark will be able to add a number of new products including salamis flavored with lavender or hazelnut that were only made once-in-a-while. Yum! We can’t wait!

SALUME BEDDU UPDATE. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS STORE HAS CLOSED. PRODUCTS FROM SALUME BEDDU CAN ONLY BE PURCHASED IN OTHER STORES.

IF YOU GO

Salume Beddu
3467 Hampton Ave
St Louis, MO 63139
www.salumebeddu.com
Tel (314) 353-3100
Open Tuesday to Saturday; check website for hours and directions

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3 thoughts on “Salume Beddu

  1. I am salivating. From your descriptions, I can almost taste them. Thanks

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