All natural salami, made with pride and traditional techniques? Yes, please!

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December 9, 2022

It has been a long and exhausting process trying to find someone who can provide us with salami to our standards. Alas, we finally found Nello’s.

Miller’s Bio Farm has teamed up with Nello’s Specialty Meats to bring you some amazing all natural salami!

Nello’s family emigrated from Sicily in the 1960’s in search of a better life. Thirty years ago, Nello found his mentor, Guenther “Hank” Schineller, a German born sausage maker. It took persistence to get Hank to mentor him, but ultimately, Hank would show him the art of the wurst. Nello has also worked with world class charcuterie crafters Luigi Pintore and Pietro Castoldi from Pagani Fertelli to help him perfect his charcuterie recipes and making process.

At Nello’s, it’s all about tradition, from the ingredients to the aging process.

The groundwork of Nello’s recipes and work is built on centuries of knowledge from the old-world. Moreover, from the help of those at Pagani Fertelli, Nello is able to source high quality ingredients straight from Italy.

Like the Tuscan Finocchiona salame, which contains wild fennel seeds straight from the Tuscan hills of Italy. The wild fennel pulls menthol from the soil giving it a unique and special taste you cant find in store.

Coming from Italy, the ingredients are held to EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) standards, which are much higher than its American counterparts.

As well, Nello does not use synthetic lab-produced nitrates and nitrites in his cured meats. Instead, he uses naturally occurring nitrates that come from celery juice powder.

A spicy secret

A common practice by charcuterie makers is hiding what spices they use to protect their recipes. The same goes for Nello. His recipes are proprietary, handcrafted, and time tested.

This comes with one down side. Transparency. Miller’s Bio Farm wholeheartedly believes in transparency and telling you everything about where your food comes from. We are making an exception, because the salame is delicious and we know the quality Nello is putting out there.

We know that some of the best herbs and spices are being used to make our salamis, but we don’t know the exact spice ingredients. But, Nello did give us a sneak peek into his spice room - look at just a small sample of the large variety he carries!

You might be wondering, “What is considered a ‘spice?’” Let's look at what the USDA’s definition is. Per USDA: “General Definition - Aromatic vegetable substances, in the whole, broken, or ground form, whose significant function in food is seasoning rather than nutrition. They are true to name and from them no portion of any volatile oil or other flavoring principle has been removed.” Think of things like cinnamon, nutmeg, basil, fennel seed, ginger, peppers, etc. These are all ingredients that the USDA allows to be hidden under “spices”.

A difference you can taste

When I first spoke to Nello, he asked a question, “When you go to a restaurant and get seasoned or spiced food, do you first taste the seasoning or the meat?” More often than not, people say the seasoning. Well, in Europe, it's the opposite. They want to taste the meat before they taste the spice or seasoning.

Nello’s salami is based on this European style. When trying the salami, the first thing you’ll notice is that the taste of the meat is at the forefront and that the spice hits the back of your palate. Truly a difference you can taste!!

Specialty meats for everyone

Another Amazing thing about Nello’s is that he can also make all natural, salt cured cold cuts! Have you seen our new sliced smoked turkey breast? It’s our pastured corn & soy free turkey breast put in a simple Redmond salt brine and then it’s smoked.

And, we now carry air dried cured meats like our new bresaola, which features hints of juniper and cinnamon.

Check out some of the other stuff curing at Nello’s right now! There’s more to come!

Pastured Meat

Cooking

Should I choose animal rennet or vegetable rennet in my natural cheese?

Let’s take a look at what rennet is and why it’s used in cheesemaking, compare the different types of animal and vegetable rennets, check out the labeling requirements for rennet, and consider the potential health consequences. Keeping all this in mind, Miller’s Bio Farm aims to produce the most nutrient-dense, natural, A2/A2 cheese we can and gives you all the info you need to make the choice that’s best for your body!

Is yolk color is no longer a great indicator of the egg's nutrition?

It used to be true that, if your egg yolks were darker in color, then the better the egg's nutrition. Conscious consumers of the past would look for that deep orange yolk and stray away from lighter yellow yolks. It's sad, but this simply isn't the case anymore. Here's why you can't trust cheap store-bought eggs with orange yolks and need to know your farmer instead.

How did pork get a bad rep anyway? Why is Miller's pork exceptional?

Did you know that, globally, pork is the #1 meat? According to the UN, 10% more pork is eaten compared to poultry worldwide. And, 50% more pork is eaten compared to beef worldwide. Wow! But, for some reason, this isn't the case in the US. According to the USDA, pork ranks #3 when it comes to meat. Americans eat 30% less pork compared to poultry and 15% less compared to beef. Why is this? Well, pork has gotten a pretty bad rep in the US. Of course there are some religions that prohibit pork, but that's not the leading factor. Some reasons why pork has a bad rep. 1- Too much saturated fat. The low fat craze started in the 1970s and fizzled out in the 1990s. It came from the belief that (1) fat makes us fat; and (2) that too much saturated fat = high cholesterol = bad things like heart disease and cholesterol. These myths have been debunked. Read more in fats and health blog post. The bottom line is that not all fats are created equal. Natural animal fats from happy, healthy animals are good. It's those highly processed hydrogenated saturated fats that are bad. In other words, eat all the pork fat! 2- Worry about disease. People still seem to think they can get sick from pork. There's fear of parasites (like the roundworm Trichinella spiralis that can cause trichinosis) or bacteria or other things. The reality is that getting sick from pork is really rare nowadays. If you cook pork properly, you don't need to worry about disease. Muscle meat (like chops or tenderloin) should be cooked to 145F. Ground meat and organs should be cooked to 160F. 3- Worry of bad ingredients. This only relates to processed pork like hot dogs and bacon and ham. There's truth to this one. Nitrates and nitrites, commonly used in curing conventional pork, have been shown to cause cancer and other health issues. And stabilizers, artificial colors, preservatives, and other additives have been linked to negative health outcomes, too. But, this isn't the case for all pork. How meat it's processed matters a lot. At Miller's, we don't put any of that yucky junk in our meat, even the salami and bacon and sausages (more on that below). 4- Worry that eating pork will have a negative affect on your blood. The Weston A. Price Foundation did a bunch of research on this. It's true that plain pork can cause blood clotting and inflammation. However, properly preparing pork (by marinating it in vinegar or naturally curing it) or by eating pork with fermented veggies like sauerkraut removes these negative effects. Read more about pork and your blood in this blog post. 5- The belief that pigs are "dirty". I think this one mainly comes from the fact that pigs roll around in mud. They do this to protect their nearly hairless bodies. It's like natural sunscreen. It doesn't mean the meat is dirty at all. It may also come from the fact that pigs are often treated as garbage disposals. They will literally eat anything. And that includes kitchen scraps, meat processing scraps, curdled milk, and more. But again, not all pork is created equal. When you source from trusted farms, you can actually know that the pigs are eating clean food and are rolling around in chemical-free mud. 6- Strange rumors that pigs are deformed. This one came from Nailea on the farm. At some point, she watched a video about how some pigs are born without buttholes or have odd deformities or become cancerous. Yet, despite their weirdness, they're still raised for meat. I don't know how true this is for conventional pigs. But, it's certainly not true for our pigs. They are intact and happy and healthy. And our processor would never give us meat that's weird or cancerous. Why you should eat pork. I'm here to inform you that, when produced naturally and properly, pork is pretty awesome. It's high in protein, zinc, iron, and B vitamins (particularly the "anti-stress" vitamin B1 - read more about thiamine and pork in this blog post). It's packed with quality, healthy saturated fats. And it's the most affordable meat and can be produced year round. This is why people around the world love pork. I think you should love pork, too! Miller's pork is not just any old pork. Here are 6 quick reasons it stands above the rest: 1- Woodland raised. Our pigs get plenty of exercise and forage for countless nuts and grubs and roots. This diverse diet gives our pork some extra flavor. And you can be assured that the environment is free of chemicals and is a happy place for our pigs to live. 2- Corn & soy free. This means low PUFA and no chance of GMOs. We haven't tested our pork like we did for our chicken and eggs. But, if we did, I assume we'd get similar results with our pork having balanced omegas and packed with vitamins and minerals. 3- Heritage breeds. Our pigs are Berkshire, Duroc, Red Waddle, and Black crosses. These heritage breeds are known for their intensity of flavor, juiciness, marbling, and tenderness. It's nothing like the bland, dry pork you often get at the grocery store. 4- No junk like nitrates or additives. We reduce toxins and anything unnatural as much as possible. Our bacon is cured simply with Celtic sea salt (in a store it would have "uncured" on the label). Our sausages have clean ingredients, no weird thickeners or preservatives. Our salami is cured naturally with celery juice powder. 5- Washed in organic apple cider vinegar. No harsh chemicals like bleach or citric and lactic acids touch our pork. We are so fortunate to have a naturally minded processor! 6- No drugs. We don't vaccinate. We don't give antibiotics or hormones or anything like that. Through a natural diet and lifestyle, our pigs stay naturally healthy. Do you eat pork? Why or why not? What do you look for when shopping for pork? I'd love to hear from you. Comment below - no account required (start typing for the guest option to appear). 😊 ----- SOURCES: UN Report: Livestock commoditiesUSDA: Chicken leads U.S. per person availability of meat over last decade False Facts About Pork Everyone Actually BelievesIs Pork Bad for You? Here's What a Dietitian Has to Say

All natural salami, made with pride and traditional techniques? Yes, please!

It has been a long and exhausting process trying to find someone who can provide us with salami to our standards. Alas, we finally found Nello’s.

At Nello’s, it’s all about tradition, from the ingredients to the aging process.

A spicy secret

A difference you can taste

Specialty meats for everyone

More from the blog

Should I choose animal rennet or vegetable rennet in my natural cheese?

Is yolk color is no longer a great indicator of the egg's nutrition?

How did pork get a bad rep anyway? Why is Miller's pork exceptional?

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Miller's Bio Farm, 523 Valley Road, Quarryville, PA 17566